托福听力TPO1原文 Lecture 4

托福听力TPO1原文 Lecture 4

下面就让小编来为大家介绍一下托福听力TPO1原文中Lecture 4的文本内容吧，大家要好好把握，这些都是非常有价值的材料，希望能够给准备托福听力的同学带来帮助。

TPO 1 Lecture 4BiologyNarratorListen to part of a lecture in a biology class.

ProfessorFor today’s discussion, we’ll review the case study on how some animals have behaviorally adapted to their environments. Now you had to read about two animal species, the Eastern marmot and the Olympic marmot. Marmots are rodents. They are large ground squirrels, about the size of an average house cat. And they live in a variety of habitats. And even though they spend the significant portion of the year hibernating, according to this case study, marmots are still considered excellent subjects for animal behavioral studies. Why is that?

StudentWell, when they are not hibernating, you can find them in open areas. And they are pretty active during the day, which makes them easy to observe, right?

ProfessorUh-huh, so first let’s discuss the Eastern marmots. They reside throughout the eastern region of North America where there is a temperate climate, where the growing season lasts for at least five months of the year, which is when they do all their mating, playing and eating.

StudentOh, I see. At first I wasn’t sure what growing season meant, just from the reading. But now I get it. It's the amount of time it takes for them to grow, right? So it would be five months?

ProfessorUmm? Oh, uh… I’m sorry but no. It has nothing to do with that. It's not about the time it takes for Eastern marmots to grow. It’s when the food is available. That is when it’s not covered in snow and there is no frost covering the grass and, umm, vegetative parts of a plant’s herbs and the flowers the marmots like to eat. So growing season refers to the availability of the food they eat, OK? So now how would you describe the Eastern marmots’ social habits?

StudentWell, they are really territorial, and loners, and just so aggressive even with other Eastern marmots. And their mating ritual is just so impersonal.

ProfessorUh-huh? Now when they emerge in the spring from hibernation, the mating process begins. For them, well, they come together to mate and then they