"Cute alert as Taiwan's first giant panda cub goes on show"--from BBC

This afternoon, at the beginning of the class, I invited Class 217 to read this news on the CNN webpage, which is about the beloved panda Yuan Zai. On the page are some photos with captions. Because the captions are not big enough for students at the back of the classroom to see clearly, I had the students sitting in the front read aloud them for the class. And they did a good job. A good strategy to have students practice speaking English.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/07/travel/taiwan-panda/index.html

Cute alert as Taiwan's first giant panda cub goes on show 

By Grace Huang, CNN

January 7, 2014 -- Updated 1618 GMT (0018 HKT)

(CNN) -- A chorus of "oohs," "ahs" and "I want ones" sounded from Taiwan Monday as the first giant panda to be born on the island, the six-month-old cub Yuan Zai, was unveiled to the public at Taipei Zoo.

Conceived via artificial insemination, the bear was delivered on July 7 last year.

Around 10,000 people lined up to see Yuan Zai Monday, the zoo said, some arriving hours before opening time.

Hundreds watched Yuan Zai's first appearance as she showed off her climbing skills on logs and trees, before crawling off to nap with her mother.

Visitors are to be capped at just under 20,000 people a day.

Panda fever

The birth of Yuan Zai, which means both "child of Yuan Yuan" and "rice ball," sparked panda fever on Taiwan.

The bear already has her own YouTube channel, documenting her cutest moments.

Yuan Zai is expected to generate NT$500 million ($16.6 million) through commercial opportunities within the next six months, the Taipei City government said.

The cub's mother, Yuan Yuan, and her mate, Tuan Tuan, were given to Taiwan by China in 2008.

Their names combined mean "reunion" in Chinese.