CPE Reading and Use of English Part 5
You are going to read an article about urban beekeeping. For questions 31-36 choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Bees Above the City
When people imagine beekeeping, they tend to picture rolling meadows and wildflower fields, not concrete rooftops and traffic-choked streets. Yet urban beekeeping has expanded rapidly over the past decade, with hives now perched atop office blocks, schools and apartment buildings in cities across the world. Advocates claim that cities, surprisingly, may offer bees a healthier environment than the countryside, where industrial agriculture has dramatically reduced floral diversity and increased pesticide exposure. Is this then the beginning of an era where nature can coexist with – and even thrive in – urban development?
At first glance, the claim seems counter-intuitive. Cities are noisy, polluted and densely populated, hardly conditions one would instinctively associate with ecological well-being. However, urban landscapes often contain a rich mosaic of gardens, parks, balconies and roadside plantings that flower at different times of year. This continuous sequence of blooms can provide bees with a more reliable food supply than rural monocultures, which tend to offer an abundance of nectar for a brief period followed by long stretches of scarcity.
Yet urban beekeeping is not without its critics. Some ecologists warn that placing large numbers of managed honeybee colonies in cities may disadvantage wild pollinators such as bumblebees and solitary bees, which must compete for the same finite resources. Another issue is the spike in urban beekeeping popularity, when the enthusiasm of amateur apiarists would at times outpace their expertise, leading to poorly maintained hives that are vulnerable to disease. In such cases, far from supporting biodiversity, city beekeeping may inadvertently undermine it.
There is also a social dimension to consider. Urban hives are frequently promoted as tools of environmental education, reconnecting city dwellers with natural processes that are otherwise invisible in daily life. Rooftop apiaries often form the centrepiece of corporate sustainability initiatives or school science programmes. And while such projects undeniably raise awareness, some argue that they risk oversimplifying complex ecological problems, offering the comforting illusion of action without addressing deeper structural causes of pollinator decline.
Despite these concerns, urban beekeeping continues to attract converts, perhaps because it represents a rare opportunity for tangible engagement in environmental issues. Unlike abstract appeals to reduce carbon footprints, beekeeping involves living creatures, seasonal rhythms and visible outcomes. For many practitioners, the jars of honey harvested each summer are less significant than the sense of participation in something larger – a small but meaningful intervention in an ecological crisis that can otherwise feel overwhelming.
Ultimately, the success of urban beekeeping may depend less on the number of hives installed than on the thoughtfulness with which they are integrated into broader urban ecosystems. When accompanied by habitat creation, careful regulation and public education, city beekeeping can form part of a wider strategy to support pollinators. Without such measures, however, it risks becoming yet another perfunctory fashionable gesture – well-intentioned, highly visible, and of limited lasting value.
31 In the first paragraph, what is the writer’s main purpose in contrasting cities with the countryside?
A To emphasise that cities are becoming biodiversity hotspots.
B To argue that urban beekeeping should replace rural agricultural practices.
C To suggest that the environmental damage in rural areas is irreversible.
D To challenge an intuitive assumption by highlighting an unexpected ecological comparison.
32 The description of urban planting in the second paragraph mainly serves to
A demonstrate that urban biodiversity is often underestimated
B account for why urban environments may buffer bees against resource instability
C highlight how human planning can unintentionally replicate natural ecosystems
D reinforce the ecological damage caused by industrialised farming
33 What underlying criticism is implied in the third paragraph regarding the growth of urban beekeeping?
A It risks subordinating ecological priorities to symbolic or lifestyle motivations.
B Its expansion has not always been accompanied by sufficient ecological competence.
C It may unintentionally entrench the dominance of managed species over wild pollinators.
D It reflects a tendency to address biodiversity loss through superficial interventions.
34 In the fourth paragraph, the writer suggests that some urban beekeeping initiatives are limited because they
A depend too heavily on institutional support.
B present environmental problems in an overly reassuring way.
C substitute education for concrete environmental intervention.
D exaggerate the scale of their ecological impact.
35 What is the writer implying in the fifth paragraph about the appeal of urban beekeeping?
A It compensates for the abstract nature of most environmental discourse.
B Its draw could be attributed to the commercial value of its products.
C It reflects a desire to reject large-scale environmental policies.
D It offers an effective solution to feelings of ecological anxiety.
36 The final paragraph conveys the view that urban beekeeping
A risks losing credibility if it remains loosely regulated.
B achieves legitimacy only when incorporated into systemic ecological planning.
C should primarily function as a catalyst for public engagement.
D is ultimately unsustainable without government intervention.
For this task: Answers with explanations :: Vocabulary
