Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class.
Professor: Today, let's talk about animal communication, specifically the dance of honeybees. When a foraging bee returns to the hive, it performs a series of movements to tell other bees where food is located. For distances less than about 50 meters, the bee performs a round dance, moving in small circles. This dance only indicates that food is nearby, but not the direction. For greater distances, the bee performs a waggle dance. It moves in a figure-eight pattern, with a straight run in the middle, during which it waggles its abdomen. The angle of this straight run relative to the vertical on the honeycomb indicates the angle of the food source relative to the sun. The duration of the waggle run correlates with the distance—the longer the run, the farther the food. Interestingly, studies have shown that bees can adjust their dance based on the quality of the food source, such as sugar concentration, to recruit more or fewer foragers. This sophisticated system is a remarkable example of symbolic communication in the animal kingdom.
❓ Question What does the professor say about the round dance of honeybees?
A. It indicates the exact direction of the food source.
B. It signals that food is within a short distance but does not give direction.
C. It is used only when the food source has high sugar concentration.
D. It involves a figure-eight pattern with a straight waggle run.
✅ Correct Answer
It signals that food is within a short distance but does not give direction.
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