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| Words in the News
Monday 23 December 2002
Vocabulary from the news. Listen to and read the report then find explanations of difficult words below.
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New diet for pandas
Summary: In China, giant pandas are now eating health biscuits. Chinese scientists say the panda's regular bamboo diet simply isn't good enough, and the rare animals are suffering from malnutrition. But good food is the least of the giant pandas' problems. This report from Holly Williams:
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| | The News | |
| | | As if the panda didn't have enough to worry about - loggers destroying their natural environment, hunters killing them for their skins and a breeding programme that's been plagued with problems. Now scientists say the black and white beasts just aren't eating right. They aren't getting enough vitamins, minerals or fibre. The new biscuits are high in all three - and to avoid confusing the pandas, the production line makes them in bamboo-like shapes. Apparently, the pandas find the biscuits 'very tasty'. There are only 1000 giant pandas left in the wild. At the Panda Breeding Centre in Sichuan Province, scientists are scrambling to boost the animal's population. But the animals are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity - and are said to have a low libido. Scientists have tried everything from viagra to showing the animals sex education videos. Now at least, the remaining pandas will enjoy a balanced diet. But the hunting and logging continues - and their numbers are dwindling. Holly Williams, BBC, Beijing.
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| | The Words
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| | | loggers
people and companies that cut down trees on a large scale
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| | | a breeding programme
a plan to try and raise the number of pandas
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| | | plagued with problems
with many problems
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| | | very tasty
having a good taste
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| | | in the wild
in their natural environment, not in a zoo or park
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| | | scrambling
finding it difficult
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| | | notoriously difficult to breed in captivity
it’s well known that it is very difficult for pandas to reproduce
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| | | libido
desire to have sex
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| | | viagra
a modern drug used to help sexual reproduction
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| | | their numbers are dwindling
there are fewer and fewer
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