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  3. Why does tile Foundation concentrate its support on basic rather than applied research? Basic research is the very heart of scie

Why does tile Foundation concentrate its support on basic rather than applied research? Basic research is the very heart of scie

admin2010-07-14  46
问题     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."
Less developed countries ______.
选项 A、devote a large portion of their budget to applied research
B、realize that progress depends on basic research
C、encourage their career scientists to experiment
D、devote less than 70% of their scientific budget to basic research
答案D
解析 推理题。根据第二段第二句，出于实用的原因，任何国家花在应用研究上的资金都远远超过用于基础研究的资金。而在不发达国家，这种比例就更加悬殊。根据第二段第三句，又知道作为发达国家的代表，美国用于基础研究的资金大约是7%，由此可以推断，发展中国家用于基础研究的资金应低于7%。
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