大熊猫性冷淡

　　Giant pandas show little interest in sex behind bars but China nevertheless is looking forward to a baby boom with 10 females already pregnant and 23 on heat.

　　栅栏之中的大 熊猫对性不感兴趣，但中国方面仍然期望一个熊猫的生育高峰：10只雌性熊猫已经怀孕，另有23只正处于发情期。

　　"China expects a record number of baby giant pandas to be born this year," Xinhua news agency said of two breeding and research centres in the southwestern province of Sichuan. Last year, 19 baby pandas were born by natural or artificial insemination in China's breeding bases and 16 of them survived.

　　在谈到西南部省份四川的两个熊猫养殖及研究中心时，新华社说：“中国预计今年出生的熊猫幼仔数量会达到新的记录。” 去年，中国各熊猫养殖基地经由自然或人工授精方法繁殖出了19只熊猫幼仔，其中16只得以存活。

　　"The survival rate of panda cubs has risen from 30 percent several decades ago to nearly 90 percent now as a result of modern methods to promote mating and feeding," Xinhua said. But it admitted it was hard to tickle their interest in sex and the pregnancies had little to do with spring in the air.

　　新华社说：“由于采用了现代方法来促进交配和进食，熊猫幼仔的存活率已经从几十年前的30%提高到了现在的近90%。”不过，新华社也承认，激起熊猫的性欲很不容易，而熊猫的怀孕也与临近的春天没有什么关系。

　　Forestry authority statistics show fewer than 10 percent of male giant pandas mate naturally and fewer than 30 percent of females conceive naturally. "Giant pandas show little instinctive behaviour in captivity, especially sexual desire, essential for natural mating and conception," Xinhua said.

　　根据林业部门的统计，自然交配的雄性大熊猫不足10%，而自然受孕的雌性大熊猫也不到30%。新华社说：“深陷囹圄的大熊猫天性几近泯灭，在性方面更是没什么兴趣，而这是熊猫自然交配和受孕的关键。”

　　Experts estimate that 1,000 giant pandas, one of the world's most endangered species, live in the foggy mountains around the Sichuan Basin, while about 140 live in captivity around the world.

　　大熊猫是世界上处境最危险的物种之一，据专家估计，有1000只大熊猫生活在四川盆地周围那些云雾笼罩的山里，而世界各地人工饲养状态下的大熊猫则有140只左右。