托福听力

🎧 听力原文

Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a student and her biology professor. Student: Professor, I wanted to talk to you about my research paper topic. I was thinking about exploring how urban environments affect bird communication, but I'm not sure if that's too broad. Professor: It's a great start, but you're right—it's broad. Have you considered narrowing it to a specific species or type of communication, like alarm calls or mating songs? Student: Actually, I was reading about how some birds change their song frequency in noisy cities to be heard over traffic. I found it fascinating. Professor: That's a specific and well-documented phenomenon. But remember, your paper should also address the ecological consequences. For example, if songs change, how does that affect mate attraction or territory defense? Student: I see. So I could focus on the trade-off between being heard and the cost of altered songs, maybe in a single species like the great tit. Professor: Exactly. And you might want to include some comparative data from rural populations. That would give your analysis more depth. Student: Great, I'll narrow it down to that. Thanks for your input! Professor: My pleasure. Be sure to submit your outline by Friday.