托福口语 Task 4

Today, we're going to talk about a fascinating phenomenon in animal behavior called 'biological mimicry.' Specifically, I want to focus on how some animals use mimicry not to hide from predators, but to attract prey. This is known as aggressive mimicry. Let me give you two examples. First, consider the anglerfish. It lives in the deep, dark ocean where light is scarce. The anglerfish has a glowing lure that dangles in front of its mouth. This lure looks like a small, wriggling worm. Smaller fish are attracted to the light and movement, thinking it's a meal. When they get close enough, the anglerfish snaps them up. Second, think about the snapping turtle. It has a pink, worm-like appendage on its tongue. The turtle lies still at the bottom of a murky pond, with its mouth open. When a hungry fish sees the pink 'worm' wiggling, it swims in to eat it. The turtle then quickly closes its jaws. In both cases, the predator uses a deceptive lure that resembles a common prey item to trick other animals into coming within striking distance.