Scientists make new embryo of rare rhino species科学家再次培育出稀有犀牛胚胎

张岚

聽力扫障

1. rhino /？謖ra？奘n？藜？尬/ n. 犀牛

2. viable /？謖va？奘？藜bl/ adj. 可以实施的;切实可行的

3. embryo /？謖embri？藜？尬/ n. 胚;胚胎

4. inseminate /？奘n？謖sem？奘ne？奘t/ v. 使受精;授精

5. surrogate /？謖s？蘧r？藜ɡ？藜t/ adj. 替代的;代用的

6. the Leibniz Institute for Zoo & Wildlife Research 莱布尼茨动物园与野生动物研究所

7. Kenya？蒺s Ol Pejeta Conservancy 肯尼亚奥尔佩杰塔自然保护区

8. eligible /？謖el？奘d？廾？藜bl/ adj. 具备条件的;有资格的;合格的

9. bachelor /？謖b？覸t？蘩？藜l？藜（r）/ n. 单身汉;学士

听下面的文章，完成各个部分的练习。从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。文章读两遍。

1. How many northern white rhinos remain in the world？

A. 3. B. 2. C. 12.

2. Where are the embryos stored？

A. In a cool liquid. B. In a medical tube. C. In a blocked bottle.

3. What can best describe the goal to create less than 5 wild rhinos？

A. Costly. B. Unrealistic. C. Time？鄄taking.

4. Where are the two remaining female northern white rhinos now？

A. In Kenya. B. In Germany. C. In the Czech Republic.

5. When did the male rhino Sudan die？

A. In 2008. B. In 2016. C. In 2018.

在全球的北部白犀牛只剩下两头之际，一些研究者们已经成功地培育出第三个北部白犀牛的胚胎，这些研究者们还将继续为培育北部白犀牛的胚胎而努力。

Researchers say they have successfully created another embryo of the northern white rhino. The animal risks disappearing forever. Just two remain， and both are female. This new viable embryo is the third of its kind.

To make the embryo， scientists used eggs from one of the surviving females. They inseminated the eggs with frozen cells from dead males. The embryos are stored in a cool liquid that protects them. They will be put into a surrogate mother—a southern white rhino—in the coming months.

The Kenya Wildlife Service and officials from Kenya， the Czech Republic， Germany and Italy made a statement about the success. Kenya？蒺s wildlife minister， Najib Balala， called the ability to stop the loss of the northern rhino“amazing”. The goal is to create a group of at least five animals that could return to their natural environment. This process could take many years.

The two remaining female northern white rhinos， Najin and Fatu， live in Kenya. Fatu？蒺s eggs made all three viable embryos.

Thomas Hildebrandt is with the Leibniz Institute for Zoo & Wildlife Research in Germany. “Now the team will make every effort to achieve the same result for the 30？鄄year？鄄old Najin before it is too late for her，” he said.

The operation is safe and can be performed regularly before the animals become too old， the statement said.

The next step is to choose female southern white rhinos among those at Kenya？蒺s Ol Pejeta Conservancy to serve as a surrogate mother， Kenya？蒺s wildlife minister said.

Years of humans？蒺 killing the animals illegally has severely reduced the number of rhinos. The last male northern white rhino was a 45？鄄year？鄄old named Sudan. In 2017， Sudan became famous when he appeared on an online service that connects possible romantic partners. The service， called Tinder， listed the rhino as “The Most Eligible Bachelor in the World”. The title was part of a fund？鄄raising effort.

Sudan， named for the country where he was born， died in 2018.