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  3. In 1742 Benjamin Franklin invented a new type of stove, for which he was offered a patent. Franklin refused it, arguing in his a

In 1742 Benjamin Franklin invented a new type of stove, for which he was offered a patent. Franklin refused it, arguing in his a

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问题     In 1742 Benjamin Franklin invented a new type of stove, for which he was offered a patent. Franklin refused it, arguing in his autobiography that because "we enjoyed great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours."
    Most inventors are not as generous as the "Newton of Electricity": They want to turn their inventions into a profit. The patent system, which was developed independently in 15th-century Venice and then in 17th-century England, gave entrepreneurs a monopoly to sell their inventions for a number of years. Yet by the 1860s the patent system came under attack. Patents, critics argued, inhibited future creativity by allowing inventors to rest on their laurels. Recent economic research backs this up.
    The pharmaceutical industry makes the best case for patents (and makes the most of patents when they are approved). Medical research and development (R&D) is costly. Moreover, although a patent application must be filed straight after a drug discovery, clinical trials necessary for drug approval may take several years. This shortens the effective life of the patent, which causes problems. In order to prove the efficacy of a drug, pharmaceuticals have to match the length of a clinical trial to the expected survival time of the patients. A clinical trial for patients with a spreading cancer lasts only three years compared to an 18-year-long trial for those suffering from a milder, localized cancer. Since a typical patent is in force for 20 years, firms only have two years of effective patent length left to commercialize a new drug against the localized cancer.
    The data paint a gloomy picture. Pharmaceutical companies conduct 30 times more clinical trials for recurrent cancer drugs than for preventive drugs. They divert their R&D expenditures away from more curable, localized cancers and focus on incurable spreading and recurrent cancers instead. The patent system encourages pharmaceuticals to pump out drugs aimed at those who have almost no chance of surviving the cancer anyway. This patent distortion costs the U.S. economy around $89 billion a year in lost lives.
    A one-size-fits-all patent system does not cater to the specifics of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. But tailoring patent law may encourage lobbying and corruption. A careful reform of the patent system is necessary: Complete abolition of patents will not be enough to save cancer patients’ lives.
The underlined words "rest on their laurels" in Paragraph 2 probably mean________.
选项 A、feel satisfied with what they have achieved
B、be motivated to create more inventions and profits
C、have a good rest after a long span of hard work
D、accumulate much wealth in a short time
答案A
解析 根据该句中前面的文字可以推断rest on their laurels不是褒义的。对当时专利制度持批评态度的人认为这种体系不利于未来的创作发明，原因是享受专利的人可以如何如何。rest on one’s laurels是个成语，意义为be satisfied with what one has already achieved(对自己的成就感到满意)，言外之意就是“不思进取，故步自封”。
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