关注微信公众号：夏说英文晨读，加入万人晨读群，获得学习资料以及每日点评，与上万名同学共同进步。

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.

语言点

give birth to: 分娩；产仔

· She gave birth to twins.

她生了一对双胞胎。

· Our dog gave birth last night.

我们的狗昨晚生了小狗崽。

cub n. 动物幼崽（尤指哺乳动物）

· 小狗崽puppy，小猫咪kitten，小猪仔piglet

nurse vt. 照顾，照料；养护，培育 n. 护士

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

他辞去了工作，这样可以在家专心照顾母亲。

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

这个项目在头几个月里必须投入大量精力。

cuddle vt. 拥抱；（互相）拥抱

· The mother cuddled the baby and sang the lullaby.

妈妈抱着小宝宝，唱着摇篮曲。

· cuddle up: 紧挨着坐，依偎

· We cuddled up together and tried to get warm.

我们挤在一起，想借此取暖。

mark vt. 标志着，代表着（represent）

at an advanced age: 年纪大的（=in old age）

· senior citizen（=an old person）: （礼貌称呼）老年人

have a slim chance of doing sth. 做某事只有非常小的可能性(强调做成的可能性极小)

· They only have a slim chance of winning.

=It's unlikely that they will win.

他们获胜的机会微乎其微。

· slim chance: 虽然可能性极小但也是有可能的

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

我们赢的机会仍然很小（但还是有可能会赢的）。

如果你想获得更深入、更细致的英语学习指导与训练，欢迎在喜马拉雅FM中搜索“教书匠小夏”，获取更多学习内容。

什么是暴虐训练？

暴虐训练是夏鹏老师首创的英语学习法，以意群为单位进行语音示范朗读，通过模拟一对一带练，有效矫正发音、轻松记忆语篇、训练流畅表达。

1.每个意群示范5-7遍

2.由词到句拆解每个发音要点

3.模仿标准音进行持续跟读

4.有效重复从句到段记忆全篇文章