Barack Obama, in his state-of-the-union speech on February 12th, called for a new era of scientific discovery. " Now it is the t

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问题     Barack Obama, in his state-of-the-union speech on February 12th, called for a new era of scientific discovery. " Now it is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the space race," he declared. He praised projects to map the human brain and accelerate regenerative medicine. This would mean spending more on research. As The Economist went to press, America’s government was about to do the opposite.
    Federal spending is due to be cut on March 1st, the result of a long brawl over the deficit. Complex politics triggered this"sequester"(Congress excels at nothing if not elaborate dysfunction)but the sequester itself is brutally simple. America will cut $ 85 billion from this year’s budget(about 2.5% of spending), split between military and non-military programmes. Among the areas to be squeezed is R&D, and medical research in particular.
    For years America has enjoyed pre-eminence in research, but this is fading. Chinese investment(including both public and private money)more than quintupled from 2000 to 2010, to $ 160 billion, in 2005 prices. America’s R&D spending rose by just 22% over that period, according to the OECD. Research also make up a smaller portion of America’s economy than some other countries’. In a ranking of R&D spending as a share of GDP, America came tenth in 2011. A decade earlier it was sixth.
    Nevertheless, America remains the world’s biggest engine for innovation. It spent $ 366 billion on research in 2011 , compared with $ 275 billion by all 27 countries of the European Union. Despite China’s rapid ascent, America still spends more than twice as much on R&D. Subsidies help. America’s government pays for about one-third of all domestic research and for most basic science.
    Medicine is one of the main beneficiaries. America’s National Institutes of Health(NIH)is the world’s biggest funder of biomedical research. It pays for risky basic science; companies pay for later stages of development. For example, the NIH supported early research into monoclonal antibodies. By 2010 such research underpinned five of America’s 20 bestselling drugs. As drug firms trim their budget, the NIH’s work is becoming even more vital. But since 2003 , inflation-adjusted spending on medical research has declined.
We learn from Paragraphs 3&4 that______.

选项 A、America is no more the world’s No. 1 engine for innovation
B、America’s dominance in research is not as eminent as before
C、China spends twice more on R&D compared with America
D、Chinese investment has doubled from 2000 to 2010

答案B

解析 选项[A]对应第四段首句:Nevertheless,America remains the world’s biggest enginefor innovation.可见该项错误,其中no more与原文中的remains表达意义相反。选项[B]对应第三段首句:For years America has enjoyed pre-eminence in research,but this is fading.可见该项正确。其中“this is fading”表示美国在研究领域的领导地位正在衰退。选项[C]对应原文第四段第三句:Despite China’s rapid ascent,America still spends more than twice as much on R&D.可见美国开支是中国的两倍多,而非该项说的中国的开支比美国多了两倍,故该项错误。选项[D]对应原文第三段第二句:Chinese investment(including both public and private money)morethan quintupled from 2000 to 2010,可见中国投资是翻了五倍,而非翻了两倍,因此该项错误。本题答案为选项[B]。
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