Question

Bees add an estimated eighteen billion dollars a year to the value of American crops. They pollinate (授粉) flowers that become fruits, nuts and vegetables. But, in recent years, honeybee colonies in the United States and Europe have been shrinking. Scientists have proposed different theories to explain what is known as colony collapse disorder.

New research suggests that a commonly used group of insecticide(杀虫剂)could cause bees to have a hard time finding their way back to their hive. The new re?search looks at the use of pesticides called neonicotin-oids. They were first used in the 1990s. They are now put on the seeds of many major crops around the world. 丁he seedlings absorb the chemicals as they grow. That means farmers do not need to spray a whole field. In?stead there is a little bit of insecticide inside each plant― including the pollen(花粉)and the nectar(花蜜)that the bees want. There is not enough pesticide to kill them. But the new research in the journal Science says it may harm them anyway.

Researchers stuck microchips to the backs of the bees. These chips recorded the bees' movements as they came and went from their hive. The scientists fed some bees sugar water with a low dose of a neonicotinoid. The study found that these bees were about twice as likely not to return as other bees.

Dave Goulson at the University of Stirling in Britain worked on another study published in Science. He says the pesticides could help explain why bumblebee popula?tions are also decreasing.

Bayer CropScience makes neonicotinoid pesticides. The company's spokesman Jack Boyne disputed the findings. He also notes that researchers are studying other factors that could affect the bees' population. These include parasites? diseases and stress caused by transporting beehives to farms. Some European countries have banned the pesti?cides. And there are growing calls to ban them in the Unit?ed States as well.

1.  The underlined word"shrinking"in Paragraph 1 most

probably means "  

A.  increasing       B. decreasing

C.  disappearing    D. continuing

2.    Why were microchips tied to the backs of the bees?

A.    To record how much honey the bees produce.

B.    To test how the bees react to the microchips.

C.    To find if the insecticide affects the bees' popula?tion.

D.    To keep track of the bees' movements.

3.    It can be inferred from the last paragraph that

A.    the pesticides have been forbidden to use in all European countries

B.    Bayer CropScience agrees that the pesticides af?fect the bees' population

C.    transporting beehives to farms can surely have an effect on bees

D.    the use of pesticides is likely to be banned in more countries

4.    What does the passage mainly talk about?

A.    The relationship between pesticides and bees.

B.    Honeybee colony collapse disorder.

C.    New findings about the reduction of bees.

D.    Pesticides that kill bees must be banned.

Answer 1

【文章大意】本文是一篇科普说明文。最新研究表明杀虫剂的使用是导致蜜蜂数量减少的罪魁祸首。

B词义猜测题。根据本句中转折连词"But…"和下文的col?ony collapse disorder可知，蜜蜂对美国的农作物有重要作用， 但是最近几年蜜蜂蜂群数量一直在下降，故选B项。

C 细节理解题。根据第三段中的"These chips recorded the bees' movements as they came and went from their hive."可推

知，这样做的主要目的是记录蜜蜂往返于蜂房的活动规律，从而进一步推断杀虫剂是否影响其活动规律，影响其数量。故

选C项。

D推理判断题。根据最后一段的内容可知，欧洲一些国家已经禁止使用杀虫剂，美国禁用杀虫剂的呼声也越来越高，因此可推知可能会有更多的国家禁用杀虫剂。故选D项。

C主旨大意题。本文是一篇科普说明文，主要说的是最新研究发现蜜蜂蜂群近年数量下降，故选C项