The baby effect of pandas

江蘇東海教師進修學校 馬連振

國寶熊貓在大國外交中客串了許多回友好使者的角色,其明星效應背后或許有一定的原因，國外媒體刊文發現，人們的“顏值控”心理決定了“以貌取人”。熊貓的形象軟萌可愛，從而天生具備討喜氣質的“嬰兒效應”，所到之處，備受追捧。而其他國家貴為國寶的動物，諸如美國的美洲野牛或俄羅斯的歐亞棕熊則很難讓人心生親近之意。

Germany was overjoyed late last month with news that a long-awaited giant panda pair had arrived at the Berlin Zoo.The zoo had been without a panda since the death of Bao Bao five years earlier， and panda mania（狂熱） swept the nation as the public waited to see Meng Meng and Jiao Qing.

On July 5，the day before the new$10 million Chinese-themed enclosure（圍場）would open，the zoo held a welcoming ceremony for the pandas.Visiting President Xi Jinping toured the enclosure with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.Merkel was overjoyed with the arrival of the“special envoys（使者 ）”，telling Xi they were a“symbol for the relationship between our two countries”.

How right she was.“Panda diplomacy” has been around for years.In February 1972，US President Richard Nixon traveled to Beijing，ending Washington's diplomaticcold shouldertoward the New China.Beijing，to stress its goodwill toward the United States，sent two giant pandas to Washington the following month.

It's a gesture that China has often repeated in various countries.In March， for instance， two pandas were sent to the Netherlands.Fourteen foreign countries now have giant pandas，sent as a sign of friendship by the People's Republic of China.

It's such a heartwarming diplomatic gesture.You have to wonder why other countries haven'tfollowed suit.

Sure，after the National Zoo in Washington received the gift in 1972，Nixon returned by sending a pair of Alaskan muskoxen（麝牛）to China.But it's not the same.A muskox just doesn't say “Greetings from the US”.

For that you'd need the bald eagle（禿頭鷹 ）， the US national bird， as seen on dollar bills.Most countries have a national animal，such as Russia's Eurasian brown bear or India's Bengal tiger.One could imagine a pair of any of these creaturesserving asa diplomatic greeting card to a foreign country.

Still，the panda seems to have a mysterious universal charm.In the excitement about the arrival of Xing Ya and Wu Wen at Ouwehands Zoo in the Netherlands，De Volkskrant newspaper in Amsterdam published an explanation of the phenomenon.

According to De Volkskrant，human beings are psychologically connected to feel tenderness for pandas.It's called the “baby effect”.As withhuman babies，the pupils of a panda's eyes appear too big.“The panda's eye patches（眼圈），moreover，sit just right，with the corner of the eye lower，a shape that people associate with subservience（順從），” psychologist Mariska Kret of Leiden University said.“Turn them the other way around and you get an angry looking face.”“Add the round ears， small nose and head that looks proportionately too big，” De Volkskrant added， “and it's like a baby， lovable.”

I can't imagine saying that about a bald eagle.

Reading Check

1.Why do pandas enjoy popularity among people throughout the world?

2.What does the last paragraph mean?

Language Study

Difficult sentences

1.Germany was overjoyed late last month with news that a long-awaited giant panda pair had arrived at the Berlin Zoo.

翻譯：________________________________

【點石成金】be overjoyed with意為“因……而狂喜”。that a long-awaited giant panda pair had arrived at the Berlin Zoo為同位語從句。

2.Merkel was overjoyed with the arrival of the “special envoys”， telling Xi they were a“symbol for the relationship between our two countries”.

翻譯：________________________________

【點石成金】telling Xi分詞作伴隨狀語。同時，they were a “symbol for the relationship between our two countries”作telling Xi的直接賓語。

3.The panda's eye patches， moreover， sit just right， with the corner of the eye lower， a shape that people associate with subservience.

翻譯：________________________________

【點石成金】with the corner of the eye lower作伴隨狀語。a shape作同位語，同時后面that people associate with subservience作后置定語。

Using Language

Ⅰ.Important phrases in the text

1.the cold shoulder冷遇

2.follow suit跟著做

3.serve as充當……

4.as with正如

5.associate...with把……與……聯系起來

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the phrases given above.

1.In the wake of his success，other filmmakers began to______.

2.The professor returned to his teaching position after ______dean.

3.But when Gough looked to Haig for support，he was given ______.

4.Research is a word that most people______science and objectivity.