Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class. Professor: Today we’re going to talk about animal communication, specifically the dance language of honeybees. When a worker bee discovers a rich source of nectar, she returns to the hive and performs a series of movements, known as the waggle dance. The dance encodes two key pieces of information: the direction and the distance of the food source relative to the sun. For direction, the angle of the dance relative to vertical on the honeycomb indicates the angle of the food source relative to the sun’s position. For distance, the duration of the waggle run correlates with how far the food is. Interestingly, studies show that bees can adjust their dance based on the quality of the nectar—they dance more vigorously for higher-quality sources. However, this dance is not innate; young bees learn it by observing experienced foragers. If a bee is isolated from the hive during its early life, it may perform a less precise dance, suggesting a learning component. This discovery challenges the earlier assumption that all bee communication is purely instinctive.
❓ Question What does the professor imply about the waggle dance of honeybees?
A. A. The dance is an innate behavior that does not change with experience.
B. B. The dance provides information about both the location and quality of food.
C. C. The dance is performed only by bees that have found food close to the hive.
D. D. The angle of the dance indicates the distance to the food source.
✅ Correct Answer
B. The dance provides information about both the location and quality of food.
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
