Marie was born in Poland in 1867. She was given the name Marie Sklodowska by her parents. Her father was a teacher. Everyone soon saw that Marie had a quick mind.
Marie s mother died when her youngest daughter was only ten. This made Marie know that she must work hard at her lessons if she wanted to be successful in her life. So she did and won top honors at her school.
Marie and her elder sister, Bronya, dreamed of studying in France. But their father did not have enough money to send them there. Then Marie made out a plan: she would teach at home and send her money to Bronya. After her sister finished studying in Paris, she could get work and send Marie the money to study there in return.
With tears in their eyes the girls said goodbye to each other, and Marie worked very hard for six years to pay for her sister s studies. At last it was Marie s turn, but by the time she got to France, her sister was married and could not give her much help.
Again Marie worked. She studied in a small room without heat or light. She lived on bread and tea most of the time, but what she cared of most was her science, her study and her research work. This was her world and she liked her experiment most.
In Paris she met and married Pierre Curie, a young famous scientist. Together they made their experiments in an old house shabbily equipped (设施简陋的). They knew that some element in the world gave off a strange power. The power could go through other objects. They found more of this power in some elements than in any other elements. It made them believe that it must be a new element itself.
For four years they tried experiments to separate this new powerful element. Finally they found something that they called radium. Its power of radiation was much greater than that of other elements.
The Curies were awarded the Nobel Prize for their great contribution to science. They used the money for further experiments on the uses of radium. They found it could be used in treating diseases.
Unfortunately Pierre died suddenly just after he began to work as professor at the Sorbonne ( 巴黎大学). Marie Curie took his place. She thus became the first woman ever to teach there. She continued their research work and made many more important discoveries. In 1911 she received another Nobel Prize. It is the only time in history that two Nobel Prize have been given to the same person, and this person was a woman.
Marie Curie, an extraordinary woman scientist with extraordinary successes discovered a hidden power from which the world benefits much. It was this same power, however, that killed her in 1934.
1. Marie and her sister wished to_________.
A. study in France
B. work at home
C. visit Paris
D. travel around the world
2. Pick out the right order for Marie's plan.
a. Bronya worked and earned money.
b. Marie studied in France.
c. Marie worked and earned money.
d. Bronya studied in France.
A. a, b, c, d B. c, d, a, b
C. c, b, a, d D. a, d, c, b
3. What made Marie forget and overcome her hardship in Paris?
A. Pierre's help.
B. Her love for scientific research.
C. Six years' hard work.
D. Her sister's help.
4. The main character (特点. ) of the element radium is that it_________.
A. has a lot of uses
B. is a strange element
C. sends out more and greater power than other elements
D. has never existed in the world before
5. Which of the following questions can NOT be answered by the information from the passage?
A. Why couldn’t the sister study in France together?
B. How long did the elder sister study in France?
C. What led the Curies to believe that there was a new element in the world?
D. What color is radium?