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Collapsing Colonies 
 Gunter Latsch – March 28th, 2007 
01 A mysterious decimation of bee populations has worried German beekeepers, while a 
02 similar phenomenon in the United States is gradually assuming catastrophic proportions. 
03 The consequences for agriculture and the economy could be enormous. Is the mysterious 
04 decimation of bee populations in the US and Germany a result of GM (genetically modified) crops? 
05 Walter Haefeker director of the German Beekeepers Association says one cause of 
06 the problem may be the widespread practice in agriculture of spraying wildflowers with 
07 herbicides and practicing monoculture. Another possible cause, according to Haefeker, 
08 is the controversial and growing use of genetic engineering in agriculture. 
09 As far back as 2005, Haefeker ended an article that he contributed to a journal with an Albert 
10 Einstein quote: "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only 
11 have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more 
12 animals, no more man." 
13 Since last November, the US has seen a decline in bee populations so dramatic that it 
14 eclipses all previous incidences of mass mortality. Beekeepers on the east coast of the 
15 United States complain that they have lost more than 70 percent of their stock since 
16 late last year, while the west coast has seen a decline of up to 60 percent. 
17 In an article in its business section in late February, the New York Times calculated 
18 the damage US agriculture would suffer if bees died out. Experts at Cornell University in 
19 upstate New York have estimated the value bees generate -- by pollinating fruit and 
20 vegetable plants, almond trees and animal feed like clover -- at more than $14 billion. 
21 A number of universities and government agencies have formed a Working Group to 
22 search for the causes of the calamity, but have so far come up empty-handed. They 
23 are already referring to the problem as a potential "AIDS for the bee industry." 
24 Diana Cox-Foster, a member of the Working Group, told The Independent newspaper 
25 that researchers were "extremely alarmed," adding that the crisis "has the potential to 
26 devastate the US beekeeping industry."It is particularly worrisome, she said, that the 
27 bees' death is accompanied by a set of symptoms "which does not seem to match 
28 anything in the literature." 
29 In many cases, scientists have found evidence of almost all known bee viruses in 
30 the few surviving bees found in the hives after most have disappeared. Some had five 
31 or six infections at the same time and were infested with fungi -- a sign, experts say, 
32 that the insects' immune system may have collapsed. 
33 The scientists are also surprised that bees and other insects usually leave the 
34 abandoned hives untouched. Nearby bee populations or parasites would normally raid 
35 the honey and pollen stores of colonies that have died for other reasons, such as 
36 excessive winter cold. "This suggests that there is something toxic in the colony 
37 itself which is repelling them," says Cox-Foster. 
38 Walter Haefeker, the German beekeeping official, speculates that "besides a number 
39 of other factors," the fact that genetically modified, insect-resistant plants are now used 
40 in 40 percent of cornfields in the United States could be playing a role. 
41 According to Hans-Hinrich Kaatz, a professor at the University of Halle in eastern 
42 Germany, the bacterial toxin in the genetically modified corn may have "altered the 
43 surface of the bee's intestines, sufficiently weakening the bees to allow the parasites 
44 to gain entry -- or perhaps it was the other way around. We don't know." 
 Marque a alternativa correta. 
1 - O tema central do texto acima é: 
a) Um estudo comparativo, feito sobre a população de abelhas nas costas leste e oeste os Estados Unidos (EUA). 
b) O ataque das abelhas sobre a plantação de frutas e verduras nos EUA. 
c) O que está misteriosamente dizimando a população de abelhas nos EUA e na Alemanha.
d) A descoberta de um novo vírus que está matando os insetos responsáveis pela polinização. 
e) Uma experiência com a toxina bacteriana que permite a entrada de parasitas nos intestinos das abelhas. 
2 - Qual a melhor tradução para a expressão, the widespread practice (linha 06)? 
a) a prática do espargimento 
b) a difundida prática
c) a prática contrária à monocultura 
d) a questão prática 
e) o conhecimento prático 
3 - Nos EU, o declínio da população de abelhas, desde o último novembro 
a) só se assemelha à incidência de eclipses. 
b) foi precedida por outros casos de mortandade. 
c) foi menor do que 60%, na costa leste dos EUA. 
d) sobrepuja todos os casos anteriores de mortandade em massa.
e) foi maior do que 70% na costa oeste dos EUA. 
4 - Qual das alternativas não está correta: O Working Group (linhas 21 e 24) 
 a) é formado por universidades e agências governamentais. 
 b) não teve sucesso na busca das causas da calamidade. 
 c) é o grupo ao qual pertence Diana Cox-Foster. 
 d) se referiu ao problema como “AIDS for the bee industry”. 
 e) pertence ao jornal The Independent. 
5 - Qual a alternativa que contém as traduções corretas (na mesma ordem) das expressões: growing (linha 08) – Working Group (linha 24) – adding (linha 25) – weakening (linha 43), no contexto em que se encontram? 
 
a) crescente – de trabalho – acrescentando – enfraquecendo
b) crescente – de trabalho – aumentando – dizimando 
c) crescendo – trabalhando – aumentando – repelindo 
d) crescendo – trabalhando - acrescentando – exterminando 
e) aumentando – trabalhando – crescendo – por enfraquecer 
6 - A que se referem os pronomes its (linha 17) e them (linha 37), respectivamente?
 a) an article (linha 17) e scientists (linha 29)
 b) business section (linha 17) e the abandoned hives (linhas 33, 34) 
 c) the New York Times (linha 17) e nearby bee populations or parasites (linha 34) 
d) the New York Times (linha 17) e the honey and pollen stores of colonies (linha 35) 
e) US agriculture (linha 18) e the colony itself (linhas 36, 37) 
7 - Traduza, em bom português, as frases que seguem: 
As far back as 2005, Haefeker ended an article that he contributed to a journal with an Albert Einstein quote: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” (linhas 09 a 12)