EST refers to scientific English for experts and professionals only.

According to the author, how is the approach of physicists to solving scientific problems?

A．Practical for scientific purposes.

B．Detrimental to scientific progress.

C．Unimportant in most situations.

D．Expedient, but of little long-term value.

The author suggests that the approach of physicists to solving scientific problem is which of the following?

A．Practical for scientific purposes.

B．Detrimental to scientific progress.

C．Unimportant in most situations.

D．Expedient, but of little long-term value.

According to the author, how is the approach of 'physicists to solving scientific problems?

A．Practical for scientific purposes.

B．Detrimental to scientific progress.

C．Unimportant in most situations.

D．Expedient, but of little long-term value.

Historically, the European Union has not bothered with funding much basic scientific research. Such activities have mainly remained the preserve of national governments, not least because giving scientists free rein can lead to discoveries that not only make money but ultimately enhance military might.

That attitude is now changing. The European Commission proposes to establish a European Research Council(ERC) that would spend a maximum of 12 billion($14 billion) over seven years on" blue skies" research. While the plans are being generally welcomed by Europe's member states, their details are problematic. The proposed ERC is intended to make Europe more competitive. Europe has some first-class universities, scientific institutions and research organizations, But, the ERC's proponents argue, their activities are fragmented, so they are not reaching their full potential.

In America, teams from across the country compete with each other for grants from the National Science Foundation. The proposed ERC is modeled on this scheme, It would award grants to individual research teams for a specific project, solely on the basis of scientific merit judged by peer review, If the ERC were created, scientists from across Europe would compete with each other for funds, rather than merely competing with their fellow countrymen, as hap pens at present.

This compares with the limited funding for basic research that currently exists in the EU, which places its emphasis on collaboration between researchers. It is open only to researchers in a narrow range of disciplines chosen by the European Parliament and the commission. The ERC would be quite different, placing its emphasis on competition between researchers and leaving scientists themselves to decide which areas of science to pursue. Helga Nowotny, who chairs the European Research Advisory Board—an advisory body to the commission—says that winning a grant from the ERC could come to be seen as unmistakable recognition of research excellence.

The quality of European research needs to be stepped up a notch. Between 1980 and 2003, Europe had 68 Nobel laureates in medicine, physics and chemistry compared with 154 in America. With competition from China and India, Europe's share could fall further.

One of the reasons for Europe's relatively weak performance is thought to be a lack of genuine competition between Europe's researchers. Another is its poor ability to attract young people into a research career. Recent estimates suggest that Europe needs an extra 700,000 researchers if it is to meet its overall target of raising spending (private, national and EU) on research and development to 3% of GDP by 2010. Many young scientists leave Europe for America once they have finished their training. Dr. Nowotny says the ERC could help here too. It could establish a scheme to give young researchers the opportunity to follow their own ideas and become independent at an earlier stage in their careers, encouraging talent to stay in Europe.

The crucial issue now is whether the ERC will be able to set its own research agenda, free from the interference and bureaucracy of the commission and influence of member states. Last month, 22 leading European scientists charged with shaping the ERC's scientific strategy met for the first time to start hammering out a charter and constitution. Serious concerns remain over the legal structure of the body.

The final decision on the ERC's legal form, on a date yet unspecified, rests with the European Parliament and member states in the European Council. If both are genuine in their support for the ERC and Europe's aim of becoming more competitive, then they must find a way of keeping the ERC free from political interference. Europe would benefit from a competition for its best researchers which rewards scientific excellence. A quasi-competition that recognizes how many v

A．Because they don't want to be bothered with those basic researches.

B．Because national governments take them as their sole preserve.

C．Because member countries want to keep the benefits to themselves.

D．Because scientist from the member countries couldn't compete.

A、Choose Suitable Tea for Different Seasons

B、Do Not Drink Tea Too Strong and Much

C、Do Not Drink Tea on Certain Situations

D、Drink tea right after dinner.

Traditionally people believe that humor ______.

A．can be tested and scientifically scrutinized

B．has something to do with a person's brain

C．cannot be found in brain-damaged people

D．is an intangible part of a person's personality

A hundred years ago it was assumed and scientifically "proved" by economists that the laws of society make it necessary to have a vast army of poor and jobless people in order to keep the economy going. Today, hardly anybody would dare to voice the principle. It is generally accepted that nobody should be excluded from the wealth of the nation, either by the law of nature or by those of society. The opinions are outdated, which were current a hundred years ago, that the poor owed their conditions to their ignorance, lack of responsibility. In all western industrialized countries, a system of insurance has been introduced which guarantees everyone a minimum of subsistence in case of unemployment, sickness and old age. I would go one step further and argue that, even if these conditions are not present, in other words, one can claim this substance minimum without having to have any "reason". I would suggest, however, that it should be limited to a definite period of time, let's say two years, so as to avoid the encouragement of an abnormal attitude which refuses any kind of social obligation.

This may sound like a fantastic proposal, but so, I think, our insurance system would have sounded to people a hundred years ago. The main objection to such a scheme would be that if each person were entitled to receive minimum support, people would not work. This assumption rests on the fallacy of the inherent laziness. In human nature, actually, aside from abnormally lazy people, there would be very few who would not want to earn more than the minimum, and who would prefer to do nothing rather than work.

However, the suspicions against a system of guaranteed subsistence minimum are not groundless from the standpoint of those who want to use ownership capital for the purpose of forcing others to accept the work conditions they offer. If nobody were forced to accept work in order not to starve, work would be sufficiently interesting and attractive in order to induce one to accept it. Freedom of contract is possible only if both parties are free to accept and reject if; in the present capitalist system this is not the case.

But such a system would not only be the beginning of real freedom of contract between employers and employees, its principal advantage would be the improvement of freedom in interpersonal relationships in every sphere of daily life.

People used to think that poverty and unemployment were due to ______.

A．the slow development of the economy

B．the poor and jobless people's own faults

C．the lack of responsibility on the part of the society

D．the large number Of people who were not well-educated

It seems that the passage implies ______.

A．the English language is always becoming larger and larger

B．the words of the English language are always changing

C．one can never be sure what a word means without consulting an expert

D．technical terms in most non-scientific fields have little chance of becoming part of the main body of the language in these scientific days

Which of the following is TRUE?

A．No beliefs are supported by scientific evidence.

B．Pseudoscience always leads to false understanding of things or events.

C．Science never questions facts.

D．Scientists accept noting without scientific evidence.