托福口语 Task 4

Today we're going to talk about a fascinating survival strategy in animals called 'behavioral thermoregulation.' This means animals actively change their behavior to control their body temperature, rather than relying solely on their internal physiology. Let me give you two examples. First, consider the desert iguana, a lizard that lives in the scorching American Southwest. When the sun is too hot, it climbs onto rocks or low bushes, lifting its body off the ground to catch cooling breezes. This behavior—called 'perching'—allows the wind to carry away heat, keeping its body from overheating. Second, think of the honeybee. On cold mornings, worker bees cluster together in a tight ball, shivering their wing muscles to generate heat. By doing this, they maintain the hive's temperature at around 35 degrees Celsius, even when outside temperatures drop to near freezing. So you see, these animals use deliberate actions to create a microclimate that suits their survival needs.