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原文

Giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth to a healthy cub on Friday at the National Zoo in Washington, and immediately began nursing and cuddling the tiny new arrival, animal care staff said.

It was too early to tell whether the infant is male or female but the baby marks the fourth successful pregnancy for Mei Xiang, a 22-year-old panda who, because of her advanced age, had a slim chance of having a healthy cub, zoo officials said.

語言點

give birth to: 分娩；產仔

· She gave birth to twins.

她生了一對雙胞胎。

· Our dog gave birth last night.

我們的狗昨晚生了小狗崽。

cub n. 動物幼崽（尤指哺乳動物）

· 小狗崽puppy，小貓咪kitten，小豬仔piglet

nurse vt. 照顧，照料；養護，培育 n. 護士

· He gave up his job so that he could nurse his mother at home.

他辭去了工作，這樣可以在家專心照顧母親。

· The project will have to be nursed through its first few months.

這個項目在頭幾個月里必須投入大量精力。

cuddle vt. 擁抱；（互相）擁抱

· The mother cuddled the baby and sang the lullaby.

媽媽抱著小寶寶，唱著搖籃曲。

· cuddle up: 緊挨著坐，依偎

· We cuddled up together and tried to get warm.

我們擠在一起，想借此取暖。

mark vt. 標志著，代表著（represent）

at an advanced age: 年紀大的（=in old age）

· senior citizen（=an old person）: （禮貌稱呼）老年人

have a slim chance of doing sth. 做某事只有非常小的可能性(強調做成的可能性極小)

· They only have a slim chance of winning.

=It's unlikely that they will win.

他們獲勝的機會微乎其微。

· slim chance: 雖然可能性極小但也是有可能的

· There's still a slim chance that we can win.

我們贏的機會仍然很小（但還是有可能會贏的）。

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