1 . The South American nation of Chile has been experiencing bad droughts for the last 13 years. This serious lack of water has led to fewer flowers and, as a result, fewer honeybees. Some chemicals used to kill insects harmful to crops called pesticides (杀虫剂), also hurt bees.

Beekeepers in Chile are concerned. Carlos Peralta and his brother Marco are beekeepers. Carlos has seen the number of his honeybees dropping sharply. He said he had lost about 300 hives (蜂巢) since the start of November 2021. A hive can hold tens of thousands of bees. Losing so many bees left Peralta with a difficult choice. He could keep his remaining 900 hives alive with man-made honey, or he could move the hives to a place where there are more flowers. “If the bees die, we all die… The bee is life,” Carlos said. He was describing the important job that bees have to pollinate (授粉) plants in the wild and for food growers.

So Carlos decided to move his beehives about 1, 000 kilometers to the south, to a place called Puerto Montt. However, his brother Marco chose to stay in Colina with his bees rather than join Carlos in the south. Marco said he feared losing bees to pesticides if he moved.

An FAO study in 2018 found that Chile’s introduction of pesticides had grown by 460 percent over the previous 20 years. Beekeepers blame (责备) this increase for their losses. Chile’s honey exports (出口) have dropped over the past four to five years.

Carlos Peralta said, “You enter a fruit garden with your bees and you don’t know if you'll come out with living bees or dead ones.”

His brother Marco has been feeding his bees with sugar water. However, this food leaves the bees unable to produce honey. “The bees grow weak with sugar water,” said Mario Flores.

Before the drought, beekeepers would use the sugar food during the winter months. But now they use it almost all year.

1. What does Carlos think of the survival of bees according to paragraph 2?

A．It is related to beekeepers’ skill.	B．It is a matter of life and death for him.
C．It is important to the water system.	D．It is a must for his country’s exports.

2. Why did Marco decide to keep his bees where they were?

A．To save the cost of moving.	B．To benefit the plants nearby.
C．To avoid harmful chemicals.	D．To leave the chance to his brother.

3. What happens when bees are fed with sugar water?

A．Their health can be harmed.	B．They gather more honey.
C．They are too full to work.	D．Their honey is of poor quality.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Dry Conditions and Poisonous Chemicals Are Killing Bees

B．Nature Balance of Chile Is Being Destroyed by Beekeepers

C．Harmful Chemicals Are Bringing Danger to Living Things

D．Two Brothers’ Different Ways to Keep Bees Have Different Results