paragraph 1,For a long, long time—for nearly forty years—I never had any bees. I can't think why. Everyone should have two or three hives of bees. Bees are easier to keep than a dog or a cat. They are more interesting than gerbils. They can be kept anywhere. A well-known New York City publisher keeps bees on the terrace of his Upper East Side penthouse, where they happily work the flowers in Central Park.
paragraph 2,I have had bees now for fifteen years, and my life is the better for it. I operate a beekeeping and honey-producing farm in the Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri. I keep three hundred hives of bees, separated into groups of ten or twelve, in what are called outyards—land that I rent from other farmers at the cost of a gallon of honey a year, rent I pay to the farmers for the privilege of putting the bees there. The farmers and their families like the honey, but they like having the bees on their land even better. The clover in their pastures is more luxuriant because the bees are there to pollinate it, and the vegetables in their gardens and the fruit on their trees benefit from the bees, too. My best and most productive beeyards, however, are those near towns, because townspeople plant flowers and water both their flowers and clover-scattered lawns, providing the bees with a constant supply of fresh blossoms to secrete nectar which they turn into honey.
paragraph 3,Every once in a while I read in the beekeeping magazines about someone who has had complaints about his bees. I am always astonished, because around here everyone has a fine friendly feeling toward them. My own beekeeping operation is a matter of minor local pride, and is the focus of interest and curiosity. People come out to my farm and ask if they may tour the "honey factory." I am asked to speak to local civic groups and high school biology classes. The bees themselves are regarded with a certain amount of affection and good humor.
paragraph 4,The town in which I live is very small. All the other farmers raise pigs and cattle, and making a living from bees does give them something to talk about down at the café other than fescue foot,superscript,1,baseline, and the price of pork bellies. Cows and pigs are large animals, and the farmers keep track of them by putting a numbered ear tag on each beast's ear. It tickles their fancies that someone can make a living with a bunch of wild bugs who can't be penned and marked, but who fly everywhere, unruly but helpful, pollinating plants and making honey. They enjoy telling jokes on me, I know.
paragraph 5,Nelson is the town wit. Like any Ozark storyteller, he piles outrage on top of outrage without even the smallest trace of a smile. It was Nelson who, straightfaced, spread it around town that when a swarm of bees gathered on my mailbox and stayed there for several days, it was because I hadn't put enough postage stamps under their wings. Nelson said it was a well-known fact that with proper postage a bee could travel anywhere in the continental U.S. of A. " 'Course if they was to go abroad, the rate is a mite higher. Maybe they was. Seems like a smart lady like Sue ought to know how much postage to put on a bee."
paragraph 6,I was sitting in the café one day with Nelson and some of the other good old boys, when Nelson, deadpan, said, "Say, one of your bees was over a-bothering my peach tree this morning."
paragraph 7,"How'd you know she was mine, Nelson?" I asked, looking him straight in the eye. I was determined to put up a fight this time.
paragraph 8,Nelson hadn't expected my question.
paragraph 9,"Why, they're all yours, aren't they? I thought you owned every blessed bee around here, the way you're always talking 'em up at the Chamber of Commerce meetings."
paragraph 10,"No, that isn't true. There are wild ones in trees all over, and then Henry has some, and so does Billy, right here in town. I'll tell you what you've got to do before you carry on so about ,begin italics,my,end italics, bees bothering your peach tree. What you've got to do, Nelson, is go over to that tree and check the ear tag on the bee. The first thing I do after a new bee is born is to put an ear tag on her ear. You check the tag and you tell me her number, and ,begin italics,then,end italics, I'll let you know if I'm going to accept responsibility for that bee."
paragraph 11,Nelson threw back his head and laughed.
paragraph 12,A report of our exchange went around the café. This was several years ago, but even now every once in a while someone will stop me in town and say, "Hey, Bee Lady, I saw Number three fifty-seven on a clover blossom in my lawn today."
paragraph 13,"That so? How's she looking?"
paragraph 14,"Jest fine. Better in fact than the last time I saw her, when I thought she looked a mite peaked."
,begin bold, ,superscript,1,baseline,fescue foot ,end bold, a disease that affects the feet of cattle
Question 1
This question has two parts. Answer Part A, and then answer Part B.
,begin emphasis,Part A,end emphasis,
Select ,begin emphasis,two,end emphasis, central ideas in the passage.
Question 1 Answer options with 5 options
1.
The author's bees earn money for people in her town.
2.
The author's bees provide food for people in her town.
3.
The author's bees improve the lives of people in her town.
4.
The author's bees are a source of entertainment in her town.
5.
The author's bees are liked more than other animals in her town.
Question 2
,begin emphasis,Part B,end emphasis,
What is the author's ,begin emphasis,primary,end emphasis, way of developing the two central ideas?
Question 2 Answer options with 4 options
1.
by describing how her bees pollinate plants
2.
by explaining that people talk about her bees
3.
by telling about how easy her bees are to keep
4.
by sharing how people have reacted to her bees
1 answer
Question 1 Part A
The two central ideas in the passage are:
3. The author's bees improve the lives of people in her town.
4. The author's bees are a source of entertainment in her town.
Question 2 Part B
The author's primary way of developing the two central ideas is:
4. by sharing how people have reacted to her bees.
This is evident as the author describes how the community has a positive attitude towards her bees and finds them entertaining, as well as how the bees contribute to the local environment and agricultural benefits.
1 answer