TOEFL TPO -1 Speaking Task 3 Sample: Explain how the example from the lecture ilustrates :the concept of evolutionary loss.

Historical user samples and AI evaluation results from an older TOEFL format.

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Older TOEFL Format

This task is from a previous version of the TOEFL exam. The current TOEFL has a different structure. These archived samples remain available as a reference for practice.

Task Overview

Reading Passage

Evolutionary Loss Over time, plant and animal species adapt in response to their environments and may develop new features that are helpful in those environments. However, evolution can also involve the loss of certain features. This is known as evolutionary loss . Evolutionary loss is observed in modern members of a species when they no longer have a feature that their ancestors once had. This often occurs because a species has moved to a new environment. The once-useful feature may no longer be helpful or even necessary in the new environment and therefore diminishes over successive generations, until it eventually disappears entirely.

Question

Explain how the example from the lecture ilustrates :the concept of evolutionary loss.

User Samples & Evaluation Results

Evaluation Result

1.子项得分

交付：3
语言使用：2.5
话题发展：3

2.预估分数

总分：22

3.表达在交付方面，发言者的语速较为稳定，但偶尔会有停顿。此外，发言者的发音也需要改进，以避免拼写错误。建议发言者多加练习，提高口语表达的流利度和准确性。

4.话题发展在话题发展方面，发言者基本上概述了讲座中的例子，并解释了为什么冰爬虫失去了翅膀这一特征。然而，发言者在解释过程中存在一些语法错误和表达不清晰的地方。建议发言者在组织回答时更加注意语法和逻辑结构，确保回答内容清晰、连贯。

5.语言使用

Original Answer: Well, in the lecture, the professor gave us an example to interpret what is evolutionary loss. And the example is a small insect named icecrawler. It lives in a cold area, which just don't have wings. But there are still a kind of species of squirrel live in the warm forest have wings. And they can get around, use the wings. They can use this ability to translate from flowers to flowers. But they lose their wings because of two reasons. One of the reasons is that they have competition in food. They are so proud. So some insects lose their wings. The other reason is that it can save the energy because it is too cold. And the energy can use it to be warm.

Corrected Answer: In the lecture, the professor provided an example to illustrate evolutionary loss. The example is a small insect called an ice crawler, which lives in cold areas and doesn't have wings. In contrast, there are species of insects that live in warm forests and have wings, allowing them to move from flower to flower. However, they lost their wings for two reasons. One reason is competition for food resources, leading some insects to lose their wings. The other reason is energy conservation in cold environments, as retaining warmth becomes more important. (在这段回答中，我们对一些语法错误和表达不清晰的地方进行了修改，以提高语言使用的准确性和自然度。)

Revised 140-word Answer:

In the lecture, the professor provided an example to illustrate the concept of evolutionary loss using a small insect called an ice crawler. These insects live in cold areas and lack wings, which is a result of their adaptation to new environments. In the past, their ancestors lived in warm forests and had wings, allowing them to move from flower to flower for feeding. However, due to increased competition for food resources and the need to conserve energy in cold environments, these insects eventually lost their wings. This evolutionary loss allowed them to better survive in their new habitats by focusing on staying warm and finding alternative food sources on the ground. The ice crawler's example demonstrates how species can lose certain features over time as they adapt to new environments and face different challenges.

6.思维导图


- Evolutionary Loss
    - Ice Crawler
        - Cold areas
        - No wings
    - Ancestors
        - Warm forests
        - Wings
        - Flower to flower
    - Reasons for losing wings
        - Competition for food resources
        - Energy conservation in cold environments
    - Adaptation to new environments

7.关键词

Word	Phonetic Symbols	Parts of Speech	English Definition	Simplified Chinese Translation	Sample Sentence
Evolutionary	/ˌɛvəˈluʃəˌnɛri/	adjective	Relating to the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form.	进化的	The study of evolutionary biology helps us understand how species adapt to their environments over time.
Adaptation	/ˌædəpˈteɪʃən/	noun	The process of changing to suit different conditions.	适应	The ice crawler's adaptation to cold environments led to the loss of its wings.
Conservation	/ˌkɒnsəˈveɪʃən/	noun	The action of conserving something, typically the environment or energy.	保护，保存	Energy conservation is crucial for ice crawlers to survive in cold environments.
Competition	/ˌkɒmpəˈtɪʃən/	noun	The activity or condition of striving to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others.	竞争	The increased competition for food resources in warm forests led to some insects losing their wings.
Environment	/ɪnˈvaɪrənmənt/	noun	The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.	环境	The ice crawler's ancestors lived in a completely different environment, which required them to have wings for feeding on flowers.