🔥The Ecological Importance of Bees: Đề thi thật IELTS READING (IELTS Reading Recent Actual Test) - Làm bài online format computer-based, kèm giải thích từ vựng

Reading Passage: The Ecological Importance of Bees

Paragraph A

Sometime in the early Cretaceous period of the Earth's history, hunting wasps of a certain type became bees by adopting a vegetarian diet: they began to rely more and more on the pollen of plants as a source of protein for themselves and their offspring, as an alternative to insects. In so doing, they accidentally transported pollen on their bodies to other plants of the same species, bringing about pollination. The stage was thus set for a succession of ever-closer mutual adaptations of bees and flowering plants. In particular, flowers began to reward bees for their unwitting role in their reproduction by providing richer sources of pollen and another source of nutrition, nectar.

Paragraph B

Today about 15 per cent of our diet consists of crops which are pollinated by bees. The meat and other animal products we consume are ultimately derived from bee-pollinated forage crops, and account for another 15 per cent. It follows that around one third of our food is directly or indirectly dependent on the pollinating services of bees. On a global basis, the annual value of agricultural crops dependent on the pollination services of bees is estimated at £1,000 million (US$1,590 million). Much of this pollination is due to honey bees, and in monetary terms, it exceeds the value of the annual honey crop by a factor of fifty.

Paragraph C

But the apparently harmonious relationship between bees and plants conceals a conflict of interests. Although flowers need bees and vice versa, it pays each partner to minimise its costs and maximise its profits. This may sound like an extreme case of attributing human qualities to non-human species, but using the marketplace and the principles of double-entry bookkeeping as metaphors may give us some insights into what is really going on between bees and flowering plants. In the real world, both flower and bee operate in a competitive marketplace. A community of retailers, the flowers, seek to attract more or less discriminating consumers, the bees. Each flower has to juggle the costs and benefits of investing in advertising, by colour and scent, and providing rewards, nectar and pollen. Clearly, a species that depends on cross-pollination is on a knife-edge: it must provide sufficient nectar to attract the interest of a bee, but not enough to satisfy all of its needs in one visit. A satiated bee would return to its nest rather than visit another flower. The bee, on the other hand, is out to get the maximum amount of pollen and nectar. It must assess the quality and quantity of rewards which are on offer and juggle its energy costs so that it makes a calorific profit on each foraging trip. The apparent harmony between plants and bees is therefore not all that it seems. Instead, it is an equilibrium based on compromises between the competing interests of the protagonists.

Paragraph D

This sounds remarkably like the ideas of the 18th-century economist Adam Smith. In his book, The Wealth of Nations, Smith postulated that in human society the competitive interactions of different ‘economic units' eventually resulted in a balanced, or ‘harmonious’ society. One might predict, therefore, that economists would find the relationships between bees and plants of some interest. This is the case in Israel, where economists are collaborating with botanists and entomologists in a long-term study of the pollination biology of the native flora, in an attempt to understand the dynamics of the relationship between communities of bees and plants.

Paragraph E

This sort of study is of more than passing academic interest. It is important that authorities understand the dynamic relationships between plants and their pollinators. This is especially true when, say, devising conservation policies. A good example comes from the forests of tropical South America. Here, as in all rainforests, there is a high diversity of tree species. There may be more than 120 per acre, but in a given acre, there may only be one or two individuals of any one species. These trees are pollinated by large, fast-flying bees. There is evidence that certain types of bees learn the distribution of these scattered trees and forage regularly along the same routes. This is called ‘trap-lining’ and the bees forage for up to 23 km from their nests. The bees are therefore acting as long-distance pollinators.

Paragraph F

An issue of current concern in tropical forest conservation is that of trying to estimate the minimum sustainable size of ‘islands’ of forest reserves in areas where large-scale felling is taking place. There is much discussion on seed dispersal distances. But this is only one half of the equation, so far as the reproduction of trees is concerned. There is another question that must be addressed in order to calculate whether proposed forest reserves are close enough to the nearest large tract of forest: ‘what is the flight range of these long-distance foragers?’ We need to know much more about bees and their relationships with plants before this question can be answered.>> Form đăng kí giải đề thi thật IELTS 4 kĩ năng kèm bài giải bộ đề 100 đề PART 2 IELTS SPEAKING quý đang thi (update hàng tuần) từ IELTS TUTOR

Paragraph G

Bees, then, are vital to our survival. Furthermore, much of the visual impact of human environments derives from vegetation, and most vegetation is dependent on bees for pollination. Thus, as pollinators of crops and natural vegetation, bees occupy key positions in the web of relationships which sustain the living architecture of our planet.

Questions

Questions 1-5

Reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A, B, D, E, and F from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i-viii, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings:
i. Parallels between bee and human activities
ii. An evolutionary turning point
iii. A lack of total co-operation
iv. The preservation of individual plant species
v. The commercial value of bees
vi. The structure of flowering plants
vii. The pursuit of self-interest
viii. The need for further research

1. Paragraph A: ______
2. Paragraph B: ______
   Example: Paragraph C: vii
3. Paragraph D: ______
4. Paragraph E: ______
5. Paragraph F: ______

Questions 6-12

Complete the sentences below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 6-12 on your answer sheet.

1. Hunting wasps used to feed on other ______, rather than on vegetation.
2. Flowering plants started to reward bees with rich pollen and an additional food in the form of ______.
3. Approximately ______ of human food production relies on the activity of bees.
4. If the process of ______ is to take place effectively, bees need to travel from one flower to another before going back to the nest.
5. Bees need to balance the ______ of each trip against the calorific rewards they obtain.
6. There can be over 120 different ______ in an acre of rainforest.
7. The bees that pollinate large forests regularly practise an activity known as ______.

Question 13

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D. Write the correct letter in box 13 on your answer sheet.

Which is the best title for Reading Passage?

A. The Ecological Importance of Bees
B. The Evolutionary History of Bees
C. The Social Behaviour of Bees
D. The Geographical Distribution of Bees

1. Cretaceous period – Kỷ Phấn Trắng

   • A geological time period from about 145 to 66 million years ago.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Sometime in the early Cretaceous period of the Earth's history, hunting wasps of a certain type became bees..."
   • Ví dụ: "Vào đầu kỷ Phấn Trắng trong lịch sử Trái Đất, một số loài ong bắp cày săn mồi đã tiến hóa thành ong..."

2. Pollination – Sự thụ phấn

   • The transfer of pollen from one flower to another, enabling plant reproduction.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "They accidentally transported pollen on their bodies to other plants of the same species, bringing about pollination."
   • Ví dụ: "Chúng vô tình mang phấn hoa trên cơ thể đến các cây khác cùng loài, dẫn đến quá trình thụ phấn."

3. Mutual adaptations – Sự thích nghi lẫn nhau

   • Changes in two species that help them interact more efficiently.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The stage was thus set for a succession of ever-closer mutual adaptations of bees and flowering plants."
   • Ví dụ: "Điều này mở ra một chuỗi các sự thích nghi ngày càng gần gũi hơn giữa ong và thực vật có hoa."

4. Forage crops – Cây thức ăn gia súc

   • Crops grown to feed animals.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The meat and other animal products we consume are ultimately derived from bee-pollinated forage crops."
   • Ví dụ: "Thịt và các sản phẩm động vật khác mà chúng ta tiêu thụ cuối cùng được lấy từ các loại cây thức ăn gia súc được ong thụ phấn."

5. Cross-pollination – Sự thụ phấn chéo

   • The transfer of pollen between different plants, increasing genetic diversity.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "A species that depends on cross-pollination is on a knife-edge."
   • Ví dụ: "Một loài phụ thuộc vào sự thụ phấn chéo đang ở tình thế nguy hiểm."

6. Equilibrium – Sự cân bằng

   • A stable condition where opposing forces or influences are balanced.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Instead, it is an equilibrium based on compromises between the competing interests of the protagonists."
   • Ví dụ: "Thay vào đó, đây là một trạng thái cân bằng dựa trên sự thỏa hiệp giữa các lợi ích đối lập."

7. Competitive marketplace – Thị trường cạnh tranh

   • An economic system where different entities compete for resources or customers.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "In the real world, both flower and bee operate in a competitive marketplace."
   • Ví dụ: "Trong thực tế, cả hoa và ong đều hoạt động trong một thị trường cạnh tranh."

8. Calorific profit – Lợi nhuận calo

   • The net energy gain an organism receives from consuming food.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "It must assess the quality and quantity of rewards which are on offer and juggle its energy costs so that it makes a calorific profit."
   • Ví dụ: "Nó phải đánh giá chất lượng và số lượng phần thưởng có sẵn và cân nhắc chi phí năng lượng để có được lợi nhuận calo."

9. The Wealth of Nations – Cuốn sách 'Sự giàu có của các quốc gia'

   • A famous book by Adam Smith about economics.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "This sounds remarkably like the ideas of the 18th-century economist Adam Smith. In his book, The Wealth of Nations, Smith postulated..."
   • Ví dụ: "Điều này nghe có vẻ giống với ý tưởng của nhà kinh tế học thế kỷ 18, Adam Smith. Trong cuốn sách 'Sự giàu có của các quốc gia', Smith đã đưa ra giả thuyết..."

10. Entomologists – Nhà côn trùng học

• Scientists who study insects.
• IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Economists are collaborating with botanists and entomologists in a long-term study of the pollination biology of the native flora."
• Ví dụ: "Các nhà kinh tế đang hợp tác với các nhà thực vật học và nhà côn trùng học trong một nghiên cứu dài hạn về sinh học thụ phấn của hệ thực vật bản địa."

1. Trap-lining – Hành vi thu thập thức ăn theo tuyến cố định

• A foraging pattern where animals repeatedly visit the same feeding locations.
• IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "This is called ‘trap-lining’ and the bees forage for up to 23 km from their nests."
• Ví dụ: "Điều này được gọi là 'trap-lining', và loài ong có thể kiếm ăn trong phạm vi lên đến 23 km từ tổ của chúng."

1. Felling – Sự chặt phá rừng

• Cutting down trees, often for commercial purposes.
• IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "An issue of current concern in tropical forest conservation is that of trying to estimate the minimum sustainable size of ‘islands’ of forest reserves in areas where large-scale felling is taking place."
• Ví dụ: "Một vấn đề đang được quan tâm trong việc bảo tồn rừng nhiệt đới là ước tính kích thước tối thiểu bền vững của các 'hòn đảo' rừng dự trữ trong những khu vực đang diễn ra nạn chặt phá rừng quy mô lớn."

1. Long-distance foragers – Loài kiếm ăn đường dài

• Animals that travel far to find food.
• IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "We need to know much more about bees and their relationships with plants before this question can be answered."
• Ví dụ: "Chúng ta cần biết nhiều hơn về loài ong và mối quan hệ của chúng với thực vật trước khi có thể trả lời câu hỏi này."

1. Living architecture – Kiến trúc sống

• The natural structure of ecosystems that support life.
• IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Bees occupy key positions in the web of relationships which sustain the living architecture of our planet."
• Ví dụ: "Ong chiếm vị trí quan trọng trong mạng lưới các mối quan hệ duy trì kiến trúc sống của hành tinh chúng ta."

Answers

Headings (Questions 1-5)

1. ii – An evolutionary turning point
2. v – The commercial value of bees
3. i – Parallels between bee and human activities
4. iv – The preservation of individual plant species
5. viii – The need for further research

Sentence Completion (Questions 6-12)

1. insects
2. nectar
3. one third
4. cross-pollination
5. energy costs
6. tree species
7. trap-lining

Best Title (Question 13)

1. A – The Ecological Importance of Bees