Sunlight has benefits for our minds and bodies. When we’re outdoors on a clear day, the sunlight __9__ our spirits, making us happy. This happens because sunlight causes a hormone to be __10__ in our bodies. Called serotonin, this hormone has two main __11__ on our minds. Firstly, it eases anxiety. Additionally, it __12__ the mood. Sunlight increases our body’s production of other feel-good chemicals, too. But so does darkness. When darkness falls, our bodies __13__ the hormone melatonin. It helps us sleep. When our __14__ receives sunlight, it produces vitamin D. This __15__ improves our immune system. It also helps our blood cells, heart, and bones to __16__ healthy. Vitamin D plays another important __17__ as well. It helps our bodies absorb the calcium __18__ we get from food or milk. Calcium is important because it builds strong bones. generate (B) that (C) stabilizes (D) nutrient (E) part (F) remain (G) lifts (H) effects (I) skin (J) released 9.
Honeybees are nature’s most productive honey producers. Bees consume honey over the winter when no flowers are available, and they’re not the only ones that like it. People also love the sweet taste of honey and use it in many ways. The flourishing honey industry in many countries depends on healthy honeybee populations.
Honeybees also play an important role in farming. Unfortunately, bees are under threat worldwide. Since the 1990s, as many as 25 percent of the world’s bee species have disappeared. This is a serious problem since, without bees, pollination takes a hit and so does our supply of fruit and vegetables. One reason for the decline is loss of habitat. Urban developments are eating up farmland, and large-scale farming is destroying grasslands, where bees forage for food and wild bees build their homes. Other reasons responsible for the decline include disease and the use of pesticides.
One bright spot is Canada, where more people than ever - around 13,000 - are raising colonies of honeybees on their land. The majority of Canadians who raise colonies of honeybees do so in their free time for their personal enjoyment. They also earn a bit of money by selling the honey that their bees produce. A much smaller number of Canadians are large-scale commercial honey producers who harvest honey from huge numbers of colonies that they tend. In 2017, there were nearly 791,000 honeybee colonies in Canada. The total number of colonies dipped very slightly in 2018 but soon recovered in 2019. During the following year, the total number of colonies sank much further, but it recovered even more strongly in 2021.
The United Nations has declared May 20 to be World Bee Day to emphasize the importance of the insects. To help bees, people are encouraged to plant nectar-producing flowers in pots on balconies and terraces and in gardens. Farmers and other agricultural workers are encouraged to be careful with pesticides. And fields of grass and wildflowers can be left alone for the sake of bees. 19. What does the article imply about Canadians who care for honeybee colonies?
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