Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class. Professor: So, we've been discussing animal communication, and today I want to focus on a fascinating example: the waggle dance of honeybees. When a worker bee discovers a good source of nectar, she returns to the hive and performs a series of movements on the vertical surface of the honeycomb. The dance consists of a figure-eight pattern, and the angle of the straight run relative to vertical indicates the direction of the food source relative to the sun. The duration of the waggle run, meanwhile, correlates with the distance to the food—the longer the run, the farther the source. But here's an interesting nuance: bees don't just communicate location; they also convey the quality of the food through the vigor of the dance. A richer nectar source results in more repetitions and a more enthusiastic performance. So, the waggle dance is not merely a directional signal, but a sophisticated message that includes both spatial and qualitative information, ensuring the colony's foraging efficiency.
❓ Pregunta What does the professor imply about the waggle dance of honeybees?
A. A) The dance primarily signals the type of flower visited.
B. B) The angle of the dance indicates the quality of the nectar.
C. C) The dance encodes both distance and quality of the food source.
D. D) The duration of the dance is unrelated to the distance.
✅ Respuesta correcta
C) The dance encodes both distance and quality 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