托福口语 Task 4

Today we're going to talk about a fascinating phenomenon in animal behavior called 'biological preparedness.' This refers to the idea that animals, including humans, are genetically predisposed to learn certain associations more easily than others, because such learning has survival value. Let me give you two examples. First, consider rats. In laboratory experiments, researchers found that rats easily learn to associate a taste with feeling sick, even if the sickness occurs hours after eating. However, they have great difficulty learning to associate a visual or auditory cue, like a flashing light or a tone, with feeling sick. This makes sense because in the wild, rats are foragers and are more likely to encounter toxic foods, so linking taste to illness is crucial for survival. Second, think about humans and fear. People develop phobias more readily to objects that posed ancient threats, such as snakes, spiders, or heights, than to modern dangers like cars or electrical outlets. Even in a modern city, a child is far more likely to develop a fear of snakes after a scary encounter than a fear of cars, even though cars are statistically more dangerous. This bias reflects our evolutionary history.