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Beekeeping

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13 views2 pages

Beekeeping

Uploaded by

malli.angel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Beekeeping

You will hear a radio presenter talking to a woman called Maria about beekeeping. Listen to the
interview and look at the questions. For each question, choose the correct answer, A, B or C.

V1: Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about bees and their declining population. In today’s
programme, we’re going to talk to Maria Clooney about her experience with bees. Hello Maria.
First of all, why did you take up beekeeping?

V2: Well, a few years ago I read a novel in which the main character kept bees and really
enjoyed it. Then I met the author who told me how the story came about. But it wasn’t until I
watched a documentary on TV that I chose to become a beekeeper myself.

V1: I imagine beekeeping is really time-consuming.

V2: Well, I work as a journalist so time is very precious. If I could, I’d give up my job during the
summer and only work during the winter when the bees don’t need my attention. That’s my
dream. In reality, I make a weekly plan and I make sure I have at least two afternoons available
to attend to my bees. My children think it’s an old fashioned hobby. However, they give me a
hand on the rare occasion when I travel abroad for longer periods of time.

V1: And it must be quite challenging too.

V2: Absolutely. Last year, I faced my greatest challenge yet when the temperature dropped
suddenly and my bees were under threat. Over time, I’ve had the usual problems every
beekeeper faces such as your bees flying away from their beehive with the queen to form a new
home. Or when your bees get badly affected by dangerous pests like wax moths.

V1: I also heard about bees becoming aggressive. Can you tell us a bit about that?

V2: There are many reasons for this behaviour. People say you should wear light-coloured
clothing when dealing with bees because dark colours can upset them. I did have a problem
recently when a neighbour was burning something in the garden. My bees reacted badly and
became irritated. Apparently, this can also happen when they can’t find enough flowers to feed
on.

V1: I also heard that sometimes the queen bee has to be replaced.

V2: That’s right. Once, when I had to get a new one, I got a tip from a friend who also keeps
bees. She suggested ordering one online. I was quite astonished that people can do that and to
my surprise received the special delivery in the post within three days of ordering. In some
cases though, the existing queen bee can naturally create a new queen when the group gets
too big.

V1: You’re very interested in the behaviour of bees, aren’t you?

V2: Yes, last year I was invited to a lab to observe something called the waggle dance. I’d
always thought that this dance was a response to possible danger, such as an earthquake. But
in fact, it’s what happens when a bee has found a good source of food and it returns to indicate
the distance and the direction of it to the rest of the bees. That’s what I find incredible.
V1: Indeed. We’ve mentioned the challenges of beekeeping, but what about the rewards?

V2: Well, just ensuring your bees don’t pick up any diseases is quite an achievement. I’ve been
asked to do some presentations about bees and how important they are for us. I really enjoy
doing this. But that was nothing compared to the feeling I got when people started buying my
honey at the local market.

V1: And how about bees in the future?

V2: Well, many people worry about bees, but I remain positive. I’ve noticed that more young
people are taking up beekeeping as a hobby, especially in cities. And thanks to lots of parks in
our towns, there’s been an increase in the amount of food for bees to survive on. This,
especially, is really encouraging for me personally. I’ve also noticed a rise in the number of
college courses that offer beekeeping. So let’s do our best to make sure that bees are here to
stay.

V1: That’s a very good message to end on. Thank you, Maria.

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