Entomologists -- scientists who study insects -- are working with other scientists to learn why bee colonies（群体）are dying in the United States. They call the problem "colony collapse disorder."

    Amateur beekeepers in Fort Wayne, Indiana are working to learn about honeybees and how to keep them alive.

    Bees are needed to produce one third of our food. That is why Megan Ryan is worried about their survival. Earlier this year, she created an apiary, a place where groups, or hives(蜂房), of honeybees are kept. "Our hives are full of what's called Italian honeybees."

    Italian bees are popular because they are not as aggressive as other kinds of bees. And they reproduce faster than other kinds of honeybees. In just four months, the apiary has grown from 10,000 to 70,000 bees in each hive.

    Alex Cornwell is also a beekeeper. He says over the past ten years, both American and European hives have lost more than one fourth of their population.

    "It's unknown what colony collapse disorder is caused by specifically, but it could be a combination of anywhere from pesticides （农药）to mites （小虫）to pathogens（病原体）." 

    Every time they visit the apiary, Ms. Ryan and Mr. Cornwell record information about the bees. "We would share it with the DNR (Department of Natural Resources), other beekeepers -- any conservation effort, any organization that would like our records and we freely share those."

    They also teach people about beekeeping. They want people to begin their own hives. "You don't have to be a scientist that has a degree in order to teach people and help people learn about bees and that's the amazing part about beekeeping -- anybody can do it."

    About 100 people have said they want to learn more about creating their own hives. Ms. Ryan and Mr. Cornwell say they will start a program to teach migrant workers about beekeeping so they can take that knowledge with them wherever they work.

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1.What is “colony collapse disorder”?

A Scientists working with entomologists

B Bees dying in the United States.

C The way to keep bees alive.

D The dying of bee colonies.

解析：选D。D。细节理解题。由第一段可知，他们把蜜蜂的成群死亡称作是:colony collapse disorder。

2.The importance of bees lies in that bees____________.

A are important insects

B are all living in hives

C produce much food for humans

D create apiaries in groups

解析：选C。C。细节理解题。由第三段可知，蜂蜜是人类食物来源之一，因此蜜蜂为人类提供了很多食物。

3.The underlined word ‘reproduce’ in paragraph 4 probably means____________.

A produce young

B produce honey

C make a copy

D build a hive

解析：选A。A。词义猜测题。由上下文可知，一个月之内蜜蜂的数量增长到...判断该词意思为：繁殖。

4.Why do both the American and European hives lose their population?

A Because of the use of pesticides.

B Because of some kinds of mites.

C Because of some kinds of pathogens.

D It is still unknown.

解析：选D。D。推理判断题。科学们试图找到蜜蜂死亡的原因，有可能是农药，有可能是某种病菌，但没有确切的定论，故D为最佳选项。

5.What is the one of the measures Ms. Ryan and Mr. Cornwell take?

A They teach people about beekeeping.

B They want people to have a degree in beekeeping.

C They ask migrant workers to take bees wherever they work.

D They create bee hives for migrant workers.

解析：选A。A。细节理解题。由第七，八段可知，养殖蜜蜂的优点之一是不需要太多技术，普通人都可以养殖。所以他们尽力教会人们养殖蜜蜂（A选项）。