The US$3-million Fundamental physics prize is indeed an interesting experiment, as Alexander Polyakov said when he accepted this years award in March. And it is far from the only one of its type. As a News Feature article in Nature discusses, a string of lucrative awards for researchers have joined the Nobel Prizes in recent years. Many, like the Fundamental Physics Prize, are funded from the telephone-number-sized bank accounts of Internet entrepreneurs. These benefactors have succeeded in their chosen fields, they say, and they want to use their wealth to draw attention to those who have succeeded in science. Whats not to like? Quite a lot, according to a handful of scientists quoted in the News Feature. You cannot buy class, as the old saying goes, and these upstart entrepreneurs cannot buy their prizes the prestige of the Nobels, The new awards are an exercise in self-promotion for those behind them, say scientists. They could distort the achievement-based system of peer-review-led research. They could cement the status quo of peer-reviewed research. They do not fund peer-reviewed research. They perpetuate the myth of the lone genius. The goals of the prize-givers seem as scattered as the criticism. Some want to shock, others to draw people into science, or to better reward those who have made their careers in research. As Nature has pointed out before, there are some legitimate concerns about how science prizesboth new and oldare distributed. The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, launched this year, takes an unrepresentative view of what the life sciences include. But the Nobel Foundations limit of three recipients per prize, each of whom must still be living, has long been outgrown by the collaborative nature of modern researchas will be demonstrated by the inevitable row over who is ignored when it comes to acknowledging the discovery of the Higgs boson. The Nobels were, of course, themselves set up by a very rich individual who had decided what he wanted to do with his own money. Time, rather than intention, has given them legitimacy. As much as some scientists may complain about the new awards, two things seem clear. First, most researchers would accept such a prize if they were offered one. Second, it is surely a good thing that the money and attention come to science rather than go elsewhere, It is fair to criticize and question the mechanismthat is the culture of research, after allbut it is the prize-givers money to do with as they please. It is wise to take such gifts with gratitude and grace. 31. The Fundamental Physics Prize is seen as________. [A]a symbol of the entrepreneurs wealth. [B]a possible replacement of the Nobel Prizes. [C]an example of bankers investments. [D]a handsome reward for researchers. 32. The critics think that the new awards will most benefit________. [A]the profit-oriented scientists. [B]the founders of the new awards. [C]the achievement-based system. [D]peer-review-led research. 33. The discovery of the Higgs boson is a typical case which involves_________. [A]controversies over the recipients status. [B]the joint effort of modern researchers. [C]legitimate concerns over the new prizes. [D]the demonstration of research findings. 34. According to Paragraph 4, which of the following is true of the Nobels? [A]Their endurance has done justice to them. [B]Their legitimacy has long been in dispute. [C]They are the most representative honor. [D]History has never cast doubt on them. 35.The author believes that the now awards are_________. [A]acceptable despite the criticism. [B]harmful to the culture of research. [C]subject to undesirable changes. [D]unworthy of public attention. 【参考答案】31、A 32、B 33、D 34、A 35、A 【主要内容】本文是讲述基础物理学奖和诺贝尔奖的区别。
十项你能在半年内get到的大技能!(上)
英美故事赏析:The Ghost at the Crossroads
你知道为什么“11”在英文中不叫“ONETEEN”吗?
你知道数字三有何妙处吗?
外国人最喜欢的中国元素,你知道是什么吗?
传统英语故事:Another Ghost Story
你收过什么奇葩的圣诞礼物
BBC最爱用的英语典故,就是这6个
中国传统故事:调琴如治国
惊讶,英国女学生因裙子太短被遣送回家
教你get最正宗的英国过圣诞的方法
含蓄内敛的英式客套话,你听得懂吗?
可口可乐的十个秘密,你绝不知道(上)
《白雪公主》中的小矮人竟然有名字!
英美民间故事赏析:Alton Towers - Curse
可口可乐的十个秘密,你绝不知道(中)
可口可乐的十个秘密,你绝不知道(下)
盘点8个令人震惊的英国冷知识
英美故事赏析:小丑雕像杀人事件
英美民间故事赏析:Borley Rectory
帮英式料理洗白,英国可不只有“黑暗料理”
这些万圣节的事情,你应该知道
中国传统故事:工之侨造琴
《老友记》告诉我们的文化现象
嘉年华的来历,你知道吗?
蜜月、亲爱的,这两个英文词的来历是什么?
美国学生的数学、阅读呈现下降趋势
英国大选的“大日子”,一起来凑热闹吗?
这些事,可以再英国做,但不能在美国做
你知道为什么英国人特别喜欢说“sorry”吗?
| 不限 |
| 英语教案 |
| 英语课件 |
| 英语试题 |
| 不限 |
| 不限 |
| 上册 |
| 下册 |
| 不限 |