Question

I. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:



Marie Curie was one of the most accomplished scientists in history. Together with her husband, Pierre,

she discovered radium, an element widely used for treating cancer, and studied uranium and other

radioactive substances. Pierre and Marie’s amicable collaboration later helped to unlock the secrets of

the atom.

Marie was born in 1867 in Warsaw, Poland, where her father was a professor of physics. At an early

age, she displayed a brilliant mind and a blithe personality. Her great exuberance for learning

prompted her to continue with her studies after high school. She became disgruntled, however, when

she learned that the university in Warsaw was closed to women. Determined to receive a higher

education, she defiantly left Poland and in 1891 entered the Sorbonne, a French university, where she

earned her master’s degree and doctorate in physics.

Marie was fortunate to have studied at the Sorbonne with some of the greatest scientists of her day,

one of whom was Pierre Curie. Marie and Pierre were married in 1895 and spent many productive

years working together in the physics laboratory. A short time after they discovered radium, Pierre was killed by a horse-drawn wagon in 1906. Marie was stunned by this horrible misfortune and

endured heartbreaking anguish. Despondently she recalled their close relationship and the joy that

they had shared in scientific research. The fact that she had two young daughters to raise by herself

greatly increased her distress.

Curie’s feeling of desolation finally began to fade when she was asked to succeed her husband as a

physics professor at the Sorbonne. She was the first woman to be given a professorship at the worldfamous university. In 1911 she received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for isolating radium. Although

Marie Curie eventually suffered a fatal illness from her long exposure to radium, she never became

disillusioned about her work. Regardless of the consequences, she had dedicated herself to science

and to revealing the mysteries of the physical world.



QUESTIONS:-

1. The Curies’ _________ collaboration helped to unlock the secrets of the atom.

A. friendly

B. competitive

C. courteous

D. industrious

E. chemistry


2. Marie had a bright mind and a ______ personality.

A. strong

B. lighthearted

C. humorous

D. strange

E. envious


3. When she learned that she could not attend the university in Warsaw, she felt _________.

A. hopeless

B. annoyed

C. depressed

D. worried

E. None of the above


4. Marie _________ by leaving Poland and traveling to France to enter the Sorbonne.

A. challenged authority

B. showed intelligence

C. behaved

D. was distressed

E. Answer not available

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