Darmowe konto pozwoli wrócić do niego później.

Interestingly, some buildings can also benefit more directly from bees. It turns out that bees can act as security guards. Some time ago, journalists were talking about the recurring theft of lead from the roofs of some buildings and a unique counter-measure taken by their owners. Their roofs are now home to bees, which are a powerful deterrent to anyone intent on removing the lead. The very thought of being stung has the power to put thieves off. Regrettably, however, this doesn't restrain the theft of rooftop beehives. Due to colony disease, honeybees have become so valuable that hive theft is on the rise. There are also cases of pest controllers who kill urban honeybees in abandoned houses after mistaking them for wasps.

In an original response to the idea of keeping bees in cities, a group of architecture students at the University of Buffalo designed an extraordinary construction for urban bees. It's a steel tower, 22ft tall, called Elevator B, which can be placed on the roofs of buildings. On the outside, the tower is covered with hexagonal panels inspired by the natural honeycomb structure of beehives. Bees don't occupy the full height of Elevator B, just a glass-bottomed box suspended near the top, a suitable new home for a thriving bee colony. People can enter the tower through an opening at its base and look up to see the industrious insects at work. And when beekeepers want to collect honey, they lower the glass bottomed box. It works like an elevator. This feature is also of value to school groups that visit the site of the prototype, as the children can get a close-up view.

I feel that when this modern type of beehive is successfully introduced to skyscrapers, they will then become high-rise luxury towers for bees, not only for people. It should be mentioned that the bees in Elevator B were forcibly relocated from their colony in a boarded-up window of an abandoned building and may well have been happier there. But such is progress.

Text 2

Interviewer: At first blush, it sounds like the talk of a conspiracy theorist: a company implanting microchips under their employees' skin. But for some companies it's neither a theory nor a conspiracy. Today my guest is Sam Bengtson, a software engineer in a technology company called Three Square Market. Welcome.

Sam Bengtson: Good evening.

Interviewer: What do you think about the idea of employees having chips implanted?

Sam Bengtson: Once you have a chip the size of a grain of rice injected between your thumb and index finger, any task involving Radio Frequency Identification technology, like swiping into the office building, paying for food in the cafeteria or logging onto your computer, can be accomplished with a wave of your hand. And it won't need frequent updating or replacing like the devices we have now. When I was asked whether we should consider implementing the technology, I wanted to jump on the bandwagon as quickly as possible and not pussyfoot around for years, as other companies are likely to do. I arranged a meeting with my co-workers to see if this was something we wanted. I was astonished to find that an overwhelming majority were willing to give their consent to being microchipped. I was prepared for some criticism, particularly from the older staff members, who tend to be more distrustful of technological innovations, but in fact just a few of my colleagues opposed the idea. And even those who did were thrilled about the technology itself, but wary of having the device implanted in their body. They agreed to wear a ring with a chip instead.

Interviewer: Don't you have any doubts about the idea of microchipping people? Surely it raises a variety of questions…

Sam Bengtson: Certainly, it does, like anything which is new. Producers assure us that the chips are secure and encrypted, but still many people voice their concerns about it. They claim that "encrypted" is a pretty vague term, which could include anything from an actually secure product to something that is easily hackable. I personally think that this threat is blown out of proportion and transparent and robust regulation should be enough to allay these concerns. Another fear is that technology designed for one purpose, like getting access to a building, could later be used in more invasive ways, for instance, to track the length of an employee's bathroom or lunch break without their consent or even without their knowledge. Well, I can't vouch for all other devices, but a Radio Frequency Identification chip reader has very limited capabilities. It can't be harnessed to work as a GPS tracking device. In fact, a standard cell phone reports 100 times more data than the chip is able to provide.

As for concerns about health, at this stage they are difficult to assess. Since 2004, when the Food and Drug Administration approved microchips for medical use, there have been some rare cases of the implantation site becoming infected. However, since the device is removable, I would not worry too much about it. In any event, I'm certain that within the next 10 years such devices are going to be introduced in many places, and companies like ours really must be at the forefront. After all, we're a technology company.

Text 1

2.1. Which reason for the growth of the bee populations in cities is mentioned by the speaker?

A. Residents expect bees to pollinate plants in their rooftop gardens.

B. Incentives have been introduced to encourage beekeeping in cities.

C. City dwellers consider bees to be an indication of a healthy environment.

D. Bees are being relocated in response to cases of colony disease in rural areas.

2.2. Beehives installed on city roofs

A. have been the subject of legal action by building owners.

B. have failed to discourage thieves from stealing lead.

C. are a possible target for criminal activity.

D. pose a difficulty for pest controllers.

2.3. Which is TRUE about Elevator B?

A. Its interior design was inspired by the shape of a honeycomb.

B. Visitors have to climb to the top of Elevator B to see the bees up-close.

C. It can provide accommodation for several colonies of bees.

D. The bee colony residing in it used to live somewhere else before.

Text 2

2.4. When the plan to implant microchips was considered at Sam's company,

A. workers who were apprehensive about it accepted a compromise solution.

B. older workers consented in order not to stand out from the rest.

C. some employees suggested a delay in implementation might be advisable.

D. Sam faced hostility for being too pushy about it.

2.5. When discussing the dilemmas involved in microchipping people, Sam

A. points to security issues as a valid threat which can't be remedied.

B. confirms that the chips can be used to monitor people's whereabouts.

C. questions the evidence provided by the Food and Drug Administration.

D. implies that his company's profile obliges it to take a pioneering approach.

2.6. Based on the whole interview, which sentence most accurately reflects Sam's attitude to the idea of implanting microchips?

A. He feels uneasy about being pressured to persuade his co-workers to consent to the idea.

B. He endorses the introduction of this technology in his company.

C. He is concerned about safety procedures which would unduly affect employees' efficiency.

D. He is ready, against his own convictions, to lobby for the idea.