德国斗鸡眼负鼠将现身奥斯卡
Cross-eyed opossum to join the Academy Awards Ceremony
德国莱比锡动物园证实，美国全国广播公司已经向该动物园的明星斗鸡眼负鼠“海迪”发出邀请，让“海迪”参加2月27日的奥斯卡颁奖典礼，在电视节目中担任嘉宾。负鼠“海迪”大约两岁半，去年12月，德国一家报纸刊登了莱比锡动物园内一次主题展上的动物照片，长着一对极为卡通的斗鸡眼的“海迪”，立即引起关注，成为媒体的宠儿。 “海迪”走红之后，莱比锡动物园还为它在著名社交网站“脸谱”上申请了账户，目前它的粉丝超过28万。对于出席奥斯卡的邀请，莱比锡动物园表示，目前正在进行认真评估，但动物园首先要保证，这个邀请对动物不会造成任何危害。因此，如果确定出席奥斯卡，届时“海迪”很有可能通过视频与观众见面。
What do James Franco, Anne Hathaway, and a cross-eyed opossum have in common? Franco and Hathaway are the confirmed co-hosts of the 2011 Academy Awards, but reports are now surfacing that ABC has requested Heidi, the now infamous cross-eyed opossum, to appear on their show as well.
The animal from Germany became internationally renowned after photos were published of her this past December, and she now has over 285,000 Facebook fans.
The Today Show reports that ABC contacted the director of Leipzig Zoo, requesting Heidi's presence at the February 27th ceremony. According to The Telegraph, the opossum may have even been asked to co-host the event.
According to Reuters, if Heidi does appear, she will probably only be seen through a video link, to avoid upsetting the animal. The zoo has reportedly in the past tried to treat Heidi like the other animals, and shield her from marketing ploys.
It is suggested that Heidi's eyes are crossed due to a poor diet when she was young, which caused fat deposits to form behind her eyes. She is now on a diet, with the hope that her eyes may even return back to normal.
If her eyes do return to normal, will her fame remain? Edmund Haferbeck, an animal expert with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals feels that famous animals do not benefit from their celebrity status: "These animals are put on show for millions of people, but afterward they remain incurably crippled."
It is also unclear how two major celebrity actors will feel about sharing the spotlight with a marsupial.
