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The wonderful world of pigeons It is night. All is quiet. The soldiers are asleep while a guard watches for the enemy. There is a flash, and the sound of guns! They are being attacked! Hundreds of enemy soldiers rush towards them. They are all going to be killed unless they get help. What should they do? An officer writes a short message quickly on a small piece of paper: ‘Being attacked! Hurry!’ He rolls up the paper and puts it into a small case, and then reaches into a cage and gets a bird. Attaching the message to its leg, he sets the bird loose. It immediately flies into the air and disappears in the dark. Will the bird arrive in time? Will they be saved? Though it may seem hard to believe, the bird the officer uses is the same bird often seen in public parks—the pigeon. Pigeons have a wonderful sense of direction and can find their way home over long distances. Indeed, pigeons have been known to fly home from as far away as 1,800 kilometres. That is why pigeons have been used since ancient times to carry the news or even the mail. However, it was in war that they found their greatest use. During both World War I and II, pigeons were employed by armies to carry messages to and from the front lines, saving the lives of many soldiers and even helping win some important victories. How do pigeons find their way? Pigeons appear to have a compass inside them that tells them which way is north. How this compass works remains a mystery. Of course, since a compass alone is not enough to find one’s way, they also appear to use their sight and even their sense of smell to tell them which way they should go. Unlike humans, they never get lost and can always find their way home. 鸽子的奇妙世界 万籁俱寂的夜晚。除了一名哨兵在站岗放哨，所有士兵都在梦乡。突然一道闪光，枪声四起！他们遭到攻击了！数百名敌军士兵冲向了他们。除非获得救援，否则他们全都会被杀死。他们该怎么办？ 一名军官飞快地在一张小纸片上写道：“受袭！速援！” 他把纸片卷起来，放进一个小盒子里，然后伸手探入一个笼子，捉出一只鸟来。他将信系在它的腿上后，便松开鸟儿。它立刻飞向天空，消失在黑暗中。 这只鸟会及时到达吗？他们会得救吗？ 虽然这似乎令人难以置信，但是那名军官所用的鸟儿和我们常在公园里看到的一种鸟是同样的——鸽子。鸽子有着极强的方向感，能从很远的地方找到回家的路。确实，据知鸽子能飞行远达1800公里回到家。因为这个缘故，鸽子自古以来就被用于携带消息甚至邮件。然而，它们的最大用途却是在战争中发现的。在第一次世界大战和第二次世界大战期间，鸽子被军方用来和前线往返传递消息，挽救了许多士兵的生命，甚至帮助赢得了一些重要的胜利。 鸽子是怎么认路的呢？鸽子体内似乎有一只罗盘，告诉它们何处是北。这个罗盘是如何，工作的仍然是个谜。当然，由于仅靠一只罗盘不足以认路，它们似乎也使用视觉乃至嗅觉去辨明应该走哪条路。和人类不同，它们从不迷路，总是能找到归家的路。 |
