GRE阅读高频机经原文及答案：Honey bee的fungal

　　6. Honey bee的fungal 新题

　　Ingestion of food containing spores of the pathogen Ascosphaera apis causes a fatal fungal disease known as chalk brood in honeybee larvae. However, larvae must be chilled to about 30C for the disease to develop. Accordingly, chalk brood is most common in spring and in small colonies. A recent study revealed that honeybees responsible for hive-temperature maintenance purposely raised the hives temperature when colonies were inoculated with A.apis this fever, or up-regulation of temperature, occurred before any larvae died, suggesting that the response is preventative and that either honeybee workers detect the infection before symptoms are visible or larvae communicate the ingestion of the pathogen. Temperature returned to normal by the end of the study, suggesting that increased temperature is not optimal when broods are not infected, as well as that the fever does not result merely from normal colony growth .

　　6.1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

　　discuss the findings and implications of a particular study

　　illustrate a process that formerly had been misunderstood

　　outline the methods used to investigate a problem

　　provide evidence to support a controversial theory

　　contrast alternative interpretations of certain date

　　6.2. According to the passage, researchers concluded that fever in honeybee coloniesis preventative because their study showed that such fever

　　does not occur when hive temperatures are within normal range

　　protests adult bees from contracting chalk brood infection

　　occurs prior to the death of any larvae

　　is more likely to occur in spring than in summer

　　does not have an effect on uninfected broods

　　6.3. The passage implies that if hive temperature had not returned to normal by the end of the study in question, a probable conclusion of the researchers would have been that

　　up-regulation of temperature is a preventative measure against chalkbrood

　　honeybees are incapable of purposely raising hive temperatures

　　A. apis cannot be completely eradicated throughup-regulation of temperature along

　　honeybee larvae have a mechanism to alert adult honeybees to the presenceof A. apis

　　honeybee larvae may benefit from increased hive temperature even when there is no A. apis present

　　6.4. According to the passage, which of the following is true of chalk brood infection among honeybee larvae ?

　　Larvae in small colonies are more likely to pass the infection to adult honeybees than are larvae in large ones.

　　Infection with chalk brood induces larvae to raise their hives temperature.

　　The infection is more likely to affect larvae in winter than in spring.

　　Larvae fail to develop symptoms of the disease when their brood comb temperature remains within the normal range.

　　Infected larvae exhibit visible symptoms of disease for a significant time before death.