INGLÉS

Choose the correct answer for each question according to the information in the text. Each
line is numbered to help you identify them quickly.

Sunflowers Make Bees Poop—a Lot. Here's Why That's Good

[1] Bumblebees and other pollinators face many threats, including pesticide exposure,
[2] climate change, habitat loss due to agriculture and development, and pathogens
[3] that ravage multiple species. But a recent finding may help lighten their load.
[4] Previous studies have shown sunflower pollen can work like a medicine for
[5] bumblebees afflicted by a parasite called Crithidia bombi , a single-celled organism
[6] that takes up residence in the bee's gut [and harms their health]. But scientists couldn't
[7] explain how sunflower pollen vanquished C. bombi —did it boost the bees' immune
[8] function, or perhaps poison the parasite directly?
[9] New research, published in the Journal of Insect Physiology , shows the answer is
[10] deceptively simple. " Sunflower pollen makes bumblebees poo a whole lot ," says lead
[11] author Jonathan Giacomini, which flushes the parasite out.
[12] Plant products like nectar and pollen are a treasure trove of potential insect medicines
[13] that scientists are just beginning to understand, he adds. "There are natural things out
[14] there that bees are interacting with that can be beneficial for them," Giacomini says.
[15] And by making changes to the landscape, scientists hope we can help give bees a
[16] fighting chance.
[17] Plant power
[18] If you happen upon a fuzzy, buzzing, flying creature in eastern North America, there's
[19] a strong chance it's a common eastern bumblebee ( Bombus impatiens ). Yellow and
[20] black striped with a rump covered in soft hairs, they're social insects that live in
[21] colonies and love a good crevice—they build their homes in birdhouses, woodpiles,
[22] abandoned burrows, and dense grasses.
[23] [They] are important pollinators, both in the wild and in agriculture, where they're raised
[24] and used to pollinate crops including tomatoes and pumpkins. Like other pollinators,
[25] bumblebees face many threats, and C. bombi isn't even the biggest bumblebee
[26] bugaboo. On its own, the parasite doesn't have much of an effect on a bumblebee's
[27] health. But when food is scarce , C. bombi can shorten a bee's lifespan and even
[28] reduce the number of young queens a colony can produce.
[29] Lynn Adler is an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
[30] who studies interactions between plants and insects. For years, she and longtime
[31] collaborator Rebecca Irwin at North Carolina State University suspected pollinators
[32] might be getting dosed by flowers since plants often invest chemically active
[33] compounds into their nectar and pollen to help their genetic payload arrive at
[34] its destination.
[35] "Many plant defensive compounds can be medicinal at certain doses," Adler says. After

[36] all, "most of our human medicines come from plants."

[37] Giacomini discovered the effect of sunflower pollen as an undergraduate working in
[38] Adler's lab in 2018. From [these] very first tests , sunflower pollen dramatically reduced
[39] C. bombi parasite load in common eastern bumblebees, often clearing infection
[40] completely. "We've been shocked at how consistent and effective sunflower pollen
[41] has been," Adler says.
 Elizabeth Anne Brown, National Geographic

1. Match the information given with the information in the text.

a) 1c, 2a, 3d, 4b, 5e b) 1c, 2b, 3d, 4a, 5e c) 1e, 2a, 3c, 4b, 5d

2. What effect does sunflower pollen have on bumblebees?

a) It modifies their digestive process

b) It affects their habitat loss
c) It exposes them to parasites

3. Which of the following best describes the effect that sunflower pollen has on bumblebees?

a) It poses a threat
b) It works like a medicine
c) It helps them to reproduce

4. How do bumblebees get rid of the parasites with the help of sunflower pollen?

a) Sunflower pollen boosts the bumblebees' immune system, which kills the parasites
b) Bumblebees eat a lot of sunflower pollen, which poisons the parasites
c) Sunflower pollen increases bumblebee excretions, which expels the parasites from their bodies

5. On which of the following elements did Giacomini base the underlined comment in line 10?

a) On an untested hypothesis
b) On the published results of his own research
c) On previous studies carried out by other researchers

6. What is the most important idea in lines 12 to 16?

a) Some natural products may have medicinal properties yet to be explored

b) Pollen and nectar have medicinal properties that are beneficial to humans
c) Humans can give bees a whole new habitat so that they can survive

7. Which of the following best describes the results of Jonathan Giacomini's research?

a) Sunflower pollen could be dangerous for bumblebees if they eat a lot

b) Parasites are flushed out when bumblebees eat sunflower pollen
c) Medicinal properties of sunflower nectar can heal sick bees

8. The most important contribution of Giacomini's study was to...

a) explain the therapeutic effects that sunflower pollen has on bumblebees
b) describe the negative consequences of pollen ingestion on bumblebees
c) show the importance of modifying the landscape to benefit bumblebees

9. What is a specific implication of Giacomini's study?

a) It confirms the effectiveness that sunflower pollen has on bumblebees

b) It refutes previous ideas about the effects of sunflower pollen on bumblebees
c) It may raise people awareness of the importance of preserving bumblebees

10. In line 23, the word they refers to...

a) colonies b) bumblebees c) burrows

11. In line 25, the word face refers to the...

a) surface of tomatoes and pumpkins

b) front part of the bumblebees' head
c) situations that bumblebees have to deal with

12. In line 38, the expression these very first tests refers to the experiments that were carried
out by...

a) Jonathan Giacomini b) Lynn Adler c) Rebecca Irwin

13. What is the best definition of the word scarce as it is used in line 27?

a) Limited b) Sufficient c) Nonexistent

14. Which of the following sentences best summarizes Giacomini's study?

a) Sunflower pollen helps bumblebees to eliminate a parasite

b) Bumblebees and other pollinators face many threats
c) Sunflower pollen can work like a medicine for bumblebees

15. Who supports the idea that many human medicines are made of natural sources?

a) Rebecca Irwin b) Lynn Adler c) Jonathan Giacomini

The following section of the exam is based on a text about fairies. All the information in this
section will be thematically related to such topic.

16. Fill in the blanks with the option to complete the information given in the following paragraph.

Fairies today are the stuff _______ children's stories, little _______ people with wings, often
shining with light. Typically pretty and female, like Tinkerbell _______ Peter Pan , they usually
_______ their magic to do small things and are mostly friendly to humans.

British Council

a) in – magician – on – used
b) of – magical – in – use
c) on – magic – at – use

17. Fill in the blanks with the option to complete the information given in the following paragraph.

The earliest fairy-like creatures can be _______ in the Greek idea that trees _______ rivers had
spirits called dryads and nymphs. Some people think these creatures _______ originally the
gods of earlier, pagan religions _______ worshipped nature.
British Council
a) found – and – were – that
b) found – to – was – who
c) finding – with – is – whose

18. Fill in the blanks with the option to complete the information given in the following paragraph.

We owe many of our modern ideas _______ fairies to Shakespeare and stories from the 18th
and 19th centuries. _______ we can see the origins of fairies as far back as the Ancient
Greeks, we can see similar creatures in many _______.

British Council

a) of – since – cultures
b) about – Although – cultures
c) to – Therefore – culture

19. Select the sequence of synonyms for the words in bold.

[Fairies] were replaced by the Greek and Roman gods, and then later by the Christian God, and
became smaller, less powerful figures as they lost importance .

British Council

a) changed – important – fame

b) given – known – credibility
c) subtituted – dominant – status

20. Indicate the function of the second sentence.

a) It contrasts the idea from the first sentence

b) It questions the idea from the first statement
c) It offers a consequence to the main idea

21. Indicate the function of the second sentence.

a) It refutes the idea from the first sentence
b) It offers a consequence to the main idea
c) It exemplifies the information of the first statement

22. Choose the word that correctly completes the sentence.

This might explain why fairies _______ often _______ as playing tricks on humans.

British Council

a) were – describe b) was – described c) were –

described

23. Choose the words that correctly complete the idea.

Hundreds of years _______, people actually believed that fairies stole new babies [who] _______
and replaced them with a 'changeling' –a fairy baby– or that [new mothers] _______ to feed fairy
babies with their milk.

a) ago - had been born - were taken

b) before - were born - will take
c) old - were being born - would take

24. Select the option with the correct use of capital letters.

a) The British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the sherlock holmes detective novels, believed
that the photographs of the fairies were real

b) The british writer Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes detective novels, believed
that the photographs of the fairies were real

c) The British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes detective novels, believed
that the photographs of the fairies were real

25. Select the option with the correct spelling.

a) In 1917, 16-year-old Elsie Wright took two photos of her cosin, ninne-year-old Frances Griffiths,
sitting with fairies

b) In 1917, 16 – year – old Elsie Wright took two photos of her cousin,nine – year – olf Frances
Griffiths, siting whit fairies

c) In 1917, 16-year-old Elsie Wright took two photos of her cousin, nine-year-old Frances Griffiths,
sitting with fairies

26. Select the option with the correct use of capital letters and style format.

a) Arthur Conan Doyle published the original pictures, and three more the girls took for him, in a
magazine called The strand, in 1920
b) Arthur Conan Doyle published the original pictures, and three more the girls took for him, in a
magazine called The Strand , in 1920

c) Arthur Conan Doyle published the original pictures, and three more the girls took for him, in a
magazine called the Strand , in 1920

27. Select the option with the correct punctuation.

a) While most people no longer believe in fairies, only a hundred years ago some people were very
willing to think they might exist.

b) While most people, no longer believe in fairies, only a hundred years ago some people were very
willing to think they might exist

c) While most people no longer believe in fairies; only a hundred years ago some people, were very
willing to think they might exist.

28. According to the extracts previously read, Arthur Conan Doyle was _______ that fairies
existed.

a) convinced b) afraid c) hopeful

29. Reorder the following sequence of ideas in order to develop a coherent line of argument .

1. Then, he decided to publish the photos in a famous magazine

2. One hundred years ago, Elsie Wright took two fake photos of fairies
3. It was not until many years later that Elsie Wright admitted the photos were fake
4. Some people thought the photos were fake, but Arthur Conan Doyle thought they were real

a) 1,4,3,2 b) 2,4,1,3 c) 4,1,2,3

29. After having analyzed the previous ideas about fairies, what is the best title for a complete
text on the topic?

a) The Story of Fairies in Modern Times

b) Origins and Myths About Fairies
c) Fake Photographs of Fairies