慢速英语 | 熊猫腾云驾雾来到雪国芬兰
Two giant pandas arrived in Finland Thursday.They are a gift from China to mark the small European nation’s 100 years of independence.
周四，两只大熊猫抵达芬兰。它们是中国送给这个欧洲国家独立100周年的礼物。
The two are a four-year-old male panda, named Hua Bao, and a three-year-old female, named Jin Baobao.
这两只熊猫中，一只为雄性，4岁，名叫华豹；另一只为雌性，3岁，名为金宝宝。
Finnish officials and the Chinese ambassador to Finland welcomed the animals in a ceremony at Helsinki’s airport.
芬兰工作人员和中国驻芬兰大使在赫尔辛基机场为这两只熊猫举行了欢迎仪式。
“We think this is the best gift that Chinese people can give to Finland,” said the ambassador, Chen Li.He was speaking about the country’s 100th anniversary in December 2017.
“我们认为，这是中国人民给芬兰的最好礼物，”大使陈立如是说道。这是2017年12月，他在芬兰独立100周年纪念日上所说的话。
The pandas have been renamed.Their new, Finnish names are Pyry— or “Snowfall” — for the male, and Lumi — or “Snow”— for the female.
芬兰人给这两只大熊猫重起了名字。他们的新名字分别是皮吕和卢米，在芬兰语里的意思分别是“大雪纷飞”和“雪”。
Finnish panda keeper Anna Palmroth said the 6,500-kilometer flight from Chengdu, China to Helsinki went smoothly.She said the pandas spent most of the time resting and eating bamboo, carrots and apples.
芬兰的大熊猫饲养员安娜·帕姆罗斯表示，从中国成都到赫尔辛基的航程共计6500千米，这一路很顺利。她表示，这两只熊猫大多数时候不是在休息，就是啃竹子，吃萝卜或苹果。
Shortly after arrival, the pandas began a trip to the Ahtari Zoo nature reserve in central Finland, about 330 kilometers north of Helsinki.The Associated Press reports that the cold weather on Thursday was similar to conditions in China’s mountain areas.
它们抵达芬兰后不久，就被送往芬兰中部艾赫泰里动物园自然保护区，此地离赫尔辛基有330千米。美联社报道称，周四芬兰的天气十分寒冷，堪比中国山区的天气。
The two countries agreed on the panda deal in April 2017, when Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Helsinki for talks with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.
2017年4月，中芬两国签订了关于熊猫的协议，当时中国国家主席习近平正在赫尔辛基与芬兰总统绍利·尼尼斯特进行会晤。
The Ahtari Zoo specializes in northern European animals such as bears and lynxes.The zoo will have the giant pandas for 15 years.It has built a special Panda House annex in hopes of receiving more visitors.The building project cost an estimated 8 million euros.
艾赫泰里动物园擅长饲养欧洲北部的一些动物，比如熊类和猞猁。这两只熊猫将在该动物园生活15年。该动物园建造了一个特殊的熊猫楼屋里，以期吸引更多的游客。这座小屋耗资近800万欧元。
For more than half a century, the Chinese government has used “panda diplomacy” as a sign of goodwill and closer relations with other countries.
半个多世纪以来，中国政府一直将“熊猫外交”作为与其他国家友好和亲近的标志。
In 1972, the United States received two giant pandas after U.S. President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China.
1972年，美国总统理查德·尼克松对中国进行了历史性的访问之后，中国赠送了两只大熊猫给美国。
More than 1 million people came to see the pandas during their first year at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
大熊猫第一年在华盛顿特区的国家公园生活时，其访问量高达100多万人次。
I’m Susan Shand.
苏珊·尚德为您播报。