托福口语 Task 4

Today, we're going to talk about a fascinating concept in biology called 'mimicry', where one species evolves to resemble another for survival. There are two main types: protective mimicry and aggressive mimicry. Let me give you examples. First, the monarch butterfly is toxic to birds, so birds learn to avoid it. The viceroy butterfly, which is harmless, has evolved to look almost identical to the monarch. This is protective mimicry – it protects the viceroy from predators because birds mistake it for the toxic monarch. Second, consider the anglerfish. It lives in the deep ocean where light is scarce. It has a fleshy growth on its head that glows and wiggles like a small fish. Smaller fish are attracted to this 'lure', thinking it's prey. When they approach, the anglerfish snaps them up. This is aggressive mimicry – the anglerfish uses its resemblance to prey to lure other animals for food. So, in both cases, mimicry helps the organism survive, but the strategies serve different purposes: one is for defense, the other for attack.