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TOEFL Directory > TOEFL writing > TOEFL Reading Class Unit 2_Passage 22_question 232-242
TOEFL Reading Class Unit 2_Passage 22_question 232-242
You have about 15 minutes to finish this passage.
First,use about 3-4 minutes to read the passage, try to understand the main idea of this passage.
Don't read it so slowly or try to remember all details.You need to do "fast reading",and "scan" the passage.
Second, read questions 1-11, and with questions you go back the passage again and look for correct answers.
Question 232-242
Passge 22
One of the most complex communication systems---certainly among invertebrates---is that of honeybees. For maximum foraging efficiency, workers must convey to one another the location of good food sources, which may change frequently as various flowers bloom or new fields of flowers are located. How do honeybees communicate? The problem was studied in the 1940's by Austrian zoologist Karl von Frisch. By carefully watching individual bees when they returned to the vertical face of an open hive, von Frisch discovered that other bees gather around the bee that has returned. The returned bee then goes through a "dance.? Based on his experiments, von Frisch proposed that the dance indicates the location of food. If the source is relatively close---less than about 50 meters---the bee moves rapidly sideways in tight circles (the ?i>round dance?, causing the others to become excited. Often the dancer regurgitates some nectar that the others taste. The workers then leave the hive and begin foraging nearby. Although the round dance does not indicate direction, tasting the nectar is likely to help the bees identify a scent to fly toward.
If the food is farther away, more information is needed. A worker returning from a longer distance does a "waggle dance? a half-circle swing in one direction, followed by a straight run and then a half- circle swing in the other direction. According to von Frisch, this dance indicates both direction and distance. The angle of the straight run in relation to the vertical surface of the open hive is the same as the horizontal angle of the food in relation to the Sun. If the bee runs at a 30?angle to the left of vertical, the other workers will fly 30?to the left of the horizontal direction of the Sun. If the dancer runs directly upward, the others will fly directly toward the Sun, and so forth. Distance to the food is indicated by variation in the speed at which a bee wags its abdomen during the straight run.
232. What does the passage mainly discuss?
a) A method of studying insect behavior
b) The accomplishments made in the 1940's in zoology
c) Communication systems of invertebrates
d) The way honeybees communicate location of a food source
233. The word complex in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) unique
b) mysterious
c) well-known
d) elaborate
234. The word they in the passage refers to
a) fields of flowers
b) the individual bees returning to the hive
c) the other bees waiting in the hive
d) invertebrates
235. The word proposed in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) supported
b) discussed
c) intended
d) hypothesized
236. According to the passage, the round dance of the honeybee indicates that the
a) source of food is close to the hive
b) source of food is over 50 meters away from he hive
c) bees should follow the direction of the Sun to the food source
d) bees should follow the direction of the dance to the food source
237. The word foraging in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) searching for food
b) building beehives
c) attacking another beehive
d) feeding other bees
238. According to the passage, why does a honeybee regurgitate nectar?
a) As part of reproductive behavior
b) To identify itself as a member of the hive
c) To help other honeybees identify the scent of the food source
d) As a method of self-protection against other insects
239. It can be inferred from the passage that if a bee makes a straight run downward in the "waggle dance,?the food is located
a) in the direction opposite the Sun
b) in the direction directly toward the Sun
c) in the direction opposite the beehive
d) opposite the vertical surface of the open beehive
240. The word variation in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) control
b) measurement
c) change
d) spreading
241. According to the passage, the distance from the hive to the food is determined by
a) the time of day the honeybee returns to the hive
b) the location at which the honeybee dances the waggle dance
c) how long the honeybee dances the waggle dance
d) the speed at which the honeybee dances the waggle dance
242. What can be inferred from the passage about honeybees?
a) Honeybees within the same hive are highly competitive for food.
b) Honeybees must rely on the one bee in the colony who knows the "dances?to learn where food sources are located.
c) Honeybees' communication system was not understood by scientists until the 1940's.
d) Honeybees possess one of the simplest communication systems among insects.
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