According to a team of researchers, an animal’s ability to perceive (感知) time is linked to their pace of life.
“Our results lend support to the importance of time perception in the animal kingdom where the ability to perceive time in a very short time may cause the difference between life and death for fast moving creatures,” commented the lead author Kevin Healy from Trinity College Dublin.
The study was conducted with a variety of animals using phenomena based on the maximum speed of flashes of light an individual can see before the light source is seen as a constant. Dogs, for example, have eyes with a refresh rate higher than humans.
“One example of this phenomenon at work,” the authors said, “is the housefly and its ability to avoid being hit.” The research showed “flies observe motion within a shorter time than our own eyes do”, which allows them to avoid being hit.
Professor Graeme Ruxton of the University of St Andrews in Scotland, who worked jointly on the research project, said in a statement, “Having eyes that send updates to the brain at much higher frequencies than our eyes do is of no value if the brain cannot process that information equally quickly. Thus, this work highlights the perceptual abilities of even the smallest animal brains. Flies might not be deep thinkers, but they can make good decisions very quickly.”
In comparison, the tiger beetle (虎甲虫) runs faster than its eyes can keep up, basically becoming blind, which requires it to stop periodically to reevaluate its prey’s (猎物) position.
【小题1】What is the research mentioned in the passage mainly about?| A．The pace of life of animals. |
| B．The impressive abilities of animals. |
| C．The lifetime of small animals. |
| D．The time perception of animals. |
| A．The survival of fast moving animals relies on their ability to perceive time. |
| B．Animals with quicker pace of life have better perception of time. |
| C．The ability of animals to perceive time depends on their high moving speed. |
| D．Animals with the poor ability to perceive time have a shorter life. |
| A．They can think very deeply before they act. |
| B．They can process the information as quickly as they receive it. |
| C．They can fly much faster than their eyes can keep up. |
| D．They can send information to the brain more quickly. |
| A．Slow down to gain its time perception. |
| B．Prevent itself from becoming blind. |
| C．Stop occasionally to spot the prey again. |
| D．Try to run as fast as it can. |
