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.
❓ คำถาม What is the main purpose of the conversation?
A. To discuss the student's grade on her research paper
B. To help the student narrow down her research paper topic
C. To explain why birds change their songs in cities
D. To remind the student about an assignment deadline
✅ คำตอบที่ถูกต้อง
To help the student narrow down her research paper topic
TOEFL Listening Tips
Skim the questions first to predict the content
Watch for signal words in lectures and conversations (however, actually, in fact)
For main idea questions, focus on the beginning; for detail questions, focus on examples and data
For attitude questions, pay attention to the speaker's tone and word choice
Take notes on keywords; don't try to write down every word