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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.
According to the passage, how did knowledge about chemical processes increase before the seventeenth century?
选项 A、Philosophers devised theories about chemical properties.
B、A special symbolic language was developed.
C、Experience led workers to revise their techniques.
D、Experts shared their discoveries with the public.
答案C
解析 选项A的意思是“哲学家编写了有关化学知识的理论。”文章第二段的最后一句话。 The thinker or philosopher stood apart from this mundane world 告诉我们哲学家远离有关的化学知识，而不是编写了理论；选项B的意思是“形成了一套特殊的符号语言”，文章最后一段的最后一句话告诉我们使用符号的原因是为了保守秘密，而不是为了发展化学知识；选项C的意思是“经验引导着工人们改进他们的技术。”，第一段所讲的内容正是关于这一点，而且这也是发展化学知识的方法，故是正确答案；选项D的意思是“专家们与公众分享这些化学知识”，文章第三段明显提到为了保守秘密他们这些炼丹术士采取多种手段保守秘密，所以该选项不正确。
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