Unit 5 A delicate world

Using language

7 Listen to the conversation and choose the true statements.

Meg: Hey Ollie, have you heard that the bee population is declining?

Ollie: No, I haven't. But, thinking about it, I hardly ever see bees these days. When I was lttle, they seemed to be everywhere!

Meg: If bees die out, humans will die out too.

Ollie: What?! You must be kidding! I don't believe it!

Meg: It's a fact!! I watched a nature documentary all about it the other evening. Bees are very important to our food supply.

Ollie: How can that be possible? Humans won't die out just because there's no honey!

Meg: Bees don't just make honey. Don't forget that bees are also responsible for pollinating plants. Without them, crops would be unable to reproduce.

Ollie: But surely there are other ways of getting these crops to reproduce. Does it have to be bees?

Meg: Well, there are other insects that pollinate plants, but it's unlikely that they would be able to fully compensate for the loss of bees. Bees are responsible for pollinating about 70% of the species of crops.

Ollie: Are you sure about that data? It sounds rather exaggerated.

Meg: Watch the documentary and check it out for yourself if you don't believe me. Without bees, numerous plant species would die out. Animals that live on the crops would die out, and we wouldn't have enough to eat.

Ollie: Seriously? That's scary! But looking on the bright side, there are millions and millions of bees. They're not going to die out any time soon.

Meg: I'm afraid you're wrong. The bee population is declining very quickly. According to statistics, bee numbers in the US have fallen by 17% in just one year.

Ollie: Gosh! What caused that?

Meg: A combination of things, really, but it's mainly due to damage to their habitats caused by pesticides and climate change.

Ollie: So human activity is the main cause?

Meg: That's right.

Ollie: Well, in that case, we'd better do something before it's too late.