公共英語三級閲讀文章《動物的羅盤》

公共英語三級的難度不是很大，但是閲讀理解的難度對於不少考生來説還是不小的。因此，考生一定要加以練習。下面，送給大家一篇公共英語三級閲讀文章。

Researchers have found that migrating animals use a variety of inner compasses to help them navigate. Some steer by the position of the Sun. Others navigate by the stars. Some use the Sun as their guide during the day and then switch to star navigation by night. One study shows that the homing pigeon uses the Earth's magnetic fields as a guide in finding its way home and there are indications that various other animals from insects to mollusks, can also make use of magnetic compasses. It is of course very useful for a migrating bird to be able to switch to a magnetic compass when clouds cover the Sun; otherwise it would just have to land and wait for the Sun to come out again.

Even with the Sun or stars to steer by, the problems of navigation are more complicated than they might seem at first. For example, a worker honeybee that has found a rich source of nectar and pollen flies rapidly home to the hive to report. A naturalist has discovered that the bee scout delivers her report through a complicated dance in the hive, in which she tells the other workers not only how far away the food is, but also what direction to fly in relation to the Sun. But the Sun does not stay in one place all day. As the workers start out to gather the food, the Sun may already have changed its position in the sky somewhat. In later trips during the day, the Sun will seem to move farther and farther toward the west. Yet the worker bees seem to have no trouble at all in finding the food source. Their inner clocks tell them just where the Sun will be and they change their course correspondingly.

研究人員已經發現遷徙性動物可以藉助各種各樣的體內羅盤來校正方向。有些動物藉助太陽的位置辨別方向，有些則依靠星星。還有的白天利用太陽，晚上利用星星。有研究發現信鴿以地磁場為嚮導來找到回家的`路。還有跡象表明許許多多其它生物，從昆蟲到軟體動物，也能利用這種磁場羅盤。具有這種磁場羅盤，對候鳥來説當然非常有用，因為如果烏雲遮日，它可以以磁場為嚮導繼續飛行，否則它就只好着陸，等待太陽重新出現。

即使是藉助太陽或星星導航，其中的學問也比它表面看起來的要複雜得多。例如，一隻工蜂找到了花圃蜜園，急忙飛回蜂房報信。博物學家發現這隻蜂探在蜂房裏跳了一段極為複雜的舞，通過這段舞她不但告訴其它工蜂食物有多遠，而且報告了以太陽為參照的飛行路線。但太陽不會呆在天上不動。當蜂羣出發採食時，太陽可能已經多少改變了它在天空中的位置。出發得越遲，太陽就越偏西，可這似乎沒給尋找食物源的工蜂們帶來任何不便。它們體內的時鐘告訴他們太陽應在的位置，據此它們相應地改變前進的方向。

　附：公共英語三級閲讀技巧

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