大熊猫——中国的国宝

The Giant Panda——China's National Treasure

The end of 2005 was panda mania. First,there was the announcement that a giant panda-Jing Jing-would serve as a mascot for the Beijing 2008 Olympic games. Next,Chinese scientists enthusiastically reported that the number of giant panda births in captivity reached record levels,despite years of setbacks. A few weeks later,hundreds of visitors descended on a zoo in Fujian to celebrate the 25th birthday of the country's oldest panda-Basi-complete with a birthday party,cake,and songs. The US was not left out of the vogue,with the arrival of Tai Shan,a cub born in the Washington's National Zoo,that enthralled local residents (13,000 tickets were snapped up in just two hours).……