高齊云

The Smithsonians National Zoo in the US announced2 on Monday that the name of its newborn giant panda is “Xiao Qi Ji”. It is “l(fā)ittle miracle3” in English. Chinese netizens once again picked up calls for giving back the panda family living in the zoo.

美國史密森國家動物園于本周一宣布，該園新生大熊貓的名字叫“小奇跡”，用英語說就是“l(fā)ittle miracle”。中國網民再次呼吁歸還住在這家動物園里的熊貓一家。

The baby panda was born on August 21 at the National Zoo. Its mother is the 22-year-old Mei Xiang， the oldest giant panda to give birth in the US. While the lifespan4 of a giant panda is around 15-20 years in the wild and 25-30 in captivity5. The current6 oldest giant panda in captivity Xinxing is 38.

8月21日，熊貓寶寶在這個國家動物園出生。它媽媽是22歲的美香，是在美國生產過的年齡最大的大熊貓。雖然野外大熊貓的壽命在15到20歲左右，圈養(yǎng)的大熊貓壽命在25到30歲左右，但目前最年長的圈養(yǎng)大熊貓新星有38歲。

Many Chinese netizens thought that the birth of Xiao Qi Ji was also a miracle for its mother at such an old age， while others said it was time for the panda family to go back home.

許多中國網民認為，小奇跡的出生對它母親這么大的年紀來說也是一個奇跡，也有網友表示，熊貓一家該回家了。

“Please let them come home. Mei Xiang is so old. Please stop violating7 the laws of nature，” one Chinese netizen wrote on Sina Weibo.

“請讓它們回家吧。梅香年紀太大了，請停止違反自然規(guī)律?！币晃恢袊W民在新浪微博上寫道。

Some netizens even called on China to stop the zoos contract8 when it expires9 on December 7.

有些網民甚至呼吁中國在動物園合同12月7日到期時停止續(xù)簽合同。

The name has won a lot of love from netiznes all over the world.

（小奇跡）這個名字贏得了全世界網友的喜愛。

“So excited to hear the baby pandas new name！ My mom and I voted10 for that name every day！He is truly a little miracle. He has been the bright light during this pandemic11 for the whole world！May he went on growing big and strong，” one netizen written on Twitter.

“聽到熊貓寶寶的新名字真是太興奮了！我媽媽和我每天都投票給那個名字！它真的是個小奇跡。它在這場病毒大流行中為全世界帶來了光明！一位網友在推特上寫道：“愿它繼續(xù)茁壯成長?！?/p>

The zoo announced the name on the same day that it shut its doors to the public12 for the second time in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However， the indoor panda house was still closed to the public even after the zoo was reopened on July 24.

在動物園宣布了這個名字的同一天，因為新冠病毒的大流行，它在2020年第二次對公眾關閉大門。然而，即使在動物園于7月24日重新開放后，室內熊貓館仍然不對公眾開放。

Mei Xiang and the 23-year-old giant panda Tian Tian have lived at the Smithsonians National Zoo since 2000. Mei Xiang has given birth to seven baby pandas and three have grown up， according to reports.

梅香和23歲的大熊貓?zhí)硖韽?000年起就住在史密森國家動物園。據報道，美香已經生下了7只熊貓寶寶，其中的3只已經長大。

（英語原文選自：globaltimes.cn）

Discussion議一議：

1. Have you seen pandas in the zoo？ 你去動物園看過熊貓嗎？

2. Do you want the panda family to come back to China？ 你想讓熊貓一家回國嗎？