Migratory Beekeeping Reading Answers

Janice Thompson

5 min read

Updated On Aug 14, 2024

Migratory Beekeeping
Answers

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This article contains the Migratory Beekeeping reading answers.

Migratory Beekeeping is a real Reading test passage that appeared in the IELTS.

With diligent practice, the Reading Module can be the top-scoring category for IELTS Aspirants. To score well, you must understand how to approach and answer the different question types in the Reading Module.

By solving and reviewing Sample Reading Questions from past IELTS papers, you can ensure that your Reading skills are up to the mark. Take the practice test Migratory Beekeeping below and try more IELTS reading practice tests from IELTSMaterial.com.

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For more Yes/No/Not/Given Questions practice, take a look at IELTS Reading Yes, No, Not Given Example 1!

Migratory Beekeeping

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on the Reading Passage below. Find the practice test with the Migratory Beekeeping PDF here.

Answers

Question number	Answer	Explanation
1	prepare	Paragraph E informs that by ‘early March’ it is time to ‘move the bees’ (for migration). It can take up to seven nights to pack the 4,000 or so hives that a beekeeper may own. ‘At night’, the ‘hives are stacked onto wooden pallets, back-to-back in sets of four, and lifted onto a truck’. So, beekeepers prepare the hives during the night. Hence, the answer is ‘prepare’.
2	full	Paragraph E mentions that it can take up to seven nights to ‘pack’ the 4,000 or so hives that a beekeeper may own. At night, the ‘hives are stacked’ (the hives are filled with bees and are arranged in piles before they are loaded on the truck to be taken to the orange groves) onto wooden pallets, back-to-back in sets of four, and lifted onto a truck. Hence, the answer is ‘full’.
3	smoke	Paragraph E states that although it is not necessary to wear gloves or a beekeeper’s veil as the hives are not being opened and the bees should remain relatively quiet, yet to get the bees ‘pacified’, (tranquilised) a ‘few puffs of smoke’ is blown into each hive’s narrow entrance. Hence, the answer is ‘smoke’.

4	charge	Paragraph F indicates that in their new location (the orange groves), the beekeeper will ‘pay’ the farmer (which means that the farmers charge the beekeepers) to allow his bees to feed in such places as orange groves. The ‘honey produced here’ (here the bees make honey.) is fragrant and sweet and can be sold by the beekeepers. Hence, the answer is ‘charge’.
5	machines	The last sentence of paragraph F, it is said that ‘three weeks later’ (after three weeks) the honey can be gathered. The process of extracting honey is further explained in paragraph G. Foul smelling chemicals are often used to irritate the bees and drive them down into the hive’s bottom boxes, leaving the ‘honey- filled supers’ more or less bee free. The ‘supers are taken to a warehouse’. In the extracting room, the frames are lilted out and lowered into an “uncapper” in which the ‘rotating blades’ (machines) shave away the wax. Hence, the answer is ‘machines’.
6	combs	Paragraph G explains how in the extracting room the frames are lilted out and lowered into an “uncapper” where rotating blades ‘shave away the wax’ (remove the wax) that covers each cell. The uncapped frames are put in a carousel that sits on the bottom of a large stainless steel drum. The carousel is filled to capacity with 72 frames. A switch is flipped and the frames begin to whirl at 300 revolutions per minute; centrifugal force ‘throws the honey’ (extract the honey) out of the ‘combs’. Hence, the answer is ‘combs’.
7	split	Paragraph H relates that approximately a quarter of the ‘hives’ weakened by disease, mites, or an ageing or dead queen, will have to be replaced (old hives are rejected). To create new colonies, a ‘healthy double hive’ (good double hives), teeming with bees, can be ‘separated’ (split) into two boxes. By the time the flowers bloom, the new queens will be laying eggs, filling each hive with young worker bees. Once the new queens start to lay eggs, the ‘beekeeper’s family will then migrate with them to their summer location’ (beekeeper transports them to their summer base). Hence, the answer is ‘split’.
8	comb	Paragraph F let us know that to encourage the bees to produce as much honey as possible during this period, the beekeepers ‘open the hives’ and stack ‘extra boxes called supers on top’, as shown in the diagram. These temporary hive extensions contain ‘frames of empty comb’ (that can be identified from the picture given in the side) for the bees to fill with honey. Hence, the answer is ‘comb’.
9	Frames	Paragraph F points out that the beekeepers open the hives and stack extra boxes called supers on top. These temporary hive extensions contain ‘frames’ of empty comb for the bees to fill with honey. Therefore, as seen in the picture, the combs are contained in frames which are part of the supers kept on the top of the hive. Hence, the answer is ‘frames’.
10	screen	Paragraph F reveals that a ‘screen’ can be inserted between the brood chamber at the bottom and the supers, which are on top, to prevent the queen from crawling up to the top and laying eggs. Hence, the answer is ‘screen’.
11	Brood chamber	The picture in the question illustrates that in the brood chamber below on which the screen is placed, the bees will stash honey to eat later. The author has written about this in paragraph F Hence, the answer is ‘brood chamber’.
12	NOT GIVEN	In paragraph C, it is given that the ancient Egyptians moved clay hives, probably on rafts, down the Nile to follow the bloom and nectar flow as it moved toward Cairo. Other than this, there is no reference to Egyptians keeping bees on the banks of the Nile. Hence, the answer is ‘NOT GIVEN’.
13	YES	Paragraph C brings out the fact that in the 1880s North American beekeepers experimented moving bees on barges along the Mississippi and on waterways in Florida, but their lighter, ‘wooden hives kept falling into the water’. ‘Other keepers tried the railroad and horse- drawn wagons’, but that ‘didn’t prove practical’. So, all their efforts at migratory beekeeping failed or were unsuccessful. As the statement agrees with the information given, the answer is ‘YES’.
14	YES	In paragraph 7, the author introduces the fact that in the brood chamber positioned at the bottom of the hive, the bees ‘will stash honey to eat later’ (keep honey for themselves). As the statement agrees with the information given, the answer is ‘YES’.
15	NO	Paragraph G emphasizes that a switch is flipped and the frames begin to whirl at 300 revolutions per minute; centrifugal force ‘throws the honey out of the combs’. So, the honey is spun to take it out of the combs of the frames and not to make them liquid. As the statement contradicts the information given, the answer is ‘NO’.

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