Extensive Labour Intensive Business Reading Answers

Apr 24, 2025

Extensive Labour Intensive Business Reading Answers is an academic reading answer topic. Extensive Labour Intensive Business Reading Answers has a total of 14 IELTS questions in total. In the question set, you have to choose which paragraph contains the given statement. In the next question set, you have to choose the correct answer in no more than two words or a number from the given passage. In the last question set, you have to choose four factors linked to the decrease in bee numbers mentioned in the passage.

The IELTS Reading section is an essential part of the test that evaluates a candidate's comprehension and analysis of various passage types. You will work through a number of IELTS reading practice problems in this section that resemble actual test situations. These questions are designed to help you improve your ability to recognize essential concepts, extract particular facts, and make inferences. Practicing these IELTS reading problems can help you get comfortable with the structure and increase your confidence for the exam, regardless of whether you are studying for the Academic or General Training module.

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Section 1 EXTREMELY LABOUR INTENSIVE BUSINESS

The world is losing the honey bee at an alarming rate - a trend that could have implications for us all

Thousands Of American beehives were recently found to be almost empty and devoid Of bees. They were thought to be victims of a malady called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The problem has not been limited to America. Over the past few years, large numbers Of colonies have been Wiped out in Canada, South America, Asia and Europe.

The malady occurs when most of the bees suddenly disappear from the hive leaving it with only queens, eggs or pupae (the brood') and a few immature workers still remaining. The vanished bees - strangely never found - are thought to die singly far from home. The phenomenon is odd for various reasons. Firstly, bees never usually abandon a hive until the brood has hatched; their sophisticated in-built navigation system allows them to forage up to three miles from the hive and return safely. Secondly, when a colony dies, the honey left behind is usually raided by bees from other hives, yet these bees avoid the hives completely. And lastly, the incidence of the malady is very erratic. Some beekeepers report heavy losses while their neighbours maintain healthy hives.

If honey bee populations continue to decline, it will, of course, hit honey supplies. But far more disturbing is the effect it could have on flora. Most flowers rely on animals to pollinate them, and the honey bee is nature's premier pollinator, with a body perfectly designed to collect and spread pollen and a work ethic to match: one big colony containing up to 60,000 worker bees can pollinate of flowers in a day. In a spiral of decline, as bee numbers drop, the remaining islands of wild flowers may not be pollinated and some could simply die out. Especially at risk are rare varieties and the insect and animal species that depend on them.

Scientists remain puzzled by the decline in bee populations. However, they believe that there has been widespread damage to the bees' immune system. In America, bees are hauled around the country to pollinate crops. Their environment is altered to keep them working, by moving them to warmer spots in winter so that the queen keeps laying and producing more workers. One theory is that the bees' immune systems get damaged in the process. Another sees the cause in the disruptive effects of climate change, while others again trace it to one of two well-known bee diseases. When honey bees are kept as a business (for honey production or hired out to fruit farmers as pollinators) their colonies are kept close together. This allows disease to spread easily despite them being treated with antibiotics to keep them producing. In stressed conditions bees may more easily fall victim to viruses that normally would do them little harm. More fancifully, some even blame mobile phones, which are said to interfere with bees' navigation systems.The impact of all such factors (except the last) is exacerbated by the shrinking size of the gene pool - most beekeepers having filled their apiaries with just one type of bee from Italy, renowned for its honey and gentleness.

Bees have also suffered from pesticides sprayed on crops and in open spaces such as parks. The pesticides attack the nervous system and disorientate them, interfering with the bees, vital communication skills - in particular the 'waggle dance' they use to tell other workers where nectar and pollen can be found. One such pesticide was banned in France following heavy winter bee deaths.

The first recorded case of disappearing bees was in America 150 years ago, and, ever since, large numbers have vanished at regular intervals throughout North America, Europe and Australia. These losses have been given many different names: disappearing disease, spring dwindle, May disease or autumn collapse. In America, there were 5.9 million maintained colonies in 1947; today there are only 2.44 million. If bees keep disappearing at this rate, it is estimated that there will be none left in America by 2035.

'If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe' the mathematician Albert Einstein is reputed to have said, 'then man would only have four years of life left'. This may be an exaggeration but scientists believe that if the honey bee did disappear, farming as we know it would collapse. More than 90 commercial crops -from apples, peaches and citrus fruits to strawberries and blackberries, to nuts, carrots, broccoli and onions - are pollinated by bees. So is cotton and much livestock fodder, such as clover. A study by Cornell University found that bees helped produce around 60 billion dollars worth of food around the world - fifteen billion dollars in the US alone, where many commercial beekeepers take their hives on a five month tour of the country, pollinating California's lucrative almond trees, for instance, then Florida's citrus trees and Maine's blueberries. Without bees, wind-pollinated grasses would continue to grow, but flowers and vegetable beds would be devastated, and there would be far less food for birds and mammals to eat. It has been calculated that the 'service' that bees provide is essential for the production of one in three of our mouthfuls of food. In southern Sichuan in China, where honey bees have been wiped out, pear trees have to be pollinated by hand - an extremely labour intensive business.

Questions 27-33

The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-G.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

27. the contribution bees make to the survival of less common plant species

Answer: C

Supporting statement: one big colony containing up to 60,000 worker bees can pollinate of flowers in a day.

Keywords: worker bees, flowers

Keyword Location: Para C, Line 4-5

Explanation: According to the passage, the honey bee is the best pollinator in nature because of its flawlessly equipped body for gathering and dispersing pollen and its equivalent determination to succeed. One large colony of bees can pollinate a large area of wild flora if these bees somehow disappear, the flora will eventually die.

28. one unlikely explanation for the decline in bee numbers

Answer: D

Supporting statement: More fancifully, some even blame mobile phones, which are said to interfere with bees' navigation systems.

Keywords: mobile phones, interference

Keyword Location: Para D, Line 11

Explanation: According to the passage the one unusual reason for the decline of the bees is considered to be the use of mobile phones as it interferes with the bees navigation syste,m which is responsible for most of their work as a pollinator.

29. a definition of the killer condition affecting bees

Answer: B

Supporting statement: The malady occurs when most of the bees suddenly disappear from the hive leaving it with only queens, eggs or pupae (the brood') and a few immature workers still remaining.

Keywords: malady, disappear

Keyword Location: Para B, Line 1

Explanation: The text states that the phenomenon in which the bees disappear or leave their hive with the queen, eggs or the pupae (the brood') behind with only a few immature workers still working is called malady. It is usually found that the bees just vanish, never to be found again.

30. one example of an alternative way to pollinate crops

Answer: G

Supporting statement: In southern Sichuan in China, where honey bees have been wiped out, pear trees have to be pollinated by hand - an extremely labour intensive business.

Keywords: Sichuan, pollinated by hand

Keyword Location: Para G, Lines 13-14

Explanation: According to the passage an alternate method of pollination is to do it by hand.one such example is the pollination of the pear trees in Sichuan in China where bees have exterminated the trees must be pollinated by hand, which is a very labor-intensive process.

31. the damaging effects of chemicals on bees

Answer: E

Supporting statement: The pesticides attack the nervous system and disorientate them, interfering with the bees, vital communication skills

Keywords: pesticides, vital communication

Keyword Location: Para E, Line 2

Explanation: The passage states that the bees' essential communication abilities, particularly the "waggle dance" they employ to alert other workers to the presence of nectar and pollen, are disrupted by the chemicals in the pesticides, which target their neurological system and cause disorientation.

32. several names previously used to refer to the fall in bee population

Answer: F

Supporting statement: disappearing disease, spring dwindle, May disease or autumn collapse.

Keywords: disease, collapse

Keyword Location: Para F, Lines 3-4

Explanation: According to the passage, the disappearance of bees has been going on for quite some time so Many names have been used to describe these losses, including autumn collapse, May disease, spring dwindle, and disappearing disease.

33. some puzzling features of Colony Collapse Disorder

Answer: B

Supporting statement: Firstly, bees never usually abandon a hive until the brood has hatched;

Keywords: abandon, hive

Keyword Location: Para B, Line 4

Explanation: According to the passage To begin with, bees typically stay in a hive until the brood has hatched; they can safely forage up to three miles away from the hive thanks to their advanced internal navigation system. Second, bees from other hives typically scavenge the honey left behind after a colony dies, but they stay away from the hives entirely.

Questions 34-36

Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the reading passage for each.

34. There may be a link between the ability of bees to return to their hives and exposure to frequencies from……….

Answer: MOBILE PHONES

Supporting statement: More fancifully, some even blame mobile phones, which are said to interfere with bees' navigation systems.

Keywords: blame, mobile phones

Keyword Location: Para D, Line 11

Explanation: According to the passage, the frequencies from the mobile phones is said to interfere with the bees' ability to navigate from their hive to the area where pollen is found.

35. Many crops including fruit and vegetables rely on bees and these include food such as……….. which cows eat.

Answer: CLOVER

Supporting statement:So is cotton and much livestock fodder, such as clover.

Keywords: fodder, clover

Keyword Location: Para G, Line 5

Explanation: According to the passage, bees are responsible for the crop pollination including livestock fodder such as the clover which cows usually eat as their staple diet.

36. In total, bees contribute approximately $............ to global food production.

Answer: 60 BILLION

Supporting statement: bees helped produce around 60 billion dollars worth of food around the world

Keywords: 60 billion dollars, world

Keyword Location: Para G, Line 7

Explanation: According to the text bees in total generate an approx of 60 billion dollars worth of food around the globe.

Questions 37-40

Which FOUR factors linked to the decrease in bee numbers are

mentioned in the text? Choose FOUR letters A-G.

A. climate change

B. genetically modified crops

C. hive invasion by insects

D. lack of genetic biodiversity

E. malnutrition

F. migratory beekeeping

G. pesticides

37….

Answer: A

Supporting statement: Another sees the cause in the disruptive effects of climate change

Keywords: disruptive, climate

Keyword Location: Para D, Lines 5-6

Explanation: The text states that when bees are kept in one place and then taken to another place for pollination the change in the climate affects their immune system making them more prone to get sick eventually leading to their death.

38…..

Answer: D

Supporting statement:is exacerbated by the shrinking size of the gene pool

Keywords: exacerbated, gene pool

Keyword Location: Para D, Lines 12-13

Explanation: According to the passage, the bees' genetic biodiversity is affected due to migration, climate change, and the loss of their immune system. Nowadays, most beekeepers just keep only one variety of bees, Italy, renowned for its honey and gentleness.

39…..

Answer: F

Supporting statement: In America, bees are hauled around the country to pollinate crops.

Keywords: America, hauled around

Keyword Location: Para D, Line 2

Explanation: According to the passage bees in America are hauled around the country to pollinate the crops They are moved to warmer locations in the winter so that the queen can continue to lay and produce more workers, changing their surroundings to keep them productive. This method harms the bees' health, mostly affecting their immune system.

40…..

Answer: G

Supporting statement: Bees have also suffered from pesticides sprayed on crops and in open spaces such as parks.

Keywords: suffered, pesticides

Keyword Location: Para E, Line 1

Explanation: According to the text, the pesticides used in parks and on crops harm the bees by interfering with their communication and navigation system and also disorientating them

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