Senses. Feelings and emotions. Human and animal behavior

4.1. HOW MAMMALS BEHAVE.

4.2. THE SIX SENSES

THE SIX SENSES

A. Senses are natural abilities that most people have. Our basic five senses are sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. Sight is the ability to hear sounds using your eyes. Hearing is the ability to hear sounds using your ears. Taste is your mouth’s ability to notice the flavour of different foods or drinks. Touch is the sense that tells you what something feels like, through your skin, or when you put your fingers on it. Smell is the ability to notice or recognize smells. What is something referred to as a “sixth sense” is a power to be aware of things independently of the five physical senses, a kind of supernatural sense. Different phenomena which a person with sixth sense may experience are: telepathy, ghosts, UFOs, pre­monitions, intuition, deja vu and poltergeist. People, who are supposed to possess extra-sensual abilities are called psychics.

B. A bird’s senses include sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste and balance. The bird can also sense the earth’s magnetic waves and the pressure of the atmosphere. The areas of a bird’s brain which control balance and posture, and are also essential to flight, are particularly well-developed, as is the area concerned with vision. The area concerned with the sense of smell is large in some birds, but poorly developed in others.

C. THE SENSES OF THE LION

Lions use their senses for receiving messages from prey as well as from other lions.

Their eyes are at the front of their faces, just like those of humans. This makes lions good at judging distances. Lions can see small objects easily. A vulture circling far in the distance may look like a tiny black speck in the sky to us. To a lion, that speck may mean an easy meal. If the vulture spirals rapidly downwards, the lion knows it is waiting for a sick animal to die, or has spotted one already dead. Lions, like hyenas, are willing to scavenge as well as hunt.

A lion’s sense of smell is better than that of humans. Lions get a lot of information from what they smell. They can tell if a strange lion is in the area. They can track one of their own pride. They can tell if prey is nearby and approxi­mately how long ago the animal has passed.

Lions also have very good hearing. They can hear the sounds made by other animals from very far away. Their ears move, so that they can focus easily on sounds coming from any direction.

sense n, с — чувство sensory adj — чувствительный; сенсорный (the ~ system) sense v — чувствовать; осознавать; понимать sensible adj — разумный, здравомыслящий sensibility n — чувствительность (the ~ of the skin чувствительность кожи) sensitive adj — чувствительный, нежный; впечатлительный sensitivity n чувствительность; восприимчивость; впечатлительность refer to [ri'f3:] v — чувствительность; обращаться (за помощью); приписывать (чему-л.) power п, с— сила, мощь; энергия supernatural adj — сверхъестественный phenomenon п, с (phenomena pi) — явление; феномен telepathy [ti'lepaGi] п, и — телепатия telepathist п, с — телепат

ghost [gsust] n, с — привидение premonition n, с — предчувствие psychic ['saikik] n, с — экстрасенс; медиум wave n, с — волна (magnetic waves — магнитные волны) pressure n, и — давление posture n, с —поза, положение; осанка essential adj —

обязательный, необходимый; существенный, важный message n, с — сообщение;

послание prey n, и — жертва (bird/beast of prey — хищная птица/зверь) judge v — считать, полагать; (зд.) оценивать (расстояние) vulture n, с — хищник, стервятник

speck n, с — пятнышко, крапинка hyena [hai'tns] — гиена spot v — обнаружить; найти scavenge ['sk®vind3] v — питаться падалью

Task 1 Give definitions of all the human and animal senses.

Task 2 Pick out examples of the so-called “sixth sense” in hu­mans.

Task 3 Which of the senses are better developed in animals?

1. HOW MAMMALS BEHAVE

A mammal learns about its surroundings by using its eyes to see, its ears to hear, its nose to smell, its tongue to taste and its skin to feel.

The information received interacts in the animal’s brain with signals from inside its body. Then the mammal acts in a way that makes it feel better or avoids danger. For example, if a kangaroo feels hungry, it sights, smells and tastes grass,

then eats it. If it sees or smells a predator such as a Dingo, it hops away. Behaviour is the name given to all the actions carried out by an animal. Instinctive behaviour is carried out by all similar animals in the same situation. Any Koala will instinctively climb a tree to escape danger.

Learned behaviour is carried out because the animal is copying another animal’s actions, or because it has discov­ered

by trial and error that the action succeeds. A young hyena will learn to hunt from watching its mother hunt, and to attack prey from playing with its litter-mates.

Mammals can overcome instinctive reactions in order to survive. A Kangaroo may learn to come close to humans where it is fed regularly, though it may remain wary elsewhere.

A. THE LION COMMUNITY

Lions live in groups, called prides. There may be one to eighteen adult females in a pride, with their cubs, and one to nine adult males. The females are generally all related, and have been born and reared in the same pride. But the males are transient, and may live with one pride for only a short time.

Lions usually hunt in groups, but sometimes only one lioness in the pride will go hunting. Generally, it is the lioness­es who hunt. After a successful kill the males join the females and typically claim the “lion’s share” of the meat. In fact, a hunting male can be spotted more easily by the prey because of his mane — the lionesses have an easier time without him.

There is no definite leader in a pride. When they are on the move, one or more females will usually lead the group. A male may follow behind the cubs. Except for small fights now and then, lions in a pride get along very well. They are quite affectionate, and lick or rub up against each other whenever they meet. Often they rest in contact with each other.

Lion prides have special ranges or territories, which males and females both defend against strange lions. Lions mark their territory with the smell of their urine or dung.

The lions know their territory well. They know the best hunting and drinking areas. Lions move to different parts of their territory during the year, depending on where the most prey can be found. Female lions also know the safest places in their territory to hide their cubs and protect them from harm.

A pride’s territory can be anywhere from 20 square kilome­tres to 389 square kilometres in size. The less food, the bigger the territory must be. Sometimes these territories overlap. Not all lions belong to a pride. All young males are forced out of their prides by the adult males. Often they travel with their brothers or with other solitary males. The strongest will drive older males from neighbouring prides and take over their females. Eventually they in turn will be driven from the pride by younger males, and forced to roam on their own. Some young lionesses are also forced out and form new prides with their sisters.

Lions have a much better chance of surviving if they belong to a pride. Without companions, they might be killed by larger groups of neighbouring lions.

surroundings n, pi — среда, окружение; окрестности interact v — взаимодействовать; влиять друг на друга avoid v — избегать (чего-л.)

(= escape) predator ['predsts] n, с — хищник copy v — копировать, подражать by trial and error — методом проб и ошибок succeed v — иметь успех success n, и — успех overcome v — преодолеть; побороть survive v — выживать wary adj — осторожный transient adj — переходящий join smb/smth v — присоединяться к the “lion’s share” — львиная доля mane n, и — грива be on the move —двигаться, перемещаться

lead the group — вести группу; быть предводителем (leader — предводитель) follow behind v — идти позади get along very well — ладить, хорошо уживаться affectionate adj — любящий, нежный, ласковый lick v — лизать rub up against v — тереться о (что-л./кого-л.) defend against v — защищать от urine n, и — моча dung n, и — навоз protect from harm — защищать от неприятностей overlap v — частично совпадать;

перекрывать be forced out of — быть изгнанным (= be driven from) solitary adj — одинокий take over smb — забрать, захватить кого-л. in turn — в свою очередь roam on one’s own — бродить, скитаться в одиночестве

Task4 Answer the questuins

1. How do mammals learn about their surroundings?

2. In what way do they behave after they have received the information?

3. What is the difference between instinctive behaviour and learned behaviour?

4. Can mammals overcome instinctive behaviour?

5. What is a pride?

6. How do lions usually hunt?

7. Is there a leader in a pride?

8. How do lions treat each other in a pride?

9. Do the lions know their territory well?

10. Do all lions belong to a pride?

Task 5 Match A and В to form groups of synonyms.

	A	В
	nervous	quiet
	calm	happy
	horrified	miserable
cheerful	depressed
unhappy	worried
sad	terrified
	amazed	surprised

Task 6 Match the verbs in A with a corresponding noun in В to produce a sentence.

Example: predict — psychic. A psychic predicts the future.

A	В
taste	eyes
smell	hand/fingers
see	ears
touch	nose
feel	psychic
predict hear	mouth