I. Reading. Match the headings (A–E) with the paragraphs (1–4)

Match the headings (A–E) with the paragraphs (1–4). There is one heading you will not use.

A It’s time to act.

B Bees are losing their way

C Four years in a scientist’s life

D No bees – no food

E A strange idea

(1).....

Mobile phones are one of the most useful inventions of the last 50 years, but not everything that is said about them is good. Mobiles are frequently blamed for a number of things, from thumb injuries and headaches to house fires. One theory even blames mobile phones for the disappearance of bees!

(2).....

The theory is that the bees’ navigation systems are damaged by the radiation that is given off by mobile phones. Bees have a built-in system a bit like GPS and this helps them find their way back to their hive. But recently, thousands of bees have failed to find their way home. It is believed they are dying far from their hives.

(3).....

The problem was first noticed by beekeepers in America and is a lot more complicated than it at first seems. The important thing about bees is that most of the crops in many countries of the world are pollinated by them. Without bees, the crops can’t continue to grow. Many beekeepers in America and Europe have reported losing between 50 and 70 percent of their bees. Jim Piper, a London beekeeper, was recently asked how the problem was affecting him. “My business has been ruined by this”, he explained. “Twenty-nine of my forty hives are now empty”.

(4).....

Nobody has proved that this theory is true but it’s a fact that bees are disappearing in very large numbers. And we can’t manage without them. Einstein said that if all our bees disappeared, man would only live for four more years! The situation needs to be evaluated by the world’s best scientists. If the mobile phone theory is correct, we need to do something about immediately – before it’s too late.