US bees operation keeping groups have been attacked seriously by so called Colony （群体）Collapse Disorder．Almost 1/2 of their worker bees have vanished during the past season．This disorder has also been reported in Israel, Europe and South America．Bees fly away from the hive and never return．Sometimes they are found dead; other times they are never found．Many crops and trees depend  on pollination^^}） by bees to help them grow． 

A new report says a virus may be at least partly responsible for the disorder in honey bee colonies in the United States．This virus is called Israeli acute paralysis virus．It was first found in Israel in 2004．lan Lipkin at Columbia University in New York and a team reported the new findings in Science Magazine．Doctor Lipkin says the virus may not be the only cause．He says it may work with other causes to produce the collapse disorder．

The team found the virus in colonies with the help of a map of honey bee genes that was published last year．They examined thirty colonies affected by the disorder．They found evidence of the virus in twenty-five of them, and in one healthy colony．The next step is further testing of healthy hives．

The researchers suggested that the United States may have imported the disorder in bees from Australia．They say the bees may carry the virus but not be affected．

The idea is that unlike many American bees, the ability of Australian bees to fight disease has not been hurt by the varroa mite．This insect attacks honey bees, which could make the disorder more likely to affect a hive．Australian bee producers object to these suspicions．

And some researchers suspect that bee production in the United States is down mainly because of the weather．Honey bees gather nectar from flowers and trees．The sweet liquid gives them food and material to make honey．But cold weather this spring in the Midwest reduced the flow of nectar in many flowers．Many bees may have starved．Dry weather in areas of the country could also be playing apart．

Wayne Esaias is a NASA space agency scientist who keeps bees in his free time．He lives in central Maryland, where he has found that flowers are blooming a month earlier than they did in 1970, which may be partly responsible for the disorder. Wayne Esaias is organizing a group of beekeepers to document nectar flow around the country.

1.What is the author’s attitude toward the cause of this disorder?

       A．Doubtful. B．Neutral.    C．Supportive.      D．Negative.

2.The researchers found the virus sharply by            .

       A．studying the published Science Magazine

       B．researching the causes of bee death

       C．examining some affected colony

       D．exploring a connected chart

3.The passage is mainly developed by             .

       A．presenting the effect and analyzing its causes

       B．making comparisons between two countries

       C．providing data and examples

       D．following the time order

4.How many possibilities may be involved in the bee disorder according to the passage?

       A．Three       B．Four  C．Five  D．Six

5.From the passage we can infer that            .

       A．American bees are more likely to defend themselves against hurt from other insects than Australian ones

       B．A collection of plants production in U.S ay be influenced by the bee disorder

       C．Israeli acute paralysis virus should be responsible for the disorder

       D．The solution to the disorder will be found eventually

Honeybees are disappearing for unknown reasons around the United States．Last winter, bees disappeared from 23 percent of American beekeeping businesses．Causes of the phenomenon, however, have remained a mystery．

       Now, scientists from several universities and the United States Department of Agriculture say they have a possible explanation for the bee decline（数量下降）．It is a little known virus called Israeli acute--paralysis virus （IAPV） ．The virus kills bees．Researchers in Israel first described it in 2004 , but until now, bee experts hadn’t paid much attention to it．

       When trying to find out why the bees were disappearing, a research team at Columbia University studied bee colonies （ 群体）, some with and the others without decline．The research turned up large numbers of two types of fungi （真菌） once suspected of causing the bee decline．The research results, however, showed that the fungi were almost as common in colonies without a decline as they were in colonies with a decline．The researchers concluded that the two fungi probably weren’t the cause．

       Studies of the presence of IAPV, however, showed more interesting information．In those studies, done by a team at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, the virus showed up in 83 percent of samples from colonies with symptoms （症状）．Only five percent of samples from symptomless colonies had it．

       Scientists still don’t know whether IAPIV can single--handedly cause the bee decline．They believe that even if the virus is making colonies sick , it could have a partner in crime．It’s possible, for instance, that insects or chemicals in the environment weaken bees, making them more likely to catch IAPV．

       Scientists are still trying to figure out how IAPV came to the United States．The United States currently allows bee products to be imported from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand．If it turns out that this trade is spreading disease, the rules might eventually change．

According to the passage ，IAPV is a virus that ______．

       A．hasn’t attracted much attention

       B．well-known to doctors and scientist

       C．was first found by Austrian researchers

       D．is dangerous to animals and human beings

The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph probably means______．

       A．the virus could also cause other damages

       B．there must be something that is the real cause

       C．IAPV is not the only cause for the bee decline

       D．the virus may be caused by the polluted environment

From the third and fourth paragraphs, we know researchers draw their conclusions by means of _______．

       A．calculating      B．comparing      C．examining           D．investigating

What still remains unknown to American scientists according to the passage?

       A．How and why to kill IAPV．

       B．How IAPV came to America．

       C．Whether bee products should be imported．

       D．How to change the rules of the bee products trade．

The best title for this passage would be _____．

       A．Bee Disease         B．How to Kill IAPV

       C．A Virus—IAPV     D．Two Types of Fungi

US bees operation keeping groups have been attacked seriously by so called Colony Collapse Disorder (蜂群衰竭失调)．Almost 1/2 of their worker bees have vanished during the past season．This disorder has also been reported in Israel, Europe and South America．Bees fly away from the hive and never return．Sometimes they are found dead; other times they are never found．Many crops and trees depend on pollination--- by bees to help them grow． 

A new report says a virus may be at least partly responsible for the disorder in honey bee colonies in the United States．This virus is called Israeli acute paralysis virus．It was first found in Israel in 2004．Lan Lipkin at Columbia University in New York and a team reported the new findings in Science Magazine．Doctor Lipkin says the virus may not be the only cause．He says it may work with other causes to produce the collapse disorder．

The team found the virus in colonies with the help of a map of honey bee genes that was published last year．They examined thirty colonies affected by the disorder．They found evidence of the virus in twenty-five of them, and in one healthy colony．The next step is further testing of healthy hives．

The researchers suggested that the United States may have imported the disorder in bees from Australia．They say the bees may carry the virus but not be affected．

The idea is that unlike many American bees, the ability of Australian bees to fight disease has not been hurt by the varroasis mite．This insect attacks honey bees, which could make the disorder more likely to affect a hive．Australian bee producers object to these suspicions．

And some researchers suspect that bee production in the United States is down mainly because of the weather．Honey bees gather nectar from flowers and trees．The sweet liquid gives them food and material to make honey．But cold weather this spring in the Midwest reduced the flow of nectar in many flowers．Many bees may have starved．Dry weather in areas of the country could also be playing apart．

Wayne Esaias is a NASA space agency scientist who keeps bees in his free time．He lives in central Maryland, where he has found that flowers are blooming a month earlier than they did in 1970, which may be partly responsible for the disorder. Wayne Esaias is organizing a group of beekeepers to document nectar flow around the country.

1.What is the author’s attitude toward the cause of this disorder?

    A. Doubtful      B. Neutral      C. Supportive    D. Negative

2.The passage is mainly developed by             .

    A. presenting the effect and analyzing its causes

    B. making comparisons between two countries

    C. providing data and examples

    D. following the time order

3.How many possibilities may be involved in the bee disorder according to the passage?

    A. Three          B. Four           C. Five           D. Six

4.From the passage we can infer that            .

    A. American bees are more likely to defend themselves against hurt from other insects than Australian ones

    B. A collection of plants production in the U.S may be influenced by the bee disorder

    C. Israeli acute paralysis virus should be responsible for the disorder

    D. The solution to the disorder will be found eventually

Honeybees
Honeybees can do three kinds of jobs.
It is one of the most unusual insects in the world. Bees are special because they divide up their honeybee work. Each bee has a certain job to do.
The busiest bee is the worker. Workers build the nest, called a hive. Inside the hive, workers make a honeycomb from wax(蜂蜡). They store honey there for food. Workers are always cleaning and fixing the hive. They even stand at the opening and fan their wings to cool the hive. Worker bees will attack anything—even people—to keep their hive safe.
Another kind of bee is the drone(雄蜂). Drones are male bees, and their job is to fly with the queen bee and mate with her. After the queen mates, the worker bees drive the drones away. The drones then starve to death.
The third kind of bee is the queen. Each hive needs only one queen, and her job is laying eggs. She can lay as many as 2, 000 eggs a day.
【小题1】The bee’s nest is called a _______.    

A．it attacked the workers	B．it is no longer needed in the hive
C．the queen bee has died	D．it ate the queen bee

There are many American expressions about insects--- like bees, for example. Bees are known as very hard workers. They appear to be busy, moving around their homes, or hives (蜂窝). So you might say you were as busy as a bee if you spent your weekend cleaning your house. In fact, you might say your house was a beehive of activity if your whole family was helping you clean. You also might say you made a beeline for something if you went there right away. When we go to see a movie, my friend always makes a beeline for the place where they sell popcorn (爆米花) .

Here is an expression about bees that is not used much any more, but we like it anyway. We think it was first used in the 1920s. If something was the best of its kind, you might say it was the bee’s knees. Now, we admit that we do not know how this expression developed. In fact, we do not even know if bees have knees!

If your friend cannot stop talking about something because she thinks it is important, you might say she has a bee in her bonnet (女帽). If  someone asks you a personal question, you might say “that is none of your beeswax”. This means none of your business.

Speaking of personal questions, there is an expression when their children ask, “Where do babies come from?” Parents who discuss sex and reproduction (生殖) say this is talking about the birds and bees.

Butterflies are beautiful insects, but you would not want to have butterflies in your stomach. That means to be nervous about having to do something, like speaking in front of a crowd. You would also not want to have ants in your trousers. That is, to be unable to sit still.

1. If you make a beeline for something, you _____ .

2. The underlined expression “ it is the bee’s knees” ______ .

3. If you ask your American friend Jack “How old is your wife?” he may say “_____.”

4. When you have butterflies in your stomach, you _____ .