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  3. Chemistry did not emerge as a science until after the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century and then only rather slow

Chemistry did not emerge as a science until after the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century and then only rather slow

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问题     Chemistry did not emerge as a science until after the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century and then only rather slowly and laboriously. But chemical knowledge is as old as history, being almost entirely concerned with the practical’ arts of living. Cooking is essentially a chemical process; so is the inching of metals and the administration of drugs and potions. This basic chemical knowledge, which was applied in most cases as a rule of thumb, was nevertheless dependent on previous experiment. It also served to stimulate a fundamental curiosity about the processes themselves. New information was always being gained as artisans improved techniques to gain better results.
    The development of a scientific approach to chemistry was, however, hampered by several factors. The most serious problem was the vast range of material available and the consequent difficulty of organizing it into some system. In addition, there ’were social and intellectual difficulties, chemistry is nothing if not practical, those who practice it must use their hands, they must have a certain practical flair. Yet in many ancient civilizations, practical tasks were primarily the province of a slave population. The thinker or philosopher stood apart from this mundane world, where the practical arts appeared to lack any intellectual content or interest.
    The final problem for early chemical science was the element of secrecy. Experts in specific trades had developed their own techniques and guarded their knowledge to prevent others from stealing their livelihood. Another factor that contributed to secrecy was the esoteric nature of the knowledge of alchemists, who were trying to transform base metals into gold or were concerned with the hunt for the elixir that would bestow the blessing of eternal life. In one sense, the second of these was the more serious impediment because the records of the chemical processes that early alchemists had discovered were often written down in symbolic language intelligible to very few or in symbols that were purposely obscure.
What is the passage mainly about?
选项 A、The scientific revolution in the seventeenth century.
B、Reasons that chemistry developed slowly as a science.
C、The practical aspects of chemistry.
D、Difficulties of organizing chemical knowledge systematically.
答案B
解析 选项A的意思是“十七世纪的科学革命”，在文章的第一段中提到了这一点，但这只是其中一个非常小的细节；选项B的意思是“化学作为一门学科发展缓慢的原因”，在文章的第二段和第三段中作者花了很多的笔墨讲述化学发展缓慢的原因，故它是本题的正确答案；选项C的意思是“化学的实用方面”，这只是文章第二段所提到的一个细节；选项D的意思是“把化学知识有系统地组织起来的困难”，这只是所提出的三个原因中的一个，不能以偏盖全。故本题的正确答案是B。
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