Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class. Professor: Good morning. Today we’re going to talk about animal communication, specifically the waggle dance of honeybees. This dance is a remarkable example of symbolic communication. When a forager bee finds a rich source of nectar, it returns to the hive and performs a dance. 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 relative to the sun. The duration of the dance, or more precisely, the number of waggles, signals the distance. For example, if the food is about 100 meters away, the bee performs about 10 waggles per second. But if the food is farther, say 500 meters, the waggles slow down. What’s fascinating is that this dance is not innate; young bees learn it by observing experienced foragers. In fact, studies have shown that bees raised in isolation never develop the full dance. So, this is a learned behavior, not just instinct. Any questions?
❓ Question What does the waggle dance primarily communicate according to the professor?
A. The color and smell of the flowers
B. The direction and distance of the food source
C. The quality of the nectar's sugar content
D. The location of a new hive site
✅ Correct Answer
The direction and distance of 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