Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Tiny transmitters fixed on the backs of the blue-green bees have allowed scientists to follow the insects as they fly for miles in search of rare flowers. Working in Panama, scientists caught 17 bees of the common species and fixed a 300 milligram radio light onto the back of each. The signals they sent out were used to follow their movements in and around the forest where they lived. Professor Martin, from Princeton University, US, and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany, said, "By following the radio signals, we discovered that male bees spent most of their time in small centre areas, but could take off and visit areas farther away. One male even crossed over the shipping lanes in the Panama Canal, flying at least 5km, and returned a few days later." Researchers have struggled to follow the movements of bees before, following bees marked with paint or using radar which doesn't work well in forests. "Carrying the transmitter could reduce the distance that the bees travel, but even if the flight distances we record are the shortest distances that these bees can fly, they are impressive, long-distance movements," said Dr. Roland Kays, from New York State Museum, a co-author of the research published today in the on-line journal. "This result helps to explain how these bees' pollination can be so rare." Pollination by bees and other insects is the key to the diversity and continued growth of flowers and trees in some forests. The new study is the first to use radio transmitters to follow bees in a forest. Similar research may now be carried in temperate forests, where bees also play a vital role. Question: What was the problem when researchers tried to follow the bees in the past? - It was quite difficult to mark the bees - The radar itself didn't work very well - The bees weren't easy to be recognized - Environmental limits were hard to solve
A: Environmental limits were hard to solve

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Does your local town have a nickname? If so, what does it say about the area and the people who live there? Many cities are recognized across the world by their unofficial names. New York is the Big Apple, London is the Big Smoke, and Los Angeles is famously called La La Land. Now, as part of English Language Day on Wednesd ay, two British organizations, the English Project and Ordnance Survey, are launching an interactive project which aims to identify the nicknames which people use in their daily lives for the places which they like or dislike. "The name that people create for a place forms a connection with feelings," explains Winchester University's Professor Bill Lucas, a patron of the English Project. "So Basingstoke becomes Amazingstoke; Swindon is known as Swindump and Padstow, hometown of chef Rick Stein, is nicknamed Padstein." Basingstoke is a town in central England. The local nickname, Amazingstoke, shows the love that locals seem to have for the area. Swindon, on the other hand, is sometimes called Swindump, showing that some people think it's a dump ( ). Stanford Le Hope in Essex is called Stanford No Hope by locals. And Padstow in Cornwall is so closely connected with the local famous person Rick Stein that it's become known as Padstein. Since launching the online survey last week, the creators have already received 3,000 alternative titles for places and landmarks. As well as creating what promises to be a fascinating resource of nicknames, there is a practical side to the project. "With the huge variety of place nicknames that exist, we could never hope to collect them all ourselves," says Glen Hart, Ordnance Survey's head of research. "But the information from the project could prove vital. Organizations like the emergency services rely on our information when responding to 999 calls, so by having the most complete set of nicknames we could help the emergency services quickly locate the right place, and maybe even save lives." Question: According to the passage, people's response to the project is _ . - active - indifferent - opposed - strange
A: active

Q: Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: Dear Reader: I receive many letters from children and can't answer them all -- there wouldn't be time enough in a day.That is why I am sending you this printed reply to your letter.I'll try to answer some of the questions that are commonly asked. Where did I get the idea for Stuart Little and for Charlotte's Web? Well, many years ago I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car, and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse.That's how the story of Stuart Little got started. As for Charlotte's Web, I like animals and my barn is a very pleasant place to be, at all hours.One day when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was doomed to die.This made me sa So I started thinking of ways to save a pig's life.I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving.Gradually I worked the spider into the story that you know, a story of friendship and salvation on a farm.Three years after I started writing it, it was publishe (I am not a fast worker, as you can see.) Sometimes I'm asked how old I was when I started to write, and what made me want to write.I started early - as soon as I could spell.In fact, I can't remember any time in my life when I wasn't busy writing.I don't know what caused me to do it, or why I enjoyed it, but I think children often find pleasure and satisfaction is trying to set their thoughts down on paper, either in words or in pictures.I was no good at drawing, so I used words instea As I grew older, I found that writing can be a way of earning a living. Some of my readers want me to visit their school.Some want me to send a picture, or an autograph, or a book.And some ask questions about my family and my animals and my pets.Much as I'd like to, I can't go visiting.I can't send books, either - you can find them in a bookstore or a library.Many children assume that a writer owns (or even makes) his own books.This is not true - books are made by the... Question: How many animal characters in E.B.White's books have been mentioned in his letter? - 2. - 3 - 4. - 5.
A: 4.