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Migratory Beekeeping Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test

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Updated on Sep 16, 2024, 11:15

The IELTS Reading section is a pivotal component of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to assess your reading comprehension skills. In this section, you will encounter a variety of texts ranging from academic to everyday topics, each presenting a unique set of challenges. 

 

Your task is to read the passages carefully and answer the questions based on the information provided.

 

Key highlights of the IELTS Reading section include:

 

  • Three passages of increasing difficulty, with a total of 40 questions.
  • Texts are drawn from authentic sources such as newspapers, magazines, journals, and academic textbooks.
  • Various question types include multiple-choice, true/false/not given, matching headings, sentence completion, and summary completion.

 

One popular passage in IELTS Reading is about Migratory beekeeping, an ancient tradition where beekeepers move their hives to different places to make more honey and help pollinate crops. This passage explains how beekeepers do this and why it's important for bees and farming.

 

Let’s explore questions and answers about this passage! 

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1. Migratory Beekeeping Reading Passage

You should spend approximately 20 minutes answering Questions 1 - 15 based on the Reading Passage below. This approach can help manage time effectively during a reading comprehension activity or exam. 

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2. Migratory Beekeeping Reading Question & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about Migratory Beekeeping

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1.

Migratory Beekeeping Reading Passage

General Information

  • Read Instructions: Understand each question before answering.
  • Manage Time: Spend about 20 minutes per passage.
  • Skim and Scan: Quickly get the main idea and find specific information.
  • Highlight Key Info: Underline essential words or phrases.
  • Answer All Questions: Attempt every question; no penalty for wrong answers.
  • Stay Focused: Avoid distractions and keep your attention on the task.
  • Check Spelling: Ensure correct spelling and grammar.
  • Transfer Answers Clearly: Write answers neatly on the answer sheet.
  • Don’t Dwell: Move on if stuck and return later.
  • Review: If time allows, review your answers.

 

 

 

 

Migratory Beekeeping Reading Passage


 

 

Paragraph A
 

Taking Wing

To eke out a permanent living from their honey bees, about fifty per cent of the nation’s 2,000 trade apiarists stop post each spring, wandering north to find more flowers for their bees.  Apart from turning floral nectar into honey, these diligent insects also pollinate crops for farmers for a fee. As autumn approaches, the apiarists pack up their hives and go south to climb for pollination agreements in hot spots like California's fecund Central Valley.


 

Paragraph B
 

Of the 2,000 business apiarists in the United States, about half relocate. This pays off in two processes: moving North in the summer and South in the winter lets bees toil lengthy blooming periods, making more honey and money for their custodian. Second, apiarists can transfer their hives to farmers who need bees to breed their crops. Every spring a migrant apiarist in California may transfer up to 160 million bees to flowering fields in Gopher State, and every winter, his family may drag the hives back to California, where farmers will hire and charge the bees to breed almond and cherry trees.


 

Paragraph C 
 

Migrant beekeeping is nothing new. The early Egyptians moved kaolin hives, doubtless on barges, down the Nile to follow the bloom and nectar flow as it transferred to Cairo. In the 1880s, North American apiarists tested the same plan, moving bees on rafts along the Mississippi and on waterways in Florida, but their lighter, wooden hives kept falling into the water. Other keepers tried the coerce and horse-drawn wagons, but that did not demonstrate practicality. Not up to the 1920s, when cars and trucks became affordable, and roads improved, did migrant beekeeping begin to take off.


 

Paragraph D 
 

For the Californian apiarist, the breeding period begins in February. At this time, the honeycombs are in specific demand by farmers who have almond copse; they need two hives an acreage. For the three-week-long bloom, apiarists can rent out their hives for $32 each. It’s a windfall for the bees, too. Most people contemplate almond honey being excessively bitter to eat, so the bees get to retain it for themselves.


 

Paragraph E
 

By March, it is time to transfer the bees. It can take seven nights to pack the 4,000 or so hives that an apiarist may own. These are not transfers in midday because excessively of the bees would end up vagrant. But at night, the hives are piled onto wooden stretchers in sets of four and raised onto a truck. It is not compulsory to wear gloves or an apiarist's mask because the hives are not being opened, and the bees are almost silent. Just in case some are still lively, bees can be placated with a few gusts of smoke popped into each hive’s tapered entryway.


 

Paragraph F
 

In their new place, the apiarist will pay the agronomist to allow his bees to feed in such places as an orange copse. The honey manufactured here is scented and sweet and can be sold by the apiarist. To motivate the bees to construct as much honey as possible during this time, the apiarist opens the hives and heaps of additional boxes called supers on top. These short-term hive add-ons hold frames of vacant comb for the bees to fill with honey. In the offspring hall below, the bees will store honey to eat later. To avert the queen from creeping up to the top and putting down eggs, a screen can be put in the middle of the offspring and the supers. After three weeks, the honey can be congregated.


 

Paragraph G
 

Disgusting scent chemicals are frequently used to irritate bees and drive them down into the hive’s bottom boxes, leaving the honey-filled supers roughly bee-free. These can then be accomplished by the hive. They are massive with honey and might be considered to be 90 pounds each. The supers are taken to the storeroom. In the extracting room, the frames are lilted out and let down into an “unseal”, where a rotating cutlass shaves away the wax that covers all the cells. The unsealed frames are put in a whirligig filled to volume with 72 frames. A switch is overturned, and the frames begin to rotate at 300 revolutions per minute; diffusive power throws the honey out of the combs. At last, the honey is transferred into barrels for export.


 

Paragraph H
 

After this, roughly one-fourth of the hives weakened by sickness, mites or a declining or dead queen will have to be returned. A healthy double hive full of bees can be split into two boxes to produce new colonies. One half will hold the queen, and a young, earlier breed queen can be put in the other half to make two hives from one. The new queen will put down eggs when the flowers bloom, filling each hive with young toiler bees. The apiarist's household will then wander with them to their summer place.

2.

Migratory Beekeeping Reading Question & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about Migratory Beekeeping

Questions and Answers 1-7
The flow chart below outlines the movements of the migratory beekeeper as described in Reading Passage.
  • Complete the flowchart.
  • Choose your answers from the bottom of the questions and write your answers for the questions 1-7.

 

 

 

List of words/phrases

smoke

barrels

set off

pollinate

combs 

full

chemicals

protection

light

machines

screen

empty

pay

charge

split

supers

prepare

queens

 

Migratory Beekeeping Reading Answers with Explanations (1-7)

 

Type of Question: Flowchart Completion
 

In flowchart completion questions, you are presented with a flowchart that outlines a series of steps or processes related to a specific topic or scenario. Your task is to fill in the missing elements to complete the flowchart accurately.
 

How to best answer:
 

  • Carefully examine the flowchart and understand the sequence of steps or processes depicted.
  • Identify the missing elements, such as labels, symbols, or descriptions, that are necessary to complete the flowchart.
  • Consider the logical progression of the steps or processes to determine what information should be included in each missing element.
  • Pay attention to any cues or context in the flowchart that may help deduce the missing information.
  • Ensure that the completed flowchart accurately represents the sequence of steps or processes outlined and that each element fits logically within the flowchart's context.

 

1. Prepare

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph E: "It can take seven nights to pack the 4,000 or so hives that an apiarist may own." 

 

Explanation: As discussed in paragraph E, the term "prepare" refers to packing hives for bee transfer, highlighting the preparation involved in relocating the bees.


 

2. Full

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph H: "By the time the flowers bloom, the new queen will be putting down eggs, filling each hive with young toiler bees." 

 

Explanation: The word "full" is referenced in paragraph H, indicating that the new queen bee will lay eggs, filling each hive with worker bees and emphasising the hives' capacity to be filled or populated.

 

 

3. Smoke

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph E: "Just in case some are still lively, bees can be placated with a few gusts of smoke popped into each hive’s tapered entryway." 

 

Explanation: The term "smoke" is mentioned in paragraph E, describing the use of smoke to placate bees during hive transfer, illustrating a method for calming the bees during the relocation process.


 

4. Charge

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph D: "For the three-week-long bloom, apiarists can rent out their hives for $32 each." 

 

Explanation: The term "charge" is located in paragraph D. It refers to the rental fee of $32 for each hive during the three-week-long bloom, indicating the cost or fee associated with renting out the hives.


 

5. Machines

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph G: "In the extracting room, the frames are lilted out and let down into an 'unseal' where a rotating cutlass shaves away the wax that covers all the cells." 

 

Explanation: The word "machines" is found in paragraph G, which describes the honey extraction process using machinery in the extraction room. This highlights the use of equipment or machines in the honey production process.


 

6. Combs

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph G: "A switch is overturned, and the frames begin to rotate at 300 revolutions per minute; diffusive power throws the honey out of the combs." 

 

Explanation: The term "combs" is mentioned in paragraph G, detailing the honey extraction process in which frames with honey-filled combs are rotated to extract honey. This emphasises the role of combs in honey production.

 

 

7. Split

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph H "To produce new colonies, a healthy double hive full of bees can be split into two boxes." 

 

Explanation: The term "split" is located in paragraph H. It describes the process of dividing a healthy double hive into two boxes to produce new colonies, indicating the action of splitting the hive for colony expansion.

Questions and Answers 8-11
  • Label the diagram below.
  • Choose ONE OR TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
  • Write your answers for questions 8-11 on your answer sheet.

 

 

 

Migratory Beekeeping Reading Answers with Explanations (8-11)

 

 

Type of question: Diagram Labelling

 

In this question type, you will encounter a diagram, chart, graph, or illustration alongside a list of missing labels or terms from the diagram. Your task is to match the correct labels to the corresponding parts of the diagram.
 

How to best answer:
 

  • Read the instructions carefully and examine the provided diagram.
  • Analyse the diagram and the labels provided to determine which label corresponds to each part of the diagram.
  • Pay attention to specific details or features of the diagram that may help identify the correct labels.
  • Ensure that the labels you choose fit logically and accurately with the information presented in the diagram.
     
8. Hexagonal cells/combs

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph F: "These short-term hive add-ons hold frames of vacant comb for the bees to fill with honey." 

 

Explanation: The term "cells" or "combs" refers to the hexagonal structures within the hives where honey is stored and produced, as described in paragraph F. This highlights the specific structures utilised by bees in honey production.
 

9. Frames(of combs)

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph F: "These short-term hive add-ons hold frames of vacant comb for the bees to fill with honey." 

 

Explanation: The term "frames (of combs)" relates to the structures within the hive where honeycomb frames are inserted, as mentioned in paragraph F. These frames illustrate the components utilised by bees in honey production and storage.
 

10. Screen

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph F: "To avert the queen from creeping up to the top and putting down eggs, a screen can be put in the middle of the offspring and the supers." 

 

Explanation: The word "screen" is found in paragraph F. It describes a physical barrier between the offspring room and the supers to prevent the queen bee from laying eggs in unwanted locations. This illustrates a method of hive management to control bee behaviour.

 

11. Offspring room

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph F: "To avert the queen from creeping up to the top and putting down eggs, a screen can be put in the middle of the offspring room and the supers." 

 

Explanation: As mentioned in paragraph F, the term "offspring room" refers to the area within the hive where the queen bee lays eggs. This emphasises a specific section where egg-laying occurs and the need to control the queen bee's movements.

Questions and Answers 12-15
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
In boxes 12-15 on your answer sheet, write

  • YES if the statement agrees with the information given
  • NO if the statement contradicts the information given
  • NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this

 

12. The Egyptians keep bees on the banks of the Nile.

13. First attempts at migratory beekeeping in America were unsuccessful.

14. Bees keep honey for themselves in the bottom of the hive.

15. The honey is spun to make it liquid.

 

Migratory Beekeeping Reading Answers with Explanations (12-15)

 

Type of question: Yes/No/Not Given
 

In Yes/No/Not Given questions, you're tasked with determining if a statement aligns with the information in the passage (Yes), contradicts the information in the passage (No), or if there is insufficient information to decide (Not Given).

 

How to best answer:

 

  • Understand the meaning of the statement provided in the question.
  • Identify key terms and phrases in the statement to locate them in the passage.
  • Locate the section of the passage that discusses the topic of the statement.
  • Ensure that the information in the passage either supports, contradicts, or does not address the statement.
  • Determine if the statement agrees (Yes), contradicts (No), or is not addressed (Not Given) based on the passage.

 

12. Not Given

 

Reference:

 

Not applicable

 

Explanation: The information requested is not explicitly stated in the provided paragraphs.
 

13. Yes

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph C: "North American apiarists tested the same plan, moving bees on rafts along the Mississippi and waterways in Florida, but their lighter, wooden hives kept falling into the water."

 

Explanation: The answer "yes" is supported by paragraph C, which describes the historical context of North American apiarists testing similar migration methods with bees, demonstrating a relevant comparison to the given statement.
 

14. Yes

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph F: "In the offspring hall below, the bees will store honey to eat later."
 

Explanation: The answer "Yes" is affirmed by paragraph F, which explains that bees store honey in the offspring hall for future consumption, aligning with the statement provided.
 

15. No

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph G: "At last, the honey is transferred into barrels for export."
 

Explanation: The answer "No" is substantiated by paragraph G, which indicates that the honey is transferred into barrels for export, contradicting the statement suggesting storage for later consumption.

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FAQs

Q. Are the tasks Identifying Information and Identifying a Writer's Views/Claims similar?

Ans. No, the tasks of identifying information and a writer's views/claims differ. Although both tasks aim to identify specific information, they involve different types of statements. In the Identifying Information task, you verify if the given information is True/False/Not Given. In contrast, the Identifying a Writer's Views/Claims task requires confirming if the information is claimed by the author, with answers given as Yes/No/Not given.

Q. Is taking notes while reading passages during the IELTS Reading test permissible?

Ans. You can make notes while reading passages in the IELTS Reading test. You can jot down your notes in your question booklet or on the rough sheet provided by the test centre. However, it's important not to spend too much time on note-taking. Keep your notes concise and focused on aiding your understanding of the passage.

Q. How do false and ungiven statements differ in the Identifying Information task?

Ans. In the Identifying Information task or Identifying a Writer's Views/Claims task, you may need to determine if a statement is false or not given. A statement is considered 'false' if it contradicts the information in the reading passage. On the other hand, the answer is 'not given' if the information in the question statement is not mentioned anywhere in the passage.