托福口语 Task 4

Today, we're going to talk about a fascinating concept in animal behavior called 'tool use.' Now, tool use is when an animal uses an external object to achieve a goal that it couldn't achieve with its own body alone. This isn't just limited to primates—many other animals do it too. Let me give you two examples. First, consider the sea otter. Sea otters love to eat clams and crabs, but their shells are very hard. To crack them open, a sea otter will float on its back, place a stone on its chest, and then smash the clam against the stone. This stone is a tool that helps the otter access food it otherwise couldn't get to. Second, there's the woodpecker finch from the Galapagos Islands. This bird feeds on insects that hide deep inside tree bark. Its beak is not long enough to reach them, so it uses a cactus spine or a small twig. It holds the spine in its beak and pokes it into the holes to dislodge the insects. So, as you can see, tool use is a clever adaptation that helps animals solve problems in their environment.