TOEFL  - Speaking Question 4

<<<Previous    IBT Q4, TOEFL IBT Sample 10    Next>>>

Directions: In this question, you will read a short passage and then listen to a talk on the same academic topic. You will then answer a question about them. After you hear the question, you will have 30 seconds to prepare your response and 60 seconds to speak. You have 45 seconds to read the passage.

  

 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Question 

 

Animal Domestication Humans have been domesticating, or taming, animals for thousands of years. The cow, pig, horse and other animals that once lived in the wild are now used by humans. These large domesticated mammals are used for a variety of jobs in fields such as agriculture and transportation. Attempts have been made to domesticate many different types of animals, but not all attempts were successful. Animals that were not able to be successfully domesticated generally share certain characteristics. An animal that is non-territorial, or an animal that doesn’t think it has its own area, has a much better chance of being domesticated. Animals that live in herds and have a specific leader are also easier to domesticate because the master, or human, can function as this leader.

 

Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture from an ecology class.

 

Professor: In this chapter we are discussing the aptness of certain types of animals for domestication and the characteristics that make them this way. Animals that live in herds, such as the horse, yes…the horse is a perfect example, are much easier to domesticate than animals that don’t live in herds. These herds generally consist of an alpha male horse, who is the boss, several female horses, and a few foals. The females and young foals follow the alpha male around and listen to him. When the herd moves to a different location, all of the horses of the herd follow the male. This willingness to follow others makes horses perfect in pulling objects or when several are harnessed together: all following the first. Horses also have overlapping territories, and they don’t fight with the other herds.

But with a large mammal like the bear, well, how often do you see a large group of bears all sitting around with each other? You don’t, because they are not animals that live in herds, and they don’t follow any other bear in particular. If bears can’t get along with each other, how can they get along with a human who is telling them what they can or cannot do? Bears are also highly territorial and mark their territory in the wild. If you are walking through the woods and see some large scratch marks above eye-level, that means you are walking around some marked territory. It’d probably be best to leave, unless you want to fight with the bear over his territory.

 

Narrator: Now get ready to answer the question.

 

Narrator: The professor describes the behavior of horses and bears. Explain how their behavior is related to their aptness for domestication.