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Zookeepers in the Netherlands are planning to hook up Dutch and Indonesian orangutans over the Internet and believe the link could at some stage be used as an online dating service where apes could get to know one another and keepers could work out whether they would be compatible mates.
First things first: A romantic dinner for two.
"We are going to set up an Internet connection between Indonesia and Apeldoorn so that the apes can see each other and, by means of pressing a button, be able to give one another food," said Anouk Ballot, a spokeswoman for the ape park in the central Dutch city of Apeldoorn.
She said the chance of two orangutans actually mating as a result of the online interaction was small due to the problem of transporting them between the Netherlands and Indonesia. "But I wouldn‘t rule it out completely," she said.
Ballot said the primary aim of the computer link between Dutch and Indonesia was to raise public awareness of the apes and their plight.
Ballot said that, in the past, captive orangutans separated by a wall have communicated with one another via a mirror placed in front of the two enclosures. Using Web cams and computer screens is an extension of that, she said.
She stressed that only orangutans who show a natural interest and aptitude will take part. The park has 13 orangutans among its collection of apes.
There is still work to be done to set up the Internet connection. "We need to find ape-proof cables and screens," Ballot said, adding that the zoo hopes to have the orangutans online by the end of this year or early 2007.
So next time you run into someone in a chatroom and think "what a baboon," think twice: it just might be.
目前，荷兰一家动物园的管理员正筹划通过互联网为荷兰和印度尼西亚的大猩猩“牵线搭桥”。他们认为，这个桥梁在一定程度上就是网上约会服务，身处两地的大猩猩们可以在网上互相认识，管理员们也能从中看出它们是否“般配”。
其中，最重要的一个约会项目就是：共进一顿浪漫美餐。
这家位于荷兰阿珀尔多伦市中心的大猩猩动物园的女发言人阿诺克·巴洛特说：“我们将在印度尼西亚和阿珀尔多伦之间建立一个网络联接，这样两地的大猩猩就能看到彼此，而且通过一个按钮，它们还能够互相喂食。”
她说，由于在荷兰和印度尼西亚两地间运送猩猩存在着困难，所以，它们网上约会后互相见面、进行交配的机会很少，“但也不是完全没有可能”。
巴洛特说，在荷兰和印度尼西亚间建立猩猩约会网络的主要目的是唤起公众对猩猩及其困境的关注。
巴洛特说，过去，笼子里的猩猩被墙壁隔开，它们通过安在两个围栏前的镜子进行交流。如今的网络和电脑屏幕是过去那种交流方式的延伸。
她指出，只有那些表现出自然本能和倾向的猩猩们才可以参加网上约会。该动物园饲养的猿类动物中，共有13只猩猩。
然而，建成这个网络联接还需要做很多事情。巴洛特说：“我们需要安装防止被猩猩破坏的电缆线和电脑屏幕”，此“猩猩情缘”网络平台有望在今年底或2007年初建成。
以后若在聊天室遇到一个给你感觉很像狒狒的网友，可得仔细想想，说不定这个网友还真是个猩猩呢！
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英语学习 
荷兰动物园搭“鹊桥” 寂寞大猩猩可上网约会
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