Marie Curie discovered the mysterious element radium. It opened the door to deep changes in the way scientists think about matter and energy. She also led the way to a new era for medical knowledge and the treatment of diseases. Marie decided to investigate the uranium rays. There was so little work on them for her to read about that she could begin experiments at once. First Marie needed a lab. She had to settle for a storeroom in the Paris Municipal School, where her husband, Pierre Curie, was now a professor. The storeroom was crowded and damp, but somehow she had to overcome its problems. She started off by studying a variety of chemical compounds that contained uranium.
Trying to see what was so special about uranium, she tested minerals containing other elements. Marie discovered that the mineral pitchblende was more radioactive than could be accounted for by the uranium it contained. She was convinced that a careful analysis of pitchblende would uncover a new radioactive element. Pierre, excited by his wife’s idea, joined her search. The Curies uses standard chemical procedures to separate the different substances in pitchblende. For example, a particular element might dissolve in an acid, which they could pour off, leaving other elements behind in a sludge at the bottom of the pot. After the materials were separated into different types of compounds, the Curies used a new method of chemical analysis. The trick they invented was to find which of the separated parts was most radioactive, using the Curie electrometer to make precise measurements. Then they would make more separations, again and again, tracking down the unknown element by its radioactivity. In the end they found not one but two new radioactive elements.
The substance they named “polonium” behaved chemically about the same as an element that was already known, bismuth, and the substance they named “radium” had about the same chemistry as the element barium. But polonium and radium were different from the known elements in one big way—each was strongly radioactive.
Scientists were fascinated by the discovery of X-rays. It was not just that the rays would be a huge help in medicine and must have many other practical uses. Here was a new tool for penetrating and studying matter. At this time, the end of the 19th century, many of the great problems of physics had been solved. There were laws for electricity and magnetism and gravity and more. But scientists knew they faced even greater mysteries, for the true nature of energy and matter were entirely unknown.
http://www.aip.org/history/curie/brief/03_radium/radium_7.html
2. Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)?
A. A new stage in medicine was open by some discoveries made by Marie
B. First of all she had to overcome working in awkward conditions, such as settling for a Council School, wet and full
3. Answer the following questions using your own words:
A Why do you think the mineral she studied was more radioactive than could be explained by the quantity of uranium it contained?
B Can you explain how did the Curies manage to get to the element “uranium”?
4 Find synonyms in the second paragraph for
discover (verb):
Mud :
to be dripping with :
Finding out:
5 Join these sentences with a RELATIVE pronoun:
This is the plan. You have been talking about it. ………………………………...............................
Fill in the gaps with the correct verb tenses
If she _______ (NOT WORK) so much last night She _________(NOT GET CANCER).
Join these sentences with a liking word (do not use AND or BUT):
X-files are very useful nowadays. They can be dangerous if you apply them excessively.
Join the following sentences using an appropriate linker (do not use AND or BUT) Make changes if necessary: People shouldn't abuse X-rays. It affects their bodies
6 Write a COMPOSITION (80-100 words). Choose ONE of the following options:
a) How has your life changed with the use of X-rays?
b) Advantages and disadvantages of the use of radium
