Read the article and select the best answer. Article: I have been very lucky to have won the Nobel Prize twice. It is, of course, very exciting to have such an important recognition of my work, but the real pleasure was in the work itself. Scientific research is like an exploration of a voyage of discovery. You are continually trying out new things that have not been done before. Many of them will lead nowhere and you have to try something different, but sometimes an experiment does work and tells you something new and that is really exciting. However small the new finding may be, it is great to think " I am the only person who knows this" and then you will have the fun of thinking what this finding will lead to and deciding what will be the next experiment. One of the best things about scientific research is that you are always doing something different and it is never boring. There are good times when things go well and bad times when they don't. Some people get discouraged at the difficult times but when I have a failure, my policy has always been not to worry but to start planning the next experiment, which is always fun. It is very exciting to make a new discovery. Some people will do the strangest things for this excitement, such as going round the world in a balloon or walking to the North Pole. There are not many new places to explore but there is a lot of new information to be discovered in science and a journey into this unknown area can be much more worthwhile and just as exciting. I am sometimes asked, "What do you have to do to win a Nobel Prize?" My answer is: "I don't know. I have never tried." But I know of one way not to win one. There are some people whose main reason for doing science is to win prizes and they are always thinking about how to do it. Such people don't succeed. To do good science you must be interested in it and enjoy doing experiments and thinking out problems. And, of course, you must be prepared to work hard and not to be too discouraged by failure. Question: Which of the following is true according to the passage? Options: A: The writer could still keep calm when he heard the news that he had won the Nobel Prize. B: The writer always gave up his courage when he met with some difficulties in the course of his scientific research. C: In the field of science there are still many new things which need to be studied further. D: There are still many exciting places to explore in the world.
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Most people know precious gemstones by their appearances. An emerald flashes deep green, a ruby seems to hold a red fire inside, and a diamond shines like a star. It's more difficult to tell where the gem was mined, since a diamond from Australia or Arkansas may appear the same to one from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, recently, a team of scientists has found a way to identify a gemstone's origin. Beneath the surface of a gemstone, on the tiny level of atoms and molecules , lie clues to its origin. At this year's meeting of the Geological Society of America in Minneapolis, Catherine McManus reported on a technique that uses lasers to clarify these clues and identify a stone's homeland. McManus directs scientific research at Materialytics, in Killeen, Texas. The company is developing the technique. "With enough data, we could identify which country, which mining place, even the individual mine a gemstone comes from," McManus told Science News. Some gemstones, including many diamonds, come from war-torn countries. Sales of those "blood minerals" may encourage violent civil wars where innocent people are injured or killed. In an effort to reduce the trade in blood minerals, the U.S. government passed law in July 2010 that requires companies that sell gemstones to determine the origins of their stones. To figure out where gemstones come from, McManus and her team focus a powerful laser on a small sample of the gemstone. The technique is called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Just as heat can turn ice into water or water into steam, energy from the laser changes the state of matter of the stone. The laser changes a miniscule part of the gemstone into plasma, a gas state of matter in which tiny particles called electrons separate from atoms. The plasma, which is superhot, produces a light pattern. (The science of analyzing this kind of light pattern is called spectroscopy.) Different elements produce different patterns, but McManus and her team say that gemstones from the same area... Question: Why did the U.S. government pass law that requires companies selling gemstones to determine the origins of their stones? Options: A: To look for more gemstones. B: To encourage violent civil wars. C: To reduce the trade in blood minerals. D: To develop the economy.
C

Read the article and select the best answer. Article: With big handbags becoming a key fashion accessory for working women, health experts are warning they can also become a key health concern. Bags for women have become bigger and heavier as designers combine briefcases with handbags and straps have become longer, resulting in many users complaining of neck, shoulder and back problems. "I see so many women with neck pains and headaches and what I usually do is look for their purse and pick it up,"said Jane Sadler, a family practice physician at Baylor Medical Center in Garland, Texas."We take it over to the scale and weigh it and usually they're anywhere from 7 to 10 pounds. We're really going to see women with more and more problems later on if we continue the big purse craze." William Case, a physical therapist in private practice in Houston, Texas, urged designers"to place a cute, educational caution tag on all bags to inform buyers of potential neck and shoulder dangers."Above all, he suggested correct posture while carrying big purses, keeping the head and shoulders upright. Patients should also often change the size and weight of purses carried. "The extra-large purses are quite extraordinary. They look beautiful when the women wear them, but I don't know how aware they are of the potential problems,"Case said. Placing objects on one shoulder was one of the least efficient ways of carrying a load, according to a professor from Cornell University in New York State."This causes a great imbalance,"he said."If a big bag is a fashion accessory, then occasional and symbolic use is fine. If not, then keep it light." Question: Jane Salder would"look for their purse and pick it up"in order to see whether the purses_. Options: A: contained enough B: were worth a lot of pounds C: were too heavy D: were too large
C