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✶狩獵高手狐狸原來靠的是地球磁場!? How Foxes Use the Earth’s Magnetic Field for Hunting

How Foxes Use the Earth’s Magnetic Field for Hunting
#閱讀測驗 #動物 #娛樂·新奇
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狩獵高手狐狸原來靠的是地球磁場!? How Foxes Use the Earth’s Magnetic Field for Hunting
狐狸以狡猾和足智多謀聞名,但一項研究指出了另一個令人驚訝的天賦。
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  Foxes are known for being cunning and resourceful, but a study suggests another surprising talent. Research from the Czech Republic indicates these creatures may use the Earth’s magnetic field when hunting. The study, led by Jaroslav Červený, tracked wild red foxes for over two years, recording nearly 600 hunting leaps by 84 foxes. Researchers found the animals predominantly jumped in a northeasterly direction, regardless of the time of day, season, or weather conditions. This preferred leaping direction resulted in a much higher kill rate, with foxes finding success on 73% of their northeasterly pounces on their prey.

>> ✶璀璨的玫瑰窗:光影映射下的宗教藝術 The Rose Window of Medieval Europe

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  The results prompted Červený to conclude that foxes are able to detect subtle variations in the Earth’s magnetic field, which tilts downward in the northern hemisphere. As a fox creeps closer to its target, it listens for sounds from the animals it is hunting. The sweet spot occurs when the angle at which sound reaches its ears matches the slope of the Earth’s magnetic field. Essentially, the fox uses the magnetic field as a “rangefinder” to estimate the distance to its prey, thereby increasing the odds of successfully capturing a meal.

  The potential use of magnetism to improve hunting ability is not the only surprising aspect of the fox’s complex behavior. The furry creatures are also known for their wide range of vocal expressions. They can produce a surprising range of sounds—up to 40 in total! The most well-known fox vocalization is the scream-like howl, but they also use barks, chatters, and whines to communicate with each other. These sounds are used to defend territory, attract mates, and care for their young. Besides the variety of sounds foxes utter and their possible use of the Earth’s magnetic field, there are numerous other interesting facts about foxes. But those are *topics for another day.

“topics for another day” 在此處表示還有其他與狐狸有關的有趣事實或面向,暗示著還有更多可以學習的內容,能留待日後進一步討論或探索。

* topics for another day” 在此處表示還有其他與狐狸有關的有趣事實或面向,暗示著還有更多可以學習的內容,能留待日後進一步討論或探索。

1. How did researchers make their conclusions regarding foxes?

(A)  By keeping a fox in a cage and observing it over many years.

(B)  By making complex calculations of the Earth’s magnetic field.

(C)  By listening to the sounds foxes made while they were hunting.

(D)  By examining the behavior of dozens of foxes over a couple of years.

2. According to the data, how successful were foxes when they jumped in a certain direction?

(A)  Roughly half of the time.

(B)  About one-third of the time.

(C)  Nearly three-quarters of the time.

(D)  More than 90 percent of the time.

3. Which purpose for the fox’s various vocalizations is NOT mentioned in the passage?

(A)  To look after its young.

(B)  To warn of predators.

(C)  To protect its area.

(D)  To find a mate.

4. According to the passage, in which direction does the fox most likely jump to enhance the chance of a successful hunt?

 

單字片語整理

Words in Use
prompt
[prɑmpt]
.vt. 促使
a. 立刻的
n. (演員)提詞
thereby
[ðɛrˋbaɪ]
adv. 因此
cunning
[ˋkʌnɪŋ]
n. 狡猾,機靈
a. 狡猾的
resourceful
[rɪˋsorsfəl]
a. 足智多謀的,善於應變的
territory
[ˋtɛrə͵torɪ]
n. 地盤;區域;領土,屬地
utter
[ˋʌtɚ]
a. 完全的
vt. 說
prey
[pre]
n. 獵物(集合名詞,不可數)
vi. 捕食
predator
[ˋprɛdətɚ]
n. 捕食者,掠食者
subtle
[ˋsʌt!]
a. 微妙的,細微的
variation
[͵vɛrɪˋeʃən]
n. 變化; 變動(常與介詞 in 並用)
tilt
[tɪlt]
vt. & vi. (使)傾斜
creep
[krip]
vi. 爬行;緩慢前進
odds
[ɑds]
n. 機率;不利情況(皆恆用複數)
potential
[pəˋtɛnʃəl]
n. 潛力
a. 潛在的
vocal
[ˋvok!]
n. (樂曲) 演唱部分 (常用複數)
a. 聲音的,歌唱的
Extra Words
magnetic
[mægˋnɛtɪk]
a. 磁的;磁性的;有吸引力的
northeasterly
[͵nɔrθˋistɚlɪ]
a. 向東北方的
pounce
[paʊns]
vi. 猛撲
slope
[slop]
n. 斜坡;山坡
rangefinder
[ˋrendʒ͵faɪndɚ]
n. 測距儀
magnetism
[ˋmægnə͵tɪzəm]
n. 磁性
vocalization
[͵vokələˋzeʃən]
n. 發聲
a magnetic field
 磁場
a sweet spot
 最佳的狀況
Practical Phrases
regardless of
 不論……、無論、儘管

Everyone is required to attend the meeting regardless of the typhoon.
儘管有颱風,每個人還是被要求出席會議。

prompt sb to
 促使某人做⋯⋯

A recent study prompted thousands of people to stop using the drug.
最近的一項研究促使數以千計的人停止使用該藥。

communicate with sb
 與某人溝通

I have difficulty communicating with a stubborn man like Tony.
我很難像東尼那樣固執的人溝通

care for sth/sb
 想要某物 / 照顧某人

Would you care for some pudding?
想要來點布丁嗎?

I’m looking for a babysitter to care for my son.
我正在找一位保姆來照顧我兒子。

thereby V-ing
 因此⋯⋯

The factory was closed down, thereby increasing the rate of unemployment in the area.
該工廠關閉,因而增加了該地區的失業率。

predominantly  adv.  絕大多數地;顯著地

•   The beach was packed with predominantly families and teenagers.

整個海灘幾乎被家庭和青少年擠滿了。


以下介紹 predominantly 的衍生字:

a. predominant  a.  占絕大多數的;顯著的

•   Yellow is the predominant color this summer in the fashion world.

黃色是今夏時尚界的主色調。

b. dominant   a. 主導的;占優勢的

   The firm has achieved a dominant position in the world market.

這家公司在全球市場上占有優勢地位。

c. dominate  vt. 支配,控制

•   Beth dominated the entire meeting and didn’t let anyone else speak.

貝絲主導了整場會議,不讓任何其他人發言。

d.    dominance  n. 主導(地位);優勢

•   The firm soon achieved complete dominance in the marketplace.

這家公司很快便取得在市場上的絕對主導地位。

e.    domination  n. 支配,統治

•   The country was, for a time, under England’s domination.

該國曾一度受英國統治。

This preferred leaping direction resulted in a much higher kill rate, with foxes finding success on 73% of their northeasterly pounces on their prey.

可用來修飾比較級形容詞或副詞的副詞或副詞片語

※   修飾一般形容詞或副詞可用 very、too、quite 等。

•   The words on the sign are too small. 那個招牌上的字太小了。

※   形容詞或副詞變成比較級時,可用下列副詞或副詞片語來強調其程度:

much far、by far

比較級形容詞


比較級副詞

a lot a great deal
還要來得更……;……得多

•   It is much easier to take a clock apart than to put it together again.

拆鐘要比再組裝好它容易多了。

•   I trust John because he does things a lot more carefully than you.

我信任約翰,因為他做事比你謹慎多了。

even

比較級形容詞

比較級副詞

甚至更……
still 更加地……

•   Despite the late departure, they arrived even earlier than expected.

儘管他們晚出發,卻甚至還比預期的更早抵達。

•   Jason grew still more frustrated when his computer crashed again.

當他的電腦再次當機時,傑森變得更加沮喪。

a bit a little

比較級形容詞

比較級副詞

a little bit somewhat
稍微……一點,比……多一點

 •   Anna found the weather today a little (bit) colder than yesterday.

安娜發現今天的天氣比昨天冷一點。

※   much 及 far 亦可修飾副詞 too。

•   This question is far too hard for my teacher to answer.

這個問題太難了,我的老師無法回答。

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 精選試題

It took _____ longer for the government to rescue the earthquake victims than planned.

(A) still far           (B) much

(C) far too           (D) very

 答案:B

 

狩獵高手狐狸原來靠的是地球磁場!?

  狐狸以狡猾和足智多謀聞名,但一項研究指出了另一個令人驚訝的天賦。來自捷克共和國的研究表明,這些生物在獵食時可能會利用地球的磁場。由雅羅斯拉夫‧切爾維尼領導的研究追蹤了野生赤狐兩年多,記錄了八十四隻狐狸近六百次的獵食跳躍。研究人員發現,這些動物主要是向東北方跳躍,不論時間、季節還是天氣條件如何。這種跳躍方向的偏好促成了更高的成功捕殺率,狐狸在對其獵物進行東北方向襲擊時成功率達到了 73%。

  這些結果讓切爾維尼得出結論,認為狐狸能夠感知地球磁場的細微變化,而地球磁場在北半球是向下傾斜的。當狐狸悄悄地更接近目標時,牠會聽取狩獵對象發出的聲音。當聲音抵達牠耳朵時的角度與地球磁場的斜度相匹配時,這就是最佳位置。基本上,狐狸將磁場作為一種「測距儀」用,以估計與其獵物的距離,從而增加成功獵捕的機會。

  狐狸可能是利用磁性來提高狩獵能力並不是狐狸複雜行為中唯一令人驚奇的面向。這些毛茸茸的動物還以其多樣的聲音表達而聞名。牠們能夠發出令人驚訝的多種聲音 ── 總共高達四十種!最著名的狐狸聲音是尖叫般的嚎叫,但牠們還會用吠叫、吱吱叫和哀鳴來彼此溝通。這些聲音用於保衛領土、求偶和照顧幼崽。除了狐狸發出的多種聲音和牠們可能會利用地球磁場之外,還有許多其他關於狐狸的有趣事實。但那些我們之後再聊吧。

 

1.    研究人員是如何得出關於狐狸的結論的?

(A)  透過將一隻狐狸關在籠子裡觀察數年。

(B)  透過對地球磁場的複雜計算。

(C)  透過聽狐狸在狩獵時發出的聲音。

(D)  透過在幾年的期間內檢視數十隻狐狸的行為。

 

2.    根據數據,當狐狸往某個特定方向跳時,成功率有多高?

(A)  大約一半。  (B)  大約三分之一。

(C)  將近四分之三。 (D)  超過九成。

 

3.    本文未提及狐狸多樣聲音的哪個目的?

(A)  照顧幼崽。  (B)  警告有掠食者來襲。

(C)  保護其領域。     (D)  求偶。

 

4.    根據本文,狐狸最有可能往哪一個方向跳以提高成功捕食的機率?

題解:     第一段提到,研究人員發現,狐狸主要是向東北方跳躍,而這種跳躍方向的偏好促成了更高的成功捕殺率,可知答案應選 (A) 向東北的方向跳。

答案:   1.    D    2.    C    3.    B    4.    A

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