Question

    You might associate bees with their cute, fuzzy shape and seemingly aimless interest in flowers. But beneath the yellow-and-black (mostly) stripes lies an incredible mind. To efficiently find and collect food to bring back to the hive, bees have to quickly learn to recognize (and then memorize) the most effective foraging routes.

A new study collected evidence from 23 studies of bees and concluded that levels of pesticides (杀虫剂) currently considered safe to use may still have a big effect on bee colony (蜂群) survival.

They found that pesticides had significant negative effects on learning and memory. That was true both when bees were suddenly exposed to a lot of pesticides, and when they got a little bit over a long time. It was also true regardless of whether the bees were exposed to neonicotinoids (新烟碱类杀虫剂), or other pesticides.

Current pesticide regulations are geared (便适应) toward making sure they aren’t used at levels that kill bees. But these currently legal amounts apparently make the bees dumber, which could have effects for species survival.

The other question these findings implicitly (含蓄地) raise is how these pesticides affect less-studied types of bees. Bees don’t all live collectively. Many wild bees do not live in colonies, and if their learning or memory are affected, there are no other bees to help out.

Ohio State University entomologist Reed Johnson told Popular Science in an email interview, the question is: “Can pesticides ever be used safely around bees?” This study, which in one sense has the strength of 23 studies’ worth of evidence,” suggests that the answer is NO,” he wrote.

The follow-up question goes deep into one of our most fundamental needs-food. Pesticides are an essential part of large-scale industrial agriculture, and some amount of honeybee exposure is inevitable. The question, then-which hasn’t been answered by regulation to date, Johnson says-is how much harm to bees is acceptable.

As ever, more research is needed. But this study is worth paying attention to, University of Ottawa bee conservationist Jeremy Kerr told Popular Science. Its conclusions are based on evidence from over 100 individual experiments included in the 23 studies, he says, lending their findings weight.” The lesson that emerges is that honeybees begin to lose their ability to learn and to remember when they are exposed to neonicotinoids,”he writes.

“With restrictions on neonicotinoids increasing globally, many will be looking on alternative chemicals for crop protection.” It’s important to think about what those chemicals might be doing to the bees.

1.Pesticides have a negative effect on bees in that_____.

A.wild bees fail to live in colonies

B.pesticides destroy food of bees

C.bees’ learning and memory will be harmed

D.even a low level of pesticides kills bees

2.Bees’ survival may be threatened EXCEPT when_____.

A.they are exposed to a lot of pesticides

B.they take in some pesticides for long

C.they are in contact with neonicotinoids

D.they are living in the pure wilderness

3.According to Johnson, it remains unclear now_____.

A.how these pesticides affect wild bees’ survival

B.whether pesticides can be used safely around bees.

C.how much harm from pesticides bees can bear

D.whether bee exposure to pesticides can be avoided

4.In response to the restrictions on neonicotinoids, many people might_____.

A.limit the use of all pesticides

B.do more experiments on bees

C.reduce the amount of chemicals in farming

D.find some other chemicals to protect crops

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.C

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章在托讨论新烟碱类杀虫剂对蜜蜂的伤害有多大？蜜蜂能承受多少杀虫剂的危害？以及面对新烟碱类杀虫剂对蜜蜂的伤害我们可以采取的措施。

1.

细节理解题。根据文章第三段关键句“They found that pesticides had significant negative effects on learning and memory.”可知，杀虫剂对学习和记忆有显著的负面影响。由此可推断出，杀虫剂对蜜蜂的消极影响在于可能会损害它们的学习和记忆。故选C项。

2.

细节理解题。题目需要我们判断选项中的哪一项对蜜蜂的生存没有威胁。根据文章第三段关键句“They found that pesticides had significant negative effects on learning and memory. That was true both when bees were suddenly exposed to a lot of pesticides, and when they got a little bit over a long time.”可知，接触了很多杀虫剂和长时间接触少量的杀虫剂对蜜蜂的生存都是有威胁的，与选项A和B表达一致。再根据文章倒数第二段关键句“The lesson that emerges is that honeybees begin to lose their ability to learn and to remember when they are exposed to neonicotinoids”可知，与新烟碱类杀虫剂接触也会使蜜蜂丧失学习和记忆能力，对蜜蜂的生存也是有威胁的，与选项C表达一致。D项意为生活在纯净的野外，根据文意和生活常识可推断出纯净的野外环境不会威胁到蜜蜂的生存。故选D项。

3.

细节理解题。根据文章倒数第三段关键句“The question, then-which hasn’t been answered by regulation to date, Johnson says-is how much harm to bees is acceptable.”可知，Johnson说到目前为止监管部门还没有回答的问题是多大的伤害是蜜蜂可以接受的。由此可推断出，根据Johnson说的话，现在还不清楚蜜蜂能承受多少杀虫剂的危害。故选C项。

4.

细节理解题。根据文章最后一段关键句“With restrictions on neonicotinoids increasing globally, many will be looking on alternative chemicals for crop protection.”可知，随着全球范围内对新烟碱类杀虫剂的限制日益增多，许多人将寻求替代化学品来保护作物。由此可推断出为了响应对新烟碱类杀虫剂的限制，人们可以寻求其他的化学品来保护作物。故选D项。