蜜蜂生活在高度復雜的社會中

昝亞娟

It widely known that bees live in highly complex societies. But new research from the scientists at the Queen Mary University of London， UK， published in the March 2023 issue of PLOS Biology， shows that bees can learn how to problem-solve from one another.

The new study finds that bees can learn to solve even complex behaviors through cooperation. In order to test their theories researchers designed a fairly simple puzzle for bees to solve. A bee was placed in a box that could either be opened by pushing a red tab or blue tab and then would receive a sugary treat for their efforts， according to Smithsonian Magazine.

The bee was then re-released back to its colony. Amazingly enough， the bees in colonies that are home to those bees who learned to open the puzzle using the red tab all used the red tab to open the puzzle， while the bees in the “blue colony” all used the blue tab.

Dr. Alice Bridges， a behavioral ecologist at Anglia Ruskin University， and a lead on the study， told NPR， “These creatures are really quite incredible. Theyre really， really good at learning despite having these tiny， tiny brains.”

This is evidence that bee colonies are social creatures and that information and solutions can be passed from one bee to another. In other words， bees have culture.

“We were taught that a lot of insect behavior was innate （與生俱來的） ，” Jessica Ware， an expert at the American Museum of Natural History， said. “But what this paper does is kind of turn that on its head. Who knows what grasshoppers are capable of doing， or the lowly cockroach？”

The idea that animals have cultures is not new， reported Scientific American. Cultural behaviors have been found in primates and birds. However， what makes this study so exciting is that it is an indication that even invertebrates share traditions， and possibly also create cultures.

（材料出自“Goodnet”網站，有刪改）

1. What is the finding of the new research？

A. Bees can learn from one another.

B. Bees are not as smart as we expect.

C. Bees mainly live an independent life.

D. Bees need to cooperate to find honey.

2. What does Dr. Alice Bridges think of bees？

A. Informative. ? ?B. Unbelievable.

C. Flexible.D. Hardworking.

3. What does the underlined phrase “turn that on its head” in Paragraph 6 mean？

A. Convince that. B. Agree with that.

C. Account for that.D. Change that.

4. What is new about the study？

A. It shows animals need to cooperate to survive.

B. It finds both primates and birds create culture.

C. It suggests that insects may share traditions.

D. It demonstrates culture plays an important role.

1. A。解析：細節理解題。根據材料第一段最后一句中的“bees can learn how to problem-solve from one another”，我們可知，蜜蜂可以互相學習如何解決問題。故最佳答案為A。

2. B。解析：細節理解題。材料第四段中提到，Dr. Alice Bridges說：“蜜蜂這種生物非常不可思議。盡管它們的大腦很小很小，但它們真的很擅長學習?！惫首罴汛鸢笧锽。

3. D。解析：猜測短語含義題。在材料第六段中，美國自然歷史博物館的專家Jessica Ware說：“我們被告知昆蟲的許多行為是與生俱來的，但這篇論文所做的是改變了這一點?！惫首罴汛鸢笧镈 。

4. C。解析：推理判斷題。根據最后一段，我們可知，這項研究令人興奮的地方是，它表明即使是無脊椎動物也共享傳統，并可能創造文化。故最佳答案為C。