Being slapped in the face on your first date might not be a good omen, but it could signal the start of a beautiful friendship for Germany's star polar bear, Knut. Knut took the blow like a man and after the initial shock got on well with his new girlfriend, Gianna, keepers at Berlin Zoo said.
第一次約會就被掌一耳光，也許不是什麼好采頭，但對德國明星北極熊努特，這可是一段美麗友誼的開始。據柏林動物園管理員說，努特雖然挨打，還是很man，並在一開始的震撼和震驚後，和新女友吉安娜相處融洽。
September 29 was the first time the new celebrity couple had been alone together since Gianna's arrival from Munich to Berlin Zoo in September.
自從吉安娜於9月從慕尼黑到柏林動物園後，這對新佳偶直到9月29日才首度面對面獨處。
“It was very friendly and peaceful,” said chief keeper Heiner Kloes after the 90-minute date. “As expected, Knut was quite shy, but his new partner took the initiative.” Several keepers were on hand in case the chemistry did not work and the couple became embroiled in a turf war in the bears' enclosure.
在90分鐘的約會後，柏林動物園園長克洛斯說：「這次約會友善平和，一如預料，努特很害羞，但他的新夥伴主動示好。」如果雙方不來電，這對佳偶會為了爭奪地盤演出全武行，園方幾位管理員已經隨時待命，準備採取因應措施。
Gianna’s arrival also marked the first time that Knut ever encounters an animal of his own species. The wilderness years are over.
吉安娜的到來，也是努特有生以來首次接觸自己的同類，那些野性未馴的日子快結束了。
Knut rose to stardom when he was hand-raised and bottle-fed by zoo keepers after his mother rejected him at birth in December 2006. Fans of the popular German polar bear will be hoping that Gianna's arrival will mark a welcome end to a lonely spell for Knut, whose beloved caretaker, Thomas D胺rflein, died of a heart attack in September last year. D胺rflein had acted as the once tiny bear's surrogate parent after the cub was rejected by his own mother.
努特2006年12月出生時因母親棄養，由動物園一手用奶瓶餵養長大，而逐漸嶄露頭角，成為明星。德國這頭超人氣北極熊的粉絲希望，吉安娜的出現，代表努特這段寂寞的日子總算結束，功德圓滿。柏林動物園親切照顧努特的管理員多爾夫蘭去年九月因心臟病發猝死。在努特年幼時被親生母親棄養後，多爾夫蘭一度是這隻熊寶貝的代理父母。
Knut grew up fixated to humans and even waved to people taking photographs of him.
努特長大後很黏人，甚至還會向幫牠拍照的人揮手。
Klose said Knut was "taken completely by surprise when he saw the female bear alone in his own enclosure" at 7:30 am, long before the zoo opened its gates to the public.
克洛斯說，努特在在早上七點半，距動物園對外開放前還有一段時間時，「看到一隻母熊獨自在屬於他的欄舍裡，十分意外。」
Officials plan to gradually increase the time the two bears spend together. Knut and Gianna, who are nearly aged 3, had already had a good sniff of each other at a fence separating their pens.
管理員計畫逐步延長兩頭熊共處的時間。快滿三歲的努特和吉安娜，早已透過分隔彼此欄舍的圍欄，好好聞過彼此。
It will be a while before the couple could expect offspring, as they have not reached puberty. Polar bears do not reach sexual maturity until aged between 3-and-a-half and 5.
但這對佳偶要生出後代，恐怕還有得等，因為牠們都還沒到青春期，北極熊要滿三歲半到五歲性徵才會成熟。
More than 8 million people have been to the zoo to see Knut since spring 2007, whose upbringing made headlines around the world. Officials are hoping his new girlfriend will pull in more visitors.
自2007年春天至今已有逾800萬人到柏林動物園看努特，牠的成長已經成為全球頭條新聞，官員希望牠的新女友可以帶來更多遊客。
The three-year-old Gianna, the new companion of Berlin's favorite polar bear, Knut, has star quality as well. The female polar bear from Munich delighted photographers and visitors at the Berlin zoo by plunging into her pool for a swim while exploring her outside enclosure for the first time — but without Knut.
柏林動物園人氣破表的努特三歲大的新女伴吉安娜本身也有明星相。這頭來自慕尼黑的母熊第一次在自己欄舍外到處摸索、認識新環境時，還跳入水池裡游泳，逗得攝影師和遊客大樂，當時努特並不在場。
Kloes explains that "Gianna has to get used to her new environment and get a grip on her nerves" before she is allowed to meet superstar Knut in public.
克洛斯解釋說，「吉安娜得先熟悉新環境，並學會控制自己的情緒」，才能公開和超級巨星努特見面。
Zookeepers and fans are anxiously waiting to see if polar bears Knut and Gianna are going to hit it off after they were introduced to each other. Knut struck some poses but Gianna seemed mostly disinterested. They all hope romance blooms between the two!
在正式引介努特和吉安娜彼此見面後，動物園管理員和粉絲都很焦慮，正等著看這兩頭北極熊能不能擦出火花。努特曾「搔首弄姿」，但吉安娜多半時候似乎並不感興趣，他們都很希望，這段戀情能開花結果。
Still, Knut might have a bit of an uphill battle when it comes to wooing Gianna. In Munich, she disliked her last intended mate, Yoghi, so vehemently that she had to be relocated to a new enclosure -- with Knut's grandmother, no less.
但努特要贏得吉安娜芳心，可能還有場硬仗要打。在慕尼黑動物園時，由於她十分不喜歡上一個許配給她的伴侶尤希，還被迫搬到新欄舍，和努特親生祖母一塊兒住。
Knut's glamorous new friend -- named after Italian singer Gianna Nannini -- will only be a temporary addition at the Berlin Zoo and return to Munich once the renovations are done. Munich's zoo is already mourning the loss of Boris, popular 32-year-old bear who recently died as a result of heart problems.
努特神氣迷人的新女友吉安娜，名字發想自義大利女歌星吉安娜．納妮妮。但她只是柏林動物園的臨時過客，一旦慕尼黑欄舍修好，她就要打道回府。慕尼黑動物園已因頗受民眾喜愛的32歲北極熊波芮斯近因心臟病去世，而悲慟萬分。
This is not the first time Knut has hit the headlines in recent months. Until July, he was at the center of a legal dispute between Berlin Zoo, where he lives, and Neum椐nster Animal Park, which houses Knut's father. Both zoos wanted to cash in on the polar bear's extraordinary popularity, but they eventually reached a settlement of ←430,000 that allows Knut to stay in the German capital he calls home.
最近幾個月來，這並不是努特首次成為頭條新聞。今年7月之前，因努特所住的柏林動物園和牠生父所住的紐穆斯特動物園打官司，牠再成為新聞焦點。這兩家動物園都想借重這頭北極熊的超高人氣賺錢，但最後雙方總算達成協議，柏林動物園付出43萬歐元給紐穆斯特動物園，努特總算得以繼續留在牠位於德國首都的家。
Polar bears Gianna and Knut (L) observe each other in their enclosure at Berlin's zoo "Zoologischer Garten" on October 2, 2009. After having spent the first days alone in Knut's outdoor enclosure, Gianna was joined by the male polar bear, who became a worldwide media sensation as a cub in 2007, on September 29.
吉安娜（圖右）和努特（圖左，法新社）10月2日在柏林動物園欄舍內「相看兩不厭」。吉安娜在努特戶外欄舍獨處幾天後，於9月29日和這隻2007年還是小貝比時就在全球媒體暴紅的公北極熊首次「相親」。