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Where Have Allthe Bees Gone?

Scientists who study insects have a real mystery on theirhands．All across the country，honeybees are leaving their hives and neverreturning． Researchers call this phenomenon colony-collapse1 disorder．Accordingto surveys of beekeepers across the country，25 to 40 percent of the honeybeesin the United States have vanished from their hives since last fall．So far，noone can explain why．

Colony collapse is a serious concern because bees playan important role in the production of about one-third of the foods we eat．Asthey feed，honeybees spread pollen from flower to flower．Without this process，aplant can’t produce seedsor fruits．

Now，a group of scientists andbeekeepers have teamed up to try to figure out what’s causing the alarmingcollapse of so many colonies． By sharing their expertise in honeybee behavior，health，and nutrition，team members hope to find out what’s contributingto thedecline and to prevent bee disappearance in the future．

Itcould be that disease is causing the disappearance of the bees． To explore that possibility，Jay Evans，a researcher at the United States Department ofAgriculture (USDA) Bee Research Laboratory2，examines bees taken from coloniesthat are collapsing．“We know what a healthy bee should look like on theinside，and we can look for physical signs of disease,” he says． And bees fromcollapsing colonies don’t look very healthy． “Their stomachs are worndown，compared to the stomachs of healthy bees,” Evans says．It may be that aparasite is damaging the bees digestive organs． Their immune systems may not be working as they should．Moreover，they have high levels of bacteria inside theirbodies．

Another cause of colony-collapse disorder may be certain chemicalsthat farmers apply to kill unwanted insects on crops，says Jerry Hayes，chief beeinspector for the Florida Department of Agriculture3．Some studies，hesays，suggest that a certain type of insecticide affects the honeybee’s nervoussystem (which includes the brain) and memory．”It seems tike honeybees are goingout and getting confused about where to go and what to do,” he says．

If itturns out that a disease is contributing to colony collapse，bees genes couldexplain why some colonies have collapsed and others have not．In any group ofbees there are many different kinds of genes．The more different genes a grouphas，the higher the group’s genetic diversity．So far scientists haven’tdetermined the role of genetic diversity in colony collapse，but it’s a promisingtheory，says Evans．

詞匯：

honeybee/5hQnIbi:/n．蜜蜂 parasite/5pArEsait/n．寄生蟲；寄生生物

hive/haiv/n．蜂巢；蜂箱 digestive/di5dVestiv,dai-/adj．消化的

pollen/5pClEn/n．花粉 immune/i5mju:n/adj．免疫的

beekeeper/5bi:ki:pE (r)/n．養(yǎng)蜂人 insecticide/in5sektisaid/n．殺蟲劑

expertise/7ekspE5ti:z/n． diversity/dai5vE:siti/n．多樣性

專門知識，專長注釋：

1． colony-collapse：群體癱瘓。colony有“殖民地”的意思，在此意為：a groupof the same kind of animals，plants，or one-celled organisms living or growingtogether．一群生活或生長在一起的同種動物、植物或單細胞有機體。

2． the United States Department ofAgriculture(USDA) Bee Research Laboratory：美國農業(yè)部蜜蜂研究實驗室。

3． the FloridaDepartment of Agriculture：佛羅里達農業(yè)局。佛羅里達是美國東南部的一個州，瀕臨大西洋和墨西哥灣。

練習：

1． What is the mystery that researchers find hard to explain?

A Honeybeesare flying all across the country．

B 25-40 percent of the honeybees inthe US have died．

C Honeybees are leaving their hives and do not return．

D Honeybee hives are in disorder．

2． Why are researchersseriously concerned with the phenomenon of colony-collapsedisorder?

A Because honeybees produce one-third of the foods we eat．

B Becausehoneybees feed on flowers．

C Because honeybees eat seeds of flowers．

D Both B and C．

3． What are the possible causes of colony-collapsedisorder given by the scientists?

A Worsening environment．

B Diseaseand chemicals．

C Dwindlingnumber of flowers around．

D Changes ingenes’ structures．

4． According to the fifth paragraph，which of thefollowing about bees’ genes istrue?

A Bees’ genes allow them toexpand their colonies．

B Bees’genes help keep them in their hives．

C Bees’genes make them fly from flower to flower．

D Bees’genes couldexplain the collapse of some colonies．

5． What explanation is given byJerry Hayes to the phenomenon?

A Farmers apply certain chemicals to killunwanted bees．

B The insecticide destroys the honeybee’s nervous system．

C The insecticide affects the honeybee’s memory．

D All of theabove．

答案與題解：

1． C 短文第一段的第一句和最后一句告訴我們，昆蟲學家正面臨一個不可解釋的謎。第二句解釋了這個謎，給出了答案。

2． A 短文第二段的第一句提供了答案。蜜蜂傳播花粉能使植物結果，因此為人類提供食物。

3． B 第四段的開頭是It could be thatdisease is causing the disappearance of the bees．第五段的開頭是Another cause ofcolony-collapse disorder may be certain chemicals that，這是科學家給出的兩個可能造成這種現象的原因。

4． D 第六段的句子：bees’genes could explain why some colonies have coilapsed andothcrs have not。這是選擇D的依據。選項A、B、C的內容文章中都沒有出現，所以不是答案。

5． D 第五段描述了另一個可能的原因，即農夫使用的殺蟲劑可能破壞了蜜蜂的神經系統(tǒng)和記憶。所以D是正確選擇。