听力原文: It seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain, its first use was as a shade against the sun.
Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese, way back in the eleventh century B. C. We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sun shade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: It becomes a symbol of honor and authority. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high office.
In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in common use in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as a protection against the rain were the ancient Romans.
During the Middle Age, the use of umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered as a symbol of the power and authority. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France, and later on in England.
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas have not changed much in style. during all the time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn't until the twentieth century that women's umbrellas began to be made, in a whole variety of colors.
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A. In ancient China.
B. In ancient Egypt.
C. In ancient Greece.
D. In ancient Rome.
Why does tile Foundation concentrate its support on basic rather than applied research? Basic research is the very heart of science, and its product is the capital of scientific progress, a capital that must be constantly increased as the demands upon it rise. The goal of basic research is understanding, for its own sake. Understanding of the structure of the atom or the nerve cell, the explosion of a spiral nebula (星云) or the distribution of cosmic dust, the causes of earthquakes and droughts, or of man as a behaving creature and of the social forces that are created whenever two or more human beings come into contact with one another—the scope is almost unbelievable, but the commitment to truth is the same. If the commitment were to a particular result, conflicting evidence might be overlooked or, with the best will in the world, simply not appreciated. When Roentgen, the physicist, discovered X-rays, he had no idea of their usefulness to medicine.
Applied research, undertaken to solve specific practical problems, has an immediate attractiveness because the results can be seen and enjoyed. For practical reasons, the sums spent on applied research in any country always far exceed those for basic research, and the proportions are more unequal in the developed countries. Leaving aside the funds devoted to research by industry—which is naturally far more concerned with applied aspects because these increase profits quickly—the funds the U. S. Government spends on basic research currently amount to about 7 percent of its overall research and development funds. Unless adequate safeguards are provided, applied research invariably tends to drive out basic research. Then, as Dr. Waterman has pointed out, "Developments will inevitably be undertaken prematurely, career incentives will be strongly attracted by applied science, and the opportunities for making major scientific discoveries will be lost. Unfortunately, pressures to emphasize new developments, without corresponding emphasis upon pure science tend to lower the quality of the nation's technology in the long run, rather than to improve it."
Which of the title below best expresses the ideas of this passage?
A. Roentgen's Ignorance of X-rays.
B. The Attractiveness of Applied Research.
C. The Importance of Basic Research.
D. Basic Research vs. Applied Research.