How long do they travel? time or distance?

[hetzer]

Hi, thank you for your help.

In the textbook there is a sentence:
How long do they travel? Here, they refer to the animals.

The next sentence is this:
Over 500 kilometers.


Is it natural for the natives to answer the distance in response to the question with "how long"?

I think we should answer about time, when asked with "how long." How about you? Which do you prefer?

 

[bhaisahab]

To have a distance as the answer the question should be "How far do they travel?"

 

[hetzer]

Thank you, Mr. bhaisahab.
I thought the same, but the editors told me the sentences have been cleared by the native speakers of English, and have no problems.
I see two of you agree with Mr. bhaisahab's idea. I would like to hear more from other people. If you have time, please let me know your ideas.
Thank you.

 

[bhaisahab]

The editors are mistaken. The book is wrong.

 

[Tarheel]

We would say either:

How far do you travel?

or

How long does it take?
​

 

[MikeNewYork]

I agree with "far".

 

[emsr2d2]

How far do they travel?
500 kilometres.

How long do they travel for?
Six weeks.

The only ambiguous question I can think of is "How long is their journey?" I can imagine getting either "500 kilometres" or "Six weeks" as the answer to that question, but that is not the question in the book.

The book is wrong.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Is it OK to say 'How long do they cover?'
Not a teacher.

 

[MikeNewYork]

No, that doesn't work.

 

[Barb_D]

I would also note that (where I have lived) if you are asked "How far are you from...?" you may get either "x miles" or the time it takes you to travel there

How far are you from Philadelphia? I usually answer "about an hour, depending on traffic."