The Nobel Prizes in physiology or medicine, physics and chemistry are the most respected prizes in science. But talk to scientists in private, and many will complain why (besides jealousy, perhaps) are some scientists unhappy with the Nobels? One reason is that the committees can often be slow to recognize achievement. Alfred Nobel specified in his will that the prizes should reward work done in the previous year. But experience soon showed that this was risky, as medals were given out for discoveries that later proved questionable. So a degree of caution is probably advisable. Sometimes, though, it can lead to strange results. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, for instance, had to wait until 1983 to win a prize for work he had done in the 1930s on the structure of stars. However, Albert Einstein never won a prize for his theory of relativity. Even though some pretty suggestive evidence had been produced by Arthur Eddington in 1919, relativity, which has later passed every experimental test ever thrown at it, was still considered somewhat risky and obscure. Another criticism concerns the tradition that no more than three people can share a prize. Science is rarely this clear-cut. Take this year's physics prize, which recognised Peter Higgs for predicting the existence of the mass-bestowing particle that now bears his name. Dr Higgs was only one of several people with a claim. Two other teams---- Rober Brout and Francois Englert, as well as Gerald Guralnik, Carl Hageh and Tom Kibble----- submitted papers on the same idea to the same journal that published Dr Higgs's work, all within a few months of each other. Science often works like this, with different people coming up with similar ideas at similar times. In the event, the committee decided to honour Dr Engler (Brout is dead, therefore unqualified), whose paper was earlier than Dr Higgs's but did not explicitly predict a particle, over Dr Guralnik and his collaborators, who were more comprehensive but published a few weeks later. The passage is most probably coming from_? A) a magazine B) a book review C) a literature work D) a science fiction
A
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Mr. Brown first went to look at the underground-fire when he was seven. "Through the hole in the earth you could see the orange fire, but you had to look fast because it was so hot," said Mr. Brown. In 1898,he saw the fire once more. Now, we can only see the smoke. The fire Mr. Brown saw is not the underground-fire. In fact ,there are 260 coal fires in the world. They are harmful and dangerous. Then how to put them out? Scientists have tried to set fire to underground coal to speed up the fires. In this way, the burning of underground coal would be soon finished. How many coal fires are there in the world? A) There's only one B) It's hard to say C) There are 260 D) The article doesn't tell us
C
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The language used by scientists to explain complex ideas can be difficult and sometimes even boring. The language, with its Latin words and long scientific terms, could be one reason some people avoid learning about science, especially children. American Danielle Dixson is a marine biologist. She wants to make science fun for children. Dixson has turned that idea into a series of children's books. The nine books are written so that her research is easy to understand. "I just don't really think kids should be left out of it and I thought that story books may be one of the easiest ways to sort of captivate them and have them understand." Danielle Dixson is an assistant professor at the University of Delaware. Dixson says another goal of her science writing is to help increase understanding of the ocean environment. She spent almost two years in the South Pacific working on her post-doctoral research. She went to the island nation of Fiji to investigate coral reefs that are collapsing or, as she says, degrading. The goal of her research is to identify why some healthy coral reefs are breaking down. She also wants to find out how this degradation affects fish that live in and around the reefs. "A number of the reefs are converting from being, you know, these beautiful coral reef systems that have a lot of holes for animals to hide in, into reefs that the coral's degrading and collapsing and then there is not as much hiding spaces for fishes and things like that." Early in her research, Dixson made some videos for people in Fiji. The videos explained her work to the local community. She says she wanted them to understand how her research would help them. For the local children, Dixson started making books explaining her work. This helped to keep them from walking through her "laboratory" - baby pools filled with water she was using for her experiments. "I was living, actually, in the village with some of the locals. It was a lot easier to get research done if they understood what I was doing and how it would help... What can we infer from Dixson's research on coral reefs in Fiji? A) She's targeted at breaking down unhealthy coral reefs. B) Coral reefs can shelter many fishes around. C) The videos she made served the local community well. D) Children there helped her a lot to accomplish books.
B
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When you consider what subject to study in college, chances are that you and your parents will think about what you can make out of _ after graduation. You will likely ask the question: "Can I find a well-paid job or simply a job with a degree in this in the future?" This consideration also influences students when they come to choose between studying science or humanities   at college. People generally believe that the humanities, which include literature ,  history, cultural studies and philosophy,  do not prepare students for a specific vocation  . Science subjects, however, are considered vocational courses that produce scientists, engineers and economists  . "I've decided to take finance as my college major. My parents and I think this subject will help me get a good job or start a business," said Huachen Yueru, 17, a science student at Wuxi No. 1 High School. Even those who choose a liberal arts   education often pick the humanities subject which they think will best help them later find a job. "I'm going to study Spanish in college, which I believe will open doors to a high-paying job for me," said Liu Chao, 18, a Senior 2 student at Dalian No 20 High School. He said few of his classmates show interest in subjects like philosophy and history, which are seen as "less promising" in job markets. The popularity of liberal arts subjects among college students has also been decreasing in the United States. American scholars   and universities are concerned that in the ongoing economic crisis   liberal arts subjects will be hit hardest. As money tightens  , they worry that the humanities may become "a great luxury   that many cannot afford", according to the New York Times. Why do students show little interest in the subjects, like philosophy or history ? A) Because they are not interested in them. B) Because they think these subjects are useless. C) Because they see these subjects as less-promising in job market. D) Because they like the science subjects.

C
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