问答题 A mysterious phenomenon is the ability of over-water migrants to travel on course. Birds, bees, and other species can keep track of time without any sensory cues from the outside world, and such "biological clocks" clearly contribute to their "compass sense". For example, they can use the position of the Sun or stars, along with the time of day, to find north. But compass sense alone cannot explain how birds navigate the ocean: after a flock traveling east is blown far south by a storm, it will assume the proper northeasterly course to compensate. Perhaps, some scientists thought, migrants determine their geographic position on Earth by celestial navigation, almost as human navigators use stars and planets, but this would demand of the animals a fantastic map sense. Researchers now know that some species have a magnetic sense, which might allow migrants to determine their geographic location by detecting variations in the strength of the Earth's magnetic field.
【正确答案】候鸟飞越水面时能保持正确路线,这是一种神秘莫测的现象。鸟类、蜜蜂还有其他一些种类的生物体,不必借助对外部世界事物的感觉,就能够感知时间的变化。这样的“生物钟”本能显然有助于这类动物的“方位感”。例如,鸟类能够根据太阳或者恒星的位置,结合时辰来确定正北的方向。但是,只用方位感还不能解释鸟类在海洋上是如何飞行的:一个向东飞行的鸟群被一场暴风雨吹得偏向南方时,它们会以适当地向东北飞行来弥补偏离的角度。有些科学家认为,就象人类采用恒星和行星来定位一样,候鸟或许也是采用天体的导航才得以确定它们所处的地理位置,但这要求这类动物具有令人难以置信的天体地图感,现在,研究人员确认有些动物具有地磁感。也许候鸟就是通过探测地球磁场的变化来确定它们所处的地理位置的。
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