大熊貓林萍泰國喜慶週歲生日
Riot-stricken Thailand had something to smile about on Thursday as the nation's only panda cub, who enjoys a cult-like following across the kingdom, celebrated her first birthday in style.
Hundreds of fans gathered at Chiang Mai zoo in northern Thailand for the birthday of LinPing, whose birth surprised zookeepers after years of unsuccessful artificial insemination and efforts to get her parents to mate.
A monk's blessing, a panda birthday cake and an ice carving of her name and age were among the gifts for the 36-kilo (79-pound) cub, who has five keepers devoted to her care, before an evening celebration for guests.
Linping has become so popular in her first year that Thai television has a live 24-hour "Panda Channel" following her every move, while a competition to name her last year attracted a staggering 22 million entries.
Lin is part of her mother's name and Ping is a river in Chiang Mai.
"It is very special that people join us today," said Prasertsak Buntragulpoontawee, head of the panda research project at the zoo.
Linping was born to eight-year-old giant panda Lin Hui just three months after receiving semen from nine-year-old partner Chuang Chuang.
The mates had shown no interest in reproducing normally since they both arrived on a 10-year loan from China in 2003. Linping officially belongs to China but can stay in Thailand for another year.
In 2006, Chuang Chuang, who had been deemed too heavy to mate with Lin Hui, lost weight on a low-carbohydrate diet and was then shown 15-minute video clips of successful panda couplings, but to no avail.
Giant pandas, notorious for their low sex drive, are among the planet's most endangered animals.
近來受暴亂重創的泰國在本週四終於有了件讓人高興的事，該國唯一一隻深受民衆喜愛的大熊貓幼崽隆重慶祝了它的週歲生日。
當天，數百名粉絲聚集在泰國北部的清邁動物園爲林萍慶生。去年林萍的降生給當地動物園帶來了極大驚喜，此前動物園多年來一直努力對它的母親進行人工受孕均未成功，並想盡各種辦法促進它的父母交配。
當天林萍收到的生日禮物包括一位僧人的賜福、一個熊貓生日蛋糕和一個刻有她名字和年齡的冰雕。這隻剛滿週歲的熊貓崽體重達36公斤（79磅），擁有五名飼養員。當天晚間，來客們爲它舉行了慶祝活動。
林萍在泰國降生以來深受歡迎，泰國電視臺特設24小時直播的“熊貓頻道”，跟蹤拍攝她的一舉一動。去年的一個爲它取名的公衆徵集活動共收到2200萬個創意。
其中，“林”取自她母親的名字，“萍”則取自清邁一條河流的名字。
清邁動物園熊貓研究項目負責人Prasertsak Buntragulpoontawee說：“今天大家與我們一起爲它慶生，非常特別。”
林萍的媽媽名叫林惠，今年9歲，爸爸叫創創，今年10歲。去年，林惠在接受人工授精手術三個月後，產下了林萍。
這對大熊貓夫婦於2003年來到泰國後，性慾一直不強。這對熊貓由中國租借給泰國，期限爲十年，幼崽林萍歸中國所有，但它可以在泰國繼續呆一年。
2006年，因體重過大而無法正常交配的創創開始食用低碳水化合物減肥。當時動物園還專門讓它觀看了一段15分鐘的熊貓成功交配的視頻片斷，但沒有起到作用。
大熊貓一直以“性冷淡”而著稱，目前是地球瀕危物種之一。
Vocabulary:
cub：the young of certain animals, as the bear, lion, or tiger（幼獸、幼崽）
in style：in the current fashion or style（隆重地，成功地，別具風格地）
artificial insemination：人工授精
reproduce：to generate (offspring) by sexual or asexual means（生育，繁殖）
to no avail：of no use or advantage, ineffective（完全無用）
