万花筒 Kaleidoscope 2007-03-28&29, 北极熊的命运

In Germany, an adorable baby polar bear at a zoo has set off an emotional debate. The issue is whether the cub¹ has become too dependent on humans. CBS news correspondent Sheila macvicar reports.

Make no mistake about it, this is one very cute bear, M Knut, the 4-month-old polar bear, starred / the Berlin Zoo, international celebrity² and now, the center of a bad-tempered³ row about whether he should be allowed to live. Knut is the first polar bear born here in 30 years that alone should guarantee fame. At the story of his birth, he was abandoned with his twin by their mother Tosca. She is a one-time circus bear, a first-time mother. She left her cubs⁴ on a rock to die.

Scooped⁵ up by keepers with a fishing net and spent 44 days in an incubator, bottle fed every few hours by his devoted⁶ keeper and mother-bear substitute on a mix of baby formula and cod-liver oil, with now, a little chopped-up chicken. Knut has thrived, with web pages, podcasts and weekly updates on the local news, Germans are entranced, Knut with a ball, Knut in the pool, Knut with a teddy bear.

Animal rights activists⁷ have been enraged⁸. On the front page of newspapers, they have argued nature should have taken its course, better a lethal⁹ injection than a bottle-fed Knut, in danger of losing his inner bear. The zoo has offered assurances to a horrified¹⁰ public that it has nothing but Knut's best interests at heart. And even the animal rights activists acknowledged it would be too cruel to put him to death now. As for the bear, he makes his debut¹¹ in front of an already adoring public later this week. Sheila macvicar, CBS news. London.

German news reports say that the zookeeper even plays Elvis Presley songs to the bear on a guitar, Knut has the life.

1 cub   

n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人

参考例句：

• The lion cub's mother was hunting for what she needs. 这只幼师的母亲正在捕猎。
• The cub licked the milk from its mother's breast. 这头幼兽吸吮着它妈妈的奶水。

2 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

3 bad-tempered   

adj.脾气坏的

参考例句：

• He grew more and more bad-tempered as the afternoon wore on.随着下午一点点地过去，他的脾气也越来越坏。
• I know he's often bad-tempered but really,you know,he's got a heart of gold.我知道他经常发脾气，但是，要知道，其实他心肠很好。

4 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 scooped   

v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 enraged   

使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤

参考例句：

• I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令，我极为恼火。
• The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。

9 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

10 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

11 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。