Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class. The professor is discussing animal communication.
Professor: Today we're going to talk about how animals communicate, and I want to focus on a fascinating example: the waggle dance of honeybees. When a worker bee finds a good source of nectar, she returns to the hive and performs a dance on the vertical surface of the honeycomb. The dance consists of a figure-eight pattern, with a straight run in the middle. The angle of this straight run relative to vertical indicates the direction of the food source in relation to the sun. For example, if the bee runs straight up, it means the food is directly toward the sun. If the run is 45 degrees to the right of vertical, the food is 45 degrees to the right of the sun. The duration of the waggle run, on the other hand, communicates distance—the longer the run, the farther the food. But here's an interesting twist: the bees also adjust their dance based on the quality of the food. If the nectar is especially rich, the dance is more vigorous and repeated more times. So, this dance isn't just a simple message; it's a complex code that conveys multiple pieces of information.
❓ 質問 According to the professor, what does the angle of the straight run in the waggle dance indicate?
A. The distance to the food source
B. The direction of the food source relative to the sun
C. The quality of the nectar
D. The number of bees in the hive
✅ 正解
The direction of the food source relative to the sun
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