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Listen to an Academic Talk Test #041
Listen to an Academic Talk
1. What is the main topic of the talk?
A) Different types of bird nests
B) A reproductive strategy involving a host and a parasite
C) How cuckoo chicks learn to fly
D) Competition for food between bird species
2. According to the professor, what does a cuckoo chick do after it hatches?
A) It mimics the behavior of the host's chicks.
B) It helps the host parents find food.
C) It removes the host's eggs from the nest.
D) It waits for the host's chicks to leave the nest.
3. What can be inferred about the host parents?
A) They are usually larger than the cuckoo.
B) They can distinguish the cuckoo's egg from their own.
C) They are aware of the cuckoo's parasitic strategy.
D) They do not recognize the cuckoo chick as a foreigner.
4. Why does the professor mention that the cuckoo egg mimics the host's eggs?
A) To explain how the cuckoo avoids detection by the host
B) To describe the nutritional value of different eggs
C) To suggest that cuckoos and hosts have a common ancestor
D) To illustrate a weakness in the cuckoo's strategy
Professor: Today we're going to discuss a fascinating reproductive strategy in the animal kingdom called brood parasitism. This is when one species, the parasite, lays its eggs in the nest of another species, the host, tricking the host into raising its young.
The classic example is the cuckoo bird. The female cuckoo finds a suitable host nest, often of a much smaller bird, removes one of the host's eggs, and lays her own in its place. The cuckoo egg often mimics the host's eggs in color and pattern.
Once the cuckoo chick hatches, it instinctively pushes the host's own eggs or young chicks out of the nest. This behavior ensures it receives all the food from the unsuspecting host parents. This strategy allows the cuckoo to avoid the energy costs of raising its own young, but it is devastating for the host species, which loses its entire reproductive effort for that season.
The classic example is the cuckoo bird. The female cuckoo finds a suitable host nest, often of a much smaller bird, removes one of the host's eggs, and lays her own in its place. The cuckoo egg often mimics the host's eggs in color and pattern.
Once the cuckoo chick hatches, it instinctively pushes the host's own eggs or young chicks out of the nest. This behavior ensures it receives all the food from the unsuspecting host parents. This strategy allows the cuckoo to avoid the energy costs of raising its own young, but it is devastating for the host species, which loses its entire reproductive effort for that season.
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