Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class. Professor: Today we're going to talk about animal communication, specifically the waggle dance of honeybees. This dance was first decoded by Karl von Frisch in the 1940s, and it's a remarkable example of symbolic communication. When a forager bee returns to the hive after finding a good nectar source, it performs a dance on the vertical surface of the honeycomb. The dance consists of a straight run, followed by a turn to the right, then back to the start, then a turn to the left, and so on. The direction of the straight run relative to vertical indicates the direction of the food source relative to the sun. For example, if the straight run is upward, the food is directly toward the sun. If it's 45 degrees to the right of vertical, the food is 45 degrees to the right of the sun. The duration of the waggle portion of the run indicates the distance. Longer waggles mean farther distances. Interestingly, von Frisch also found that bees use this dance to communicate not just direction and distance, but also the quality of the food source. Bees will repeat the dance more vigorously and for a longer time if the nectar is richer in sugar. So, the dance is not just a map but also a recommendation.
❓ 문제 What does the professor say about the waggle dance of honeybees?
A. A) It was first studied in the 1990s by a researcher named Karl von Frisch.
B. B) The direction of the straight run indicates the distance to the food source.
C. C) The duration of the waggle portion indicates the distance to the food source.
D. D) The dance is only used to communicate the direction, not the quality, of food.
✅ 정답
C) The duration of the waggle portion indicates the distance to the food source.
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