Bees play an essential role in the ecosystem. They not only collect nectar (花蜜) to make honey but also help with pollinating (授粉) your plants. Sadly, bees are slowly becoming an endangered species on earth, with their numbers dwindling significantly. You, however, can help increase the populations of bees, too.

While bees may be attracted to flowers in your garden, using chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides can adversely impact a bee colony (群). Unknown to many, most of these pesticides will affect or kill both good and harmful insects. In addition, bees might not know if you have already used such chemicals on your plants.

Bees are always on the hunt for good nectar; hence they won’t pass a good opportunity. In addition to practicing organic farming, introducing plants that bees find naturally attractive, such as catmint and scabious, can help attract them to your garden. The bees will thus feed on both their favorites and other flowers in the garden, too. Moreover, bees tend to fly over long distances, searching for nectar, a new hive, or even a favorite flower during summer and in spring. Long flights can be particularly exhausting and famishing. According to Bee Conservation Trust, giving the bees a drink will go a long way in saving the colony. The trust recommends mixing equal volumes of water and white sugar, then place the mixture in an open bowl, upturned bottle caps, or a bird drinker.

Beekeeping is such an honorable job, with many people taking it up as a hobby and at last a full-time job. One of the benefits of this hobby is that you get your own freshly produced honey, free from nasty chemicals. Almost everyone can become a beekeeper. All you need is a little training from the local beekeeping associations for tips on how to do it safely.

【小题1】What does the underlined word “dwindling” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．Keeping stable.	B．Setting down.
C．Changing quickly.	D．Becoming less.

【小题2】Why is a mixture of water and white sugar given to bees during their long flights?

A．To help bees find gardens.

B．To help rescue the bees.

C．To help bees search for nectar.

D．To help ease the dryness of bees.

【小题3】Which word best describes beekeeping as a job?

A．Boring.

B．Dangerous.

C．Rewarding.

D．Well-paid.

【小题4】What can we know from the text?

A．Plants like catmint and scabious have no appeal to bees.

B．Using pesticides can have a negative effect on a bee colony.

C．Bees are becoming endangered mainly because of nectar shortage.

D．Bees fly over long distances just to pollinate their favorite flowers.