Pecking order
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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Reader question:

What does this sentence – It seems their whole pecking order in the pub revolves1 around how soon I acknowledge them and how long I talk to them – mean? Specifically what is "pecking order"?

My comments:

That sentence means that if, upon walking into the pub you nod to someone ahead of others in the group you make them feel important. Likewise, if you talk to, say, Tom for 10 minutes but only 6 seconds to Jerry, you make Tom look good and you make Jerry feel miserable2.

Pecking order is the order in which birds take their turns to peck (eat). As Oxford3 Dictionary points out, pecking order is a "social hierarchy4, as originally observed among hens".

As leaders of the pack, head hens (I like this, head hens) get to eat, drink and mate ahead of others. Among wolves and other beasts, it's the alpha male who gets to do the same things first. Among humans, leaders of a nation, heads of a company, school, family, etc, get to enjoy similar privileges, such as being able to walk in the front, or sit in the center, or speak first and for hours, or pick the best meat from the table.

In short, pecking order denotes the rankings observable in all types of societies, human or inhuman5 – I mean human or otherwise.

Here are examples to further illustrate6 the point.

1. The Final Word: Second-born kids face realities of the pecking order

Week after week, we read about the results of studies that researchers have just released.

Playing with fire can cause burns. Drinking bleach7 is dangerous to your health. Blondes still have more fun. And so on.

So I was hardly surprised last week when I read about new research on 21,000 people that finds firstborn children get more parental8 attention — 3,000 hours more — than their siblings9. Not only that, but more quality time is spent with firstborns even as they get older.

I could have saved those researchers at Brigham Young University a lot of time and money. All they needed to do was call. I'm a second child. My brother, Gary, is three years older.

Gary had 36 months of undivided attention before I arrived on the scene. And now it's proven he got undivided attention after I arrived, too. Not that I didn't already know.

I'm not saying I was abused, ignored or left on the hillside to fend10 off the wolves. I'm just asking where my baby album is.

I remember cleaning out the attic11 with my mom a few years ago, and we came upon Gary's. There was page after page of photographs of a fat farm baby. Gary arriving home from the hospital. Gary on a blanket. Gary with his teddy bear.

I then asked where my baby album was. Mom just mumbled12. She finally confessed she wasn't sure there was one.

It was then I realized what we second children have long known: To the victor go the spoils, the victor being he who arrives at the finish line first. The firstborn.

- USAToday.com, February 19, 2008

2. Sir Alex shunts Liverpool down the pecking order

Like a teenager obsessed13 with craptastic Australian soap operas, Sir Alex Ferguson cannot get enough of the drama at Anfield. In his latest utterance14 S'Alex stuck his oar15 in over Liverpool's attractiveness to players, saying, according to The Sun:

"Most players want to play for Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal16 or Liverpool. But when they see a club they think is topsy-turvy, with a divide between the manager and the directors, then they might think twice. When the choice comes, they want to join a stable club."

So is Fergie-Ferg right, are players going to start turning their noses up at Liverpool?

- www.caughtoffside.com, January 24, 2008

3. Chickens have a very complex social behavior. When the birds are maintained in small groups they will usually form a stable "peck order" (or hierarchy) among themselves. The highest number of birds that can maintain a stable hierarchy is unknown, but it seems to be somewhere between 20 and 100 chickens. If the peck order system is established, some chickens will be dominants18 and others will be subordinates; sometimes organized in a perfect linear dominance hierarchy. Dominants have priority of access to feed and water and nearly all other resources (including mates if they are in mixed mature groups). Although subordinates will have to wait for access to resources, the benefit they receive from this social system is a dramatic reduction in aggressive interactions.

However, when we deal with large numbers of birds it seems that the establishment of such a peck order is impossible, because the birds are incapable19 of individually recognizing every member of the group (required for establishing a peck order). When this happens, conflict or "social tension" is created. As a consequence, dominant17 chickens will monopolize20 access to resources, while subordinate birds cannot obtain access to food or water. This has been the traditional scientific explanation for the reduction in performance seen with increasing densities21.

- Bird Density22: How It Can Affect the Behavior and Health of Your Flock, www.thepoultrysite.cn, August, 1999  



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 revolves 63fec560e495199631aad0cc33ccb782     
v.(使)旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 );细想
参考例句:
  • The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是,轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
3 Oxford Wmmz0a     
n.牛津(英国城市)
参考例句:
  • At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
  • This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。
4 hierarchy 7d7xN     
n.等级制度;统治集团,领导层
参考例句:
  • There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
  • She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。
5 inhuman F7NxW     
adj.残忍的,不人道的,无人性的
参考例句:
  • We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
  • It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。
6 illustrate IaRxw     
v.举例说明,阐明;图解,加插图
参考例句:
  • The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
  • This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。
7 bleach Rtpz6     
vt.使漂白;vi.变白;n.漂白剂
参考例句:
  • These products don't bleach the hair.这些产品不会使头发变白。
  • Did you bleach this tablecloth?你把这块桌布漂白了吗?
8 parental FL2xv     
adj.父母的;父的;母的
参考例句:
  • He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
  • Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。
9 siblings 709961e45d6808c7c9131573b3a8874b     
n.兄弟,姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分
10 fend N78yA     
v.照料(自己),(自己)谋生,挡开,避开
参考例句:
  • I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
  • He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。
11 attic Hv4zZ     
n.顶楼,屋顶室
参考例句:
  • Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
  • What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理?
12 mumbled 3855fd60b1f055fa928ebec8bcf3f539     
含糊地说某事,叽咕,咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话,可我没太听清楚。
  • George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。
13 obsessed 66a4be1417f7cf074208a6d81c8f3384     
adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的
参考例句:
  • He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
  • The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。
14 utterance dKczL     
n.用言语表达,话语,言语
参考例句:
  • This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
  • My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽,泣不成声。
15 oar EH0xQ     
n.桨,橹,划手;v.划行
参考例句:
  • The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。
  • The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。
16 arsenal qNPyF     
n.兵工厂,军械库
参考例句:
  • Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
  • We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。
17 dominant usAxG     
adj.支配的,统治的;占优势的;显性的;n.主因,要素,主要的人(或物);显性基因
参考例句:
  • The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
  • She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。
18 dominants 4310792d915816d8e0106e96f06eab5e     
n.占优势的( dominant的名词复数 );统治的;(基因)显性的;高耸的
参考例句:
  • The species compeition, distribution and dominants species of soil ciliates in Tianmu Mountains was reported. 报道了天目山土壤纤毛虫的种类组成、分布及优势种类。 来自互联网
  • By applying reverse privileges to themselves, they hope to escape punishment from the real dominants. 通过赋予自己“反向特权”,他们希望借此逃避真正统治者的惩罚。 来自互联网
19 incapable w9ZxK     
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的
参考例句:
  • He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
  • Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。
20 monopolize FEsxA     
v.垄断,独占,专营
参考例句:
  • She tried to monopolize his time.她想独占他的时间。
  • They are controlling so much cocoa that they are virtually monopolizing the market.他们控制了大量的可可粉,因此他们几乎垄断了整个市场。
21 densities eca5c1ea104bef3058e858fe084fb6d0     
密集( density的名词复数 ); 稠密; 密度(固体、液体或气体单位体积的质量); 密度(磁盘存贮数据的可用空间)
参考例句:
  • The range of densities of interest is about 3.5. 有用的密度范围为3.5左右。
  • Densities presumably can be probed by radar. 利用雷达也许还能探测出气体的密度。
22 density rOdzZ     
n.密集,密度,浓度
参考例句:
  • The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
  • The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。
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