Question 83·Medium·Cross-Text Connections
Text 1
City parks and rooftop gardens are increasingly home to honeybee colonies. In a recent study, entomologist Lina Guerrero compared urban hives with rural ones and found that bees raised in the city carried nearly twice as many pathogens. Guerrero concludes that noise, elevated temperatures, and limited floral diversity in metropolitan areas collectively weaken bees’ immune systems, leaving the insects more vulnerable to disease.
Text 2
Some beekeepers argue that urban hives are as healthy as rural ones, but the evidence suggests otherwise. High-rise beehives often stand only a few meters apart, a density rare in countryside apiaries. In such close quarters, diseases spread quickly from one colony to the next, a process made easier when bees are already stressed by the city’s heat and patchy food sources.
Based on the texts, Guerrero and the author of Text 2 would most likely agree with which statement about disease in urban honeybee colonies?
For cross-text agreement questions, first pause before the answer choices and quickly jot a 5–7 word summary of each text’s view on the topic. Then ask: what broad idea would both authors sign off on? Use that to eliminate choices that (1) only reflect one text, (2) add extreme words like only, no, or simply that the texts do not support, or (3) exaggerate one factor into the sole or main cause. Finally, choose the option that accurately matches the overlap between the two summaries, not just a detail from one passage.
Hints
First, separate the two texts
Before you look at the choices, summarize in your own words what Text 1 says causes higher disease levels in urban hives. What specific city-related factors does Guerrero mention?
Then, focus on Text 2's causes
Do the same for Text 2: list the reasons the author gives for why diseases spread in urban colonies. Pay attention to both how diseases spread and what makes that spread easier.
Look for the overlap
Ask yourself: What big idea about city conditions and disease would both authors probably agree on based on your lists? Eliminate any answer that clearly uses information from only one text or adds claims neither text makes.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what Text 1 says about disease in city hives
In Text 1, Guerrero compares urban and rural hives and finds that city bees carry nearly twice as many pathogens. She explains this by listing several urban conditions: noise, higher temperatures, and limited floral diversity. She says these together weaken bees’ immune systems, which makes them more vulnerable to disease.
Identify what Text 2 says about disease in city hives
In Text 2, the author argues that urban hives are not as healthy as some beekeepers claim. The text points to high hive density (hives only a few meters apart) as a key reason diseases spread quickly from one colony to the next. It also says this spread is made easier when bees are already stressed by the city’s heat and patchy food sources.
Find the idea both authors share
Put the two texts together. Text 1 emphasizes several city stressors (noise, heat, limited flowers) that weaken immunity. Text 2 emphasizes close hive spacing plus stress from heat and uneven food supplies. Both authors are connecting multiple features of urban environments to a higher risk and faster spread of disease in city colonies.
Match that shared idea to an answer choice
Now check which option reflects that both passages link several urban conditions to a greater chance of disease. Choice A focuses on only one main reason (weaker immune systems) and ignores other causes like hive crowding. Choice C claims rural bees have no significant risk, which neither text says. Choice D claims planting more rooftop flowers alone could fix most disease problems, but both texts describe additional causes (noise, heat, density). Only choice B correctly captures that urban environments create multiple conditions that together increase the likelihood of disease in honeybee colonies.