These stories of killer bees in the news in recent years have attracted a lot of attention as the
bees have made their way from South America to North America. Killer bees are reputad to be
extremely aggressive in nature, although experts say that their aggression may have been somewhat
Line inflated.
(5) The killer bee is a hybrid—or combination—of the very mild European strain of honeybee and
the considerably more aggressive African bee, which was created when the African strain was
imported into Brazil in 1955. The African bees were brought into Brazil because their aggression was
considered an advantage: they were far more productive than their European counterparts in that
they spent a higher percentage of their time working and continued working longer in inclement
(10) weather than did the European bees.
These killer bees have been known to attack humans and animáis, and some fatalities have
occurred. Experts point out, however, that the mixed breed known as the killer bee is actually not at
all as aggressive as the puré African bee. They also point out that the attacks have a chemical cause. A
killer bee stings only when it has been disturbed; it is not aggressive by nature. However, after a
(15) disturbed bee stings and flies away, it leaves its stinger embedded in the victim. In the vicera attached
to the embedded stinger is the chemical isoamyl acétate, which has an odor that attracts other bees.
As other bees approach the victim of the original sting, the victim tends to panic, thus disturbing
other bees and causing them to sting. The new stings créate more of the chemical isoamyl acétate,
which attracts more bees and increases the panic level of the victim. Killer bees tend to travel in large
(20) clusters or swarms and thus respond in large numbers to the production of isoamyl acétate.
10. The subject of the preceding paragraph
was most likely
(A) ways of producing honey
(B) stories in the media about killer bees
(C) the chemical nature of killer bee
attacks
(D) the creation of the killer bee
11. The main idea of this passage is that killer
bees
(A) have been in the news a lot recently
(B) have been moving unexpectedly
rapidly through the Americas
(C) are not as aggressive as their
reputation suggests
(D) are a hybrid rather than a puré breed
12. The word "inflated" in line 4 could best be
replaced by
(A) exaggerated
(B) blown
(C) aired
(D) burst
13. It can be inferred from the passage that the
killer bee
(A) traveled from Brazil to África in 1955
(B) was a predecessor of the African bee
(C) was carried from África to Brazil in
1955
(D) did not exist early in the twentieth
century
14. Why were African bees considered
beneficial?
(A) They produced an unusual type of
honey.
(B) They spent their time traveling.
(C) They were very aggressive.
(D) They hid from inclement weather.
15. A "hybrid" in line 5 is
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
a mixture
a relative
a predecessor
an enemy
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