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Spacing in Animals Flight Distance

Any observant person has noticed that a wild animal will allow a man or other potential enemy to approach only up to a given distance before it flees. “Flight distance” is the terms used for this interspecies spacing. As a general rule, there is a positive relationship between the size of an animal and its flight distance—the larger the animal, the greater the distance it must keep between itself and the enemy. An antelope will flee when the enemy is as much as five hundred yards away. The wall lizard’s flight distance, on the other hand is about six feet. Flight is the basic means of survival for mobile creatures.

Critical Distance

Critical distance apparently is present wherever and whenever there is a flight reaction. “Critical distance” includes the narrow zone separating flight distance from attack distance. A lion in a zoo will flee from an approaching man until it meets a barrier that it cannot overcome. If the man continues the approach, he soon penetrates the lion's critical distance, at which point the cornered lion reverses direction and begins slowly to stalk the man.

Social Distance

Social animals need to stay in touch with each other. Loss of contact with the group can be fatal for a variety of reasons including exposure to enemies. Social distance is not simply the distance at which an animal will lose contact with his group—that is, the distance at which it can no longer see, hear, or smell the group—it is rather a psychological distance, one at which the animal apparently begins to feel anxious when he exceeds its limits. We can think of it as a hidden band that contains the group.

Social distance varies from species to species. It is quite short—apparently only a few yards—among some animals, and quite long among others.

Social distance is not always rigidly fixed but is determined in part by the situation. When the young of apes and humans are mobile but not yet under control of the mother's voice, social distance may be the length of her reach. This is readily observed among the baboons in a zoo. When the baby approaches a certain point, the mother reaches out to seize the end of its tail and pull it back to her. When added control is needed because of danger, social distance shrinks. To show this in man, one has only to watch a family with a number of small children holding hands as they cross a busy street.

詞匯：

observant 觀察力敏銳的 barrier 障礙物

potential 潛在的 contact 聯系；接觸

survival 逃生，幸免 fatal 致命的

mobile 可動的，活動的 rigidly 刻板地，死板地

approach 朝……走近 baboon 狒狒

注釋：

1.spacing in animals：動物的間隔距離

2.flight distance：逃離距離

3.…there is a positive relationshipbetween the size of an animal and its flight distance：……動物體積與其逃離距離之間成正比關系。

4.antelope：羚羊

5.wall lizard：壁虎

6."Critical distance”include the narrow zone separating flight distance from attack distance：關鍵距離指逃離距離和進攻距離之間的狹窄區域。

7.reverse direction：調轉方向。

8.a hidden band that contains the group：一條控制群體的隱形帶

9.the length of her reach：她手臂夠得著的長度

練習：

1. Which of the following is the most appropriate definition of Flight Distance?

A. Distance between animals of the same species before fleeing.

B. Distance between large and small animals before fleeing.

C. Distance between an animal and its enemy before fleeing.

D. Distance between certain animal species before fleeing.

2. If an animal’s critical distance is penetrated, it will

A. begin to attack.

B. try to hide.

C. begin to jump.

D. run away.

3. According to the passage, social distance refers to

A. physical distance

B. psychological distance.

C. physiological distance.

D. philosophical distance.

4. Which of the following could best replace the word “band” in “We can think of it as a hidden band that contains the group” (in Paragraph 3)?

A. Strip of land

B. Distance

C. Society

D. Community

5. The example of the children holding hands when crossing the street in the last paragraph shows that

A. social distance is not always needed.

B. there is no social distance among small children.

C. humans are different from animals in social distance.

D. social distance is sometimes determined by outside factors.

答案與題解：

1.C此選項最符合原文對flight distance下的定義。

2.A 當動物的關鍵距離被入侵時，動物將開始進攻。原句為..at which point the cornered lion reverses direction and begins slowly to stalk the man.這日寸走投無路的獅子調轉頭來，開始慢慢地逼近那個人。

3.B 根據文章相聚距離指心理距離。原句為：...it is rather a psychological distance.

4.A從上下文看，band可解釋為strip of land (地帶）。

5.D最后的這個例子表明相聚距離的存在與否有時由外界因素決定。原句為：Social distance is not always rigidly fixed but is determined in part by the situation.

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