Giant Pandas  大熊貓

National Geographic Channel spends two years following around the nearly extinct giant pandas in their natural habitat.
國家地理頻道花了兩年時間在瀕臨絕種的熊貓棲息地跟隨牠們的身影。

  Deep in the heart of the Qinling Mountains, a lush natural divide between north and south China, a camera crew is on the lookout for the elusive giant panda. These pandas live at an elevation of 1,500 meters and higher, so the trek up the steep slopes is treacherous. The bamboo is very thick, but soon the crew discovers panda droppings, signaling that the giant pandas are close by. At 3,000 meters, the team comes across their first breakthrough when they finally see a giant panda after searching for 10 days without luck. Giant Pandas is an intimate portrait of the secret and complex lives of China's most famous residents. The crew spends two years battling the rugged terrain and dealing with the temperamental moods of these highly endangered species.
  At birth, a giant panda is pink, nearly hairless, blind, and small enough to fit into a human hand. Female pandas have to raise their cubs alone and make sure their babies are warm, clean, and fed, sometimes suckling a newborn 14 times a day. When winter comes, giant pandas are protected from the cold by their slightly oily fur that keeps them dry and holds in heat. If a female panda has a cub, she must search for shelter to protect her young one from the cold. In Giant Pandas, filmmakers encounter a mother and her three-month-old cub in a cave, where the small panda is trying to walk so it can soon follow its mother on outings to gather food.
  Bamboo makes up 99 percent of a giant panda's diet. Since bamboo grows in the winter, giant pandas do not need to hibernate. In one day alone, giant pandas consume nearly 18 kilograms of bamboo, which would be the equivalent of a human eating 40 loaves of bread. Watch Giant Pandas on National Geographic Channel this month and learn all about the lifestyle of one of the most specialized mammals in the world.

1. Why does it take the camera crew 10 days to see a giant panda?
(A) The terrain is very rugged.
(B) The giant panda is hard to find.
(C) There are only a few giant pandas left.
(D) All of the above answers are correct.

2. What is true of a baby giant panda?
(A) It is born with a full coat of fur.
(B) The father raises the baby for the first two years.
(C) At birth, it is smaller than a human hand.
(D) It learns to forage for bamboo as soon as it is born.

3. In the winter, giant pandas _____.
(A) change their lifestyles completely
(B) give birth to their cubs
(C) are protected from the cold by their fur
(D) rest in a dormant state

4. Who would most enjoy watching Giant Pandas on National Geographic Channel?
(A) A historian.
(B) A zoologist.
(C) A philanthropist.
(D) A dentist.

單字小舖
1. lush a. 蒼翠的,草木茂盛的
2. trek n.(長途跋涉的)旅行
3. steep a. 陡峭的
4. slope n. 斜坡
5. treacherous a. 危險的
6. droppings n. 鳥獸的糞便
7. intimate a. 深入的,詳盡的
8. portrait n. 描寫;寫照
9. rugged a. 崎嶇的
10. terrain n. 地勢,地形
11. cub n.(動物的)幼獸
12. suckle vt. 哺乳
13. newborn n. 新生兒
14. oily a. 含油的
15. outing n. 外出;出遊
16. hibernate vi. 冬眠
17. loaf n.(一條或一塊)麵包
18. dormant a. 冬眠的;休眠的
a dormant volcano  休火山
19. zoologist n. 動物學家
20. philanthropist n. 慈善家

片語小舖
1. in the heart of...  在……中央
2. protect sb/sth from + N/V-ing  保護某人∕某物免於……
3. as soon as + S + V  一……(就……)
4. give birth to...  生產……(小孩)

精解字詞片語
1. divide n. 分水嶺 & vt. 劃分
divide sth into...  把某物分成……
例: Can you divide the pie into eight pieces so we can all have some?
(你可以把派分成 8 份,讓大家都能享用到嗎?)

2. be on the lookout for...  密切留意……
lookout n. 張望;注意
例: My mother loves sales and is always on the lookout for bargains.
(我媽媽喜歡撿便宜,她總是在留意特價商品。)

3. elusive a. 難以見到的;難以捉摸的
elude vt. 逃脫,逃避
例: The elusive criminal hid from the police for 10 years before being caught.
(那名難纏的罪犯躲過警方追捕長達 10 年後才落網。)
例: The suspect eluded capture by hiding in the sewers.
(那名嫌犯躲在下水道而逃過追捕。)

4. elevation n. 高度;海拔
at an/the elevation of...  在海拔……的高度
例: The temple is at an elevation of 1,000 meters.
(那座廟宇位於海拔 1,000 公尺高的地方。)

5. (be) close by  在附近
例: Would you like something to drink? There's a coffee shop close by.
(你要喝點東西嗎?附近有一家咖啡廳。)

6. come across...  偶然碰見∕發現……
= encounter vt.
例: If you come across this album on sale, would you get it for me?
(如果你碰巧看到這張專輯在特賣,可以幫我買一張嗎?)

7. breakthrough n. 突破
make a (major) breakthrough in...  在……有(重大)突破
例: Sam made a major breakthrough in his microbiology research.
(山姆在他微生物的研究上有重大突破)

8. temperamental a. 性情易變的,喜怒無常的
例: David can be rather temperamental at times.
(大衛的性情有時會陰晴不定。)

9. endangered a. 瀕臨絕種的
endanger vt. 使危險;危及
endangered species  瀕臨絕種的物種
例: Cutting down this forest will endanger the vegetation and wildlife.
(砍伐這片森林會使植物與野生動物陷入危機。)

10. fit into...  裝得進∕穿得下……
例: I couldn't fit into my favorite pants after I gained a few kilograms.
(胖了幾公斤後,我就穿不下我最喜歡的那條褲子了。)

11. be protected from...  受到保護免於……
protect A from B  保護 A 免於∕遠離 B
例: The helmet protected me from a head injury when I fell off my bike.
(我從單車上摔下來時,安全帽保護我免於傷到頭部。)

12. shelter n. 避難所;遮蔽物
take shelter  尋求庇護
例: The farmer took shelter in the barn during the storm.
(這位農夫在暴風雨中躲在穀倉內。)

13. make up...  組成……,構成……
= constitute vt.
例: Asians make up four percent of the US population.
(亞裔人士佔美國人口的百分之四。)

14. equivalent n. 相等物 & a. 相等的
be the equivalent of...  等於∕相當於……
be equivalent to...  等於∕相當於……
= be equal to...
例: The information on this DVD is the equivalent of 10 encyclopedias.
(這張 DVD 裡的資料相當於 10 本百科全書。)
例: Drinking one of these cocktails is equivalent to having three beers.
(喝一杯這種雞尾酒就等於喝 3 杯啤酒。)

15. specialized a. 特化的;專門的
specialize vi. 專攻;專門從事
specialize in...  專攻……
例: Erica specializes in cardiology.
(愛瑞卡專攻心臟學。)

16. forage vi. 覓食
forage for...  尋找……(食物)
例: Stray dogs often forage for food in the alley behind the night market.
(流浪狗常在夜市後面的巷子裡覓食。)

  蒼翠繁茂的秦嶺是中國南北方的天然分界,在中心深處,攝影小組正留意行蹤成謎的熊貓身影。熊貓住在海拔 1,500 公尺以上的高處,所以這趟在陡峭斜坡上的長途跋涉勢必危險萬分。儘管竹子枝葉茂密,但攝影小組不久就發現熊貓的排泄物,這表示熊貓就在附近。攝影小組經歷 10 天的搜尋毫無所獲,到了海拔 3,000 公尺的高度時,終於首度突破瓶頸,發現一隻熊貓。熊貓是中國最著名的國寶,而《大熊貓》節目將深入報導牠們神秘又複雜的生活。工作人員花了兩年時間與崎嶇的地勢搏鬥、並應付這群高度瀕臨絕種、性情多變的動物。
  熊貓剛出生時是個眼睛尚未睜開的粉紅肉團,全身幾乎光禿禿的,體型小到可以放在人類的手掌上。母熊貓必須獨自撫養小熊貓,確保牠們不受風寒、身上乾乾淨淨,而且還要餵養牠們,有時候甚至一天要幫剛出生的小熊貓哺乳 14 次。當冬天來臨時,熊貓身上帶有些許油脂的毛皮可以讓牠們保持乾燥,並且保暖,使牠們得以度過寒冬。如果母熊貓身邊有小熊貓跟著,她就必須尋找遮蔽物來讓小熊貓避寒。在《大熊貓》節目中,製作人在山洞裡發現一隻母熊貓和 3 個月大的小熊貓。這隻小熊貓正在學走路,以便很快能跟著媽媽一起外出覓食。
  熊貓的食物百分之九十九是竹子,因為竹子在冬天也會生長,所以熊貓不需要冬眠。熊貓光是一天就要吃掉將近 18 公斤的竹子,相當於人類一天吃掉 40 條麵包的量。敬請收看本月國家地理頻道的《大熊貓》節目,看看世界上高度特化的哺乳動物之一的生活全貌。

1. 為什麼攝影小組花了 10 天才看見一隻熊貓?
(A) 因為地勢非常陡峭。
(B) 因為很難發現熊貓的蹤跡。
(C) 因為只剩少數幾隻熊貓。
(D) 以上皆是。
題解: 根據本文第一段,熊貓住在海拔 1,500 公尺以上的高處,行蹤難以捉摸,而在第一段末則提到,工作人員必須與崎嶇的地勢搏鬥,而且熊貓還是高度瀕臨絕種的動物,可知 (A)、(B)、(C) 的敘述皆正確,故選 (D)。

2. 關於小熊貓的敘述何者正確?
(A) 牠們一出生就有茂密的毛皮。
(B) 前兩年由公熊貓負責養育小熊貓。
(C) 牠們剛出生時體型比人類的手掌還小。
(D) 牠們一出生就學著覓食竹子。
題解: 根據本文第二段,熊貓剛出生時全身幾乎光禿禿的、體型小到可以放在人類的手掌上;母熊貓必須獨自撫養小熊貓,而且還要餵養牠們,有時一天甚至要幫剛出生的熊貓哺乳 14 次。由此可知,僅 (C) 選項的敘述正確,故選之。

3. 冬天時,熊貓 _____。
(A) 的生活型態完全改變
(B) 生下小寶寶
(C) 的毛皮可以禦寒
(D) 會冬眠
題解: 根據本文第二段和第三段,當冬天來臨時,熊貓身上帶有些許油脂的毛皮可以讓牠們保持乾燥,並且保暖;竹子是熊貓的主食,它們在冬天也會生長,所以熊貓不需要冬眠,故 (C) 為正選。

4. 誰會非常喜歡收看國家地理頻道的《大熊貓》節目?
(A) 歷史學家。
(B) 動物學家。
(C) 慈善家。
(D) 牙醫。
題解: 《大熊貓》節目將深入追蹤高度瀕臨絕種、性情多變的熊貓,報導牠們神秘又複雜的生活,想必動物學家應該非常有興趣,故選 (B)。

標準答案: 1. (D) 2. (C) 3. (C) 4. (B)



本期其他文章