Marie Curie was a Polish physicist and chemist who lived between 1867-1934. Together with her husband, Pierre, she discovered two new elements (radium and polonium, two radioactive elements that they extracted chemically from pitchblende ore) and studied the x-rays they emitted. She found that the harmful properties of x-rays were able to kill tumors. By the end of World War I, Marie Curie was probably the most famous woman in the world. She had made a conscious decision, however, not to patent methods of processing radium or its medical applications.
Marie Curie was born November 7, 1867 in Poland and died on July 4, 1934. Her co-discovery with her husband Pierre Curie of the radioactive elements radium and polonium represents one of the best known stories in modern science for which they were recognized in 1901 with the Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1911, Marie Curie was honored with a second Nobel prize, this time in chemistry, to honor her for successfully isolating pure radium and determining radium's atomic weight.
As a child, Marie Curie amazed people with her great memory. She learned to read when she was only four years old. Her father was a professor of science and the instruments that he kept in a glass case fascinated Marie. She dreamed of becoming a scientist, but that would not be easy. Her family became very poor, and at the age of 18, Marie became a governess. She helped pay for her sister to study in Paris. Later, her sister helped Marie with her education. In 1891, Marie attended the Sorbonne University in Paris where she met and married Pierre Curie, a well-known physicist.
Marie Curie contributed greatly to our understanding of radioactivity and the effects of x-rays. She received two Nobel prizes for her brilliant work, but died of leukemia, caused by her repeated exposure to radioactive material.
What is the main idea of the passage?
To give us a general introduction to Madame Curie.
To show us how Madame Curie discovered radium.
To tell us how Madame Curie developed as a scientist.
To tell us how Madame Curie received two Nobel Prizes.
Madame Curie was given the Nobel Prize in chemistry because_________.
she discovered radium
she separated pure radium and calculated its atomic weight
she discovered polonium
she didn’t patent methods of processing radium
Which of the following statements about Madame Curie is Not True?
Madame Curie made great contributions to medical science.
Madame Curie was very smart and ambitious when she was a child.
Madame Curie received two Nobel Prizes in physics.
Madame Curie’s husband helped her a lot in her research.
4. We can infer from the third paragraph that_________.
①Madame Curie got married when she was at college.
②Madam Curie had a great ambition when she was young.
③Madame Curie loved teaching more than anything else.
④Madam Curie must have met a lot of difficulties to get high education.
⑤Her father had a great influence on Madam Curie’s future career.
⑥Madam Curie was very smart when she was a child
A. ①②④⑤⑥     B.②④⑤⑥    C. ②③④⑤⑥    D. ①②③④⑤
5. Which is the right order about Madam Curie according to the passage?
a. married Pierre       b. attended University       c. discovered radium  
d. determined radium’s atomic weight               e. won the Nobel Prize in physics
A. b, c, a, d, e      B. b, a, c, d, e     C. b, a, c, e, d     D. b, c, a, e, d