TOEFL TPO 54 Speaking Task 4 Sample: Using points and examples from the lecture, explain what determines animals' 24-hour activity cycle.

1.子项得分 Delivery: 3 Language Use: 3 Topic Development: 3

2.预估分数 Estimated Score: 23

3.表达 从表达方面来看，发言者的语言流利，语速基本一致，仅有少量停顿。为了提高口语表达能力，建议发言者注意以下几点：1) 在适当的地方加入停顿，以便让听众更好地理解你的观点；2) 注意发音准确性，避免拼写错误影响听众对你所说内容的理解。加强练习，相信你的口语表达能力会有所提高。

4.话题发展 The response is coherent and well-organized, with clear connections between ideas and sufficient support or examples from the lecture. However, there is room for improvement in topic development. To enhance your response, consider the following suggestions: 1) Provide more specific details from the lecture to better illustrate the role of internal clocks and external cues in determining animals' 24-hour activity cycle; 2) Make sure to emphasize the main points of the lecture, such as how the flying squirrels' activity cycles were affected by both their internal clocks and exposure to daylight; 3) Use appropriate transitions to connect ideas smoothly and guide your listener through your response. With practice, your topic development skills will improve.

5.语言使用

Original Answer: The professor explains what determines animals' 24-hour activity cycle by using the example of flying squirrels. At first, they let the flying squirrels live a month without any daylight. After that, they still sleep and make it as a cycle. It means that they do have an internal clock. But their internal clock is not 24 hours, but half an hour shorter than it. After that, they let the flying squirrels exposed to daylight again. Unlike the other flying squirrels, these flying squirrels will wake up at the middle of the day. But after a while, they bring back to the normal clock.

Corrected Answer: The professor discusses the factors determining animals' 24-hour activity cycles, using flying squirrels as an example. Initially, researchers kept the flying squirrels in complete darkness for a month. Despite this, they still maintained a sleep-wake cycle, indicating the presence of an internal clock. However, their internal clock was not exactly 24 hours but rather half an hour shorter. Subsequently, researchers reintroduced daylight to the squirrels' environment. Unlike typical flying squirrels, these ones woke up in the middle of the day. Eventually, though, their cycles returned to normal. (修改了句子结构，词汇和语法，使表达更自然流畅。例如，“let”改为“kept”，“make it as a cycle”改为“maintained a sleep-wake cycle”，“bring back to”改为“returned to”等。)

Revised Answer (140 words): The professor discusses how both internal clocks and external cues determine animals' 24-hour activity cycles by using flying squirrels as an example. In an experiment, researchers kept the squirrels in complete darkness for a month. Despite the absence of daylight, the squirrels maintained a sleep-wake cycle, indicating the presence of an internal clock. However, their internal clock was not exactly 24 hours but rather half an hour shorter. Subsequently, researchers reintroduced daylight to the squirrels' environment. At first, these squirrels woke up in the middle of the day, unlike typical flying squirrels. Gradually, external cues such as light and darkness adjusted their internal clocks, and their activity cycles returned to a normal 24-hour schedule. This example demonstrates that animals' activity cycles are influenced by both their internal clocks and external factors like daylight.

6.思维导图

- Factors determining 24-hour activity cycles
  - Flying squirrels example
    - Experiment
      - Complete darkness for a month
      - Sleep-wake cycle maintained
        - Internal clock presence
        - Not exactly 24 hours (half an hour shorter)
      - Reintroduction of daylight
        - Waking up in the middle of the day
        - Gradual adjustment to normal 24-hour schedule
          - External cues (light and darkness)

7.关键词