(完整word版)《新世紀(jì)研究生公共英語教材閱讀A》課文

(完整word版)《新世紀(jì)研究生公共英語教材閱讀A》課文(完整word版)《新世紀(jì)研究生公共英語教材閱讀A》課文(完整word版)《新世紀(jì)研究生公共英語教材閱讀A》課文《新世紀(jì)研究生公共英語教材閱讀A》課文Unit3OceanofSandFromTheGuardian1.Thereismoredesertsthansunandsand。Onthesetwopagesyoucanfindouthowplants，animalsandpeoplemanagetosurviveintheseapparentlybarrenplaces。2.Alldesertsaredry。Thehot，sandyplaceswethinkofwhenwetalkaboutdesertsaresubtropicaldeserts。TheyarefoundneartheTropicsofCancerandCapricornwherethewarmairwhichrisesattheEquatorsinksdownagain,givingaclimateofclearskiesandverylowrainfall.TheSaharaisalmostone-thirdthesizeofAfrica,andisnearlyasbigastheU.S.A.,thefourthlargestcountry.Itwasnotalwaysadesert.Overmillionsofyearsithasbeenconveredinice,sea，forestsandgrasslands.3.Desertwindsareusuallydry.Somedesertsarein“rainshadow”areaswherethewindshavelostwhatmoisturetheyhadcrossinghighground。Othersareinthemiddleofcontinentswherethewindsblowingoverthemhavelostanymoisturegainedfromdistantoceans.TheGobidesertinMongoliainAsiaisanexampleofsuchaninlanddesert.TheAtacamainnorthernChileisthedriestdesertonEarth。Partsofthedeserthadnorainfor400years,from1570to1971,andinotherparts，rainshadneverbeenrecordedn.OneofthesandiestdesertsistheTaklaMakan。Sandstormscanwhipupthesandashighas3,048m(10.000ft）。WindblownsandintheSaharacanbesofiercethatitwillsandblastthepointoffacaroraeroplane.Thetemperatureatnightinahotdesertcandropbelowfreezing,to-4℃(24℉).Duringtheday,thesandcanbeashotas79℃（175℉）。Livinginadesertclimate4.Desertsaredifficultplacesinwhichtolive.Duringthedaytheyareveryhot。IntheLibyanDesertinNorthAfricathetemperatureon13September1922reached58Cintheshade!Butdesertnightsareoftencoldbecauseclearskiesallowheattoescapeintotheatmosphere。Thelackofwatercausedbylowrainfallisbadenough,butrainfallisalsohighlyunpredictable。Yearsofdroughtcanendintremendousrainstorms。Manydesertareasarebarerock，orarecoveredwithpebblesandgravel.Sandaccountsforonlyabout15percentoftheearth'sdesertregions.Insomedeserts,thetotalrainfortheyearmightfallinonlytwoorthreestorms.Butthatisenoughforplantseedstosproutandbloom,turningpartsofthedesertintocarpetsofflowersforafewdays。Howplantssurvive5.Withinafewhoursofrainfalling,thousandsoffloweringplantswillstarttoappear。Seedsofplantssuchasthedesertdandelionlieinthegroundforyearswaitingfortherain。6.Theseplantsdieasthedesertdriesoutagain，leavingtheirseedsforthenextrains。Otherplantshaveadaptedtotheharshenvironmentbystoringwaterintheirleaves，stemsorroots。TheAmericansaguarocactuscanhold6to8tonesofwater.Desertplantsoftenhavespreadingrootsystemswhichextracteverydropofmoisturefromtheground.Therootsofthemesquitebushcanbe20mdeep.7。Plantsgenerallylosewaterthroughporesintheirleaves.Topreventthis,desertplantshavesmallwaxyleavesandfewerpores。Manyclosetheirporesduringthedaysotheydonotlosemoisture.Toprotectthemselvesagainstgrazinganimals，someplantshavethornsoranunpleasanttaste。Cactiareprotectedbytheirsharpspines.CactiarefoundonlyinAmericandeserts.Thetallestaresaguaroswhichcanreach15m(50ft)tall，weigh7tonsandlivefor200years.Waterisstoredinthestemandusedintimesofdrought.Animallife8.Althoughdesertsseemempty,fewarewithoutanimals.Mostanimalsshelterfromthedaytimeheatinholesorburrows.Theburrowstrapmoisturearestaycoolerthanthegroundabove。Inthecoolereveningoratdawn，theanimalsemerge.9.Smallermammalsoftenhavelargeears.Duringtheday,theanimallosesheatthroughitsears。Inthedark，largewarntheanimalofunseendangers.10.Reptilesventuringoutindaytimetrytoavoidtouchingthehotsand。TheAustralianbeardedlizardsometimesrunsonitshindlegsonly.Theaptlynamedsidewindersnakeonlytouchesthegroundintwoplaces。11.Alldesertanimalssurviveonlittlewater.Manysmallanimalsliveonthemoistureintheirfood.Largeranimalssuchasthecamelcangowithoutwaterfordays，butdrinkhugeamountswhentheygetthechance.Acamelcandrink10litresofwaterinaminute.Desertpeoples12.Overthoughtofyears,peoplehavelearnthowtosurviveinDeserts.TheSanpeopleoftheKalaharidesertinsouthernAfricaandtheAustralianAborigineshuntanimalsandgatherfoodplants。Theylearntraditionalskillsfromolderpeople.13.Ontheedgesofthedesert，nomadicpeoplesgrazeflocksofsheepandgoats。Theyareconstantlymovingtofresherpastures.NomadssuchastheTuaregoftheSaharainNorthAfricawearloosechothingtoprotectthemsandandheat。Tuaregmenprotecttheirfaceswithaveil.14。Insomedeserts，oases(fertileareas)formaroundwellsorsprings。Aroundoasestherearesettlementsandsomethingfarms.Themud-brickhousesarekeptcoolbytheirthickwindowlesswalls。Onthemove15.Desertsarespreading。Already12percentoftheworld‘slandisdesert,andeveryyearanother12millionhectaresbecomeuselessforfarming.Asthefollowingshows，desertificationhasmanycauses.Theendresultisthatthesoilbecomesexposedandiseasilyeroded。16.Throughouttheworld，governmentsandaidagenciestrytopreventdesertification。Therearenosimpleanswers，butsuccessfulprojectshavehelpedpeopleinpoorercountriestohelpthemselves.Theschemesuseknowledgeandresourcesthatarereadilyavailabletolocalcommunities.Theyinclude:plantingtreesandhedgestoprotectcropsfromgrazinganimalsandwinderosion.Insomeareas，peoplehavebuiltlinesofstonesacrossslopestopreventrainwaterrunningawayandtoallowittosoakintothesoil。Unit4ThreeKindsofFatigueFatigueisoneofthemostcommoncomplaintsbroughttodoctors，friends，andrelatives。You'dthinkinthiseraoflabor—savingdevicesandconvenienttransportationthatfewpeoplewouldhavereasontobesotired。Butprobablymorepeoplecomplainoffatiguetodaythaninthedayswhenhaywasbaledbyhandandlaundryscrubbedonawashboard。Thecausesofmodern-dayfatiguearediverseandonlyrarelyrelatedtoexcessivephysicalexertion.Therelativelyfewpeoplewhodoheavylaboralldaylongalmostnevercomplainaboutbeingtired，perhapsbecausetheyexpecttobe.Today,physiciansreport,tirednessismorelikelyaconsequenceofunder—exertionthanofwearingyourselfdownwithover—activity。Infact,increasedphysicalactivityisoftenprescribedasacureforloweringenergy。Physical。Thisisthewell—knownresultofoverworkingyourmusclestothepointwheremetabolicwasteproducts—carbondioxideandlacticacid-accumulateinourbloodandreduceyourstrength。Yourmusclescan'tcontinuetoworkefficientlyinabathofthesechemicals。Physicalfatigueisusuallyapleasanttiredness，suchasthatwhichyoumightexperienceafterplayingahardsetoftennis,choppingwood，orclimbingamountain.Thecureissimpleandfast:Yourest,givingyourbodyachancetogetridofaccumulatedwastesandrestoremusclefuel.Pathological.Herefatigueisawarningsignorconsequenceofsomeunderlyingphysicaldisorder,perhapsthecommoncoldorfluorsomethingmoreseriouslikediabetesorcancer.Usuallyothersymptomsbesidesfatiguearepresentthatsuggestthetruecause。Evenafteranillnesshaspassed，you’relikelytofeeldraggedoutforaweekormore.Takeyourfatigueasasignaltogoslowwhileyourbodyhasachancetorecoverfullyevenifallyouhadwasacold.Pushingyourselftoresumefullactivitytoosooncouldleadtoarelapse（舊病復(fù)發(fā)）andalmostcertainlywillprolongourperiodoffatigue。Eventhoughillnessisnotfrequentcauseofprolongedfatigue,it’sveryimportantthatitnotbeoverlooked.Therefore,anyonewhofeelsdrainedofenergyforweeksonendshouldhaveathoroughphysicalcheck—up。Butevenifnothingshowsupasaresultofthevariousmedicaltests,thatdoesn’tmeanthere’snothingwrongwithyou。Psychological。Emotionalproblemsandconflicts,especiallydepressionandanxiety,arebyfarthemostcommoncausesofprolongedfatigue.Fatiguemayrepresentadefencemechanismthatpreventsyoufromhavingtofacethetruecauseofyourdepression,suchasthefactthatyouhateyourjob.Itisalsoyourbody'ssafetymechanismforexpressingrepressedemotionalconflicts，suchasfeelingtrappedinanungratefulroleoranunhappymarriage.Whensuchfeelingsarenotexpressedopenly,theyoftencomeoutasphysicalsymptoms,withfatigueasoneofthemostcommonmanifestations?！盡anypeoplewhoareextremelyfatigueddon'tevenknowthey’redepressed,”Dr。Bulettesays?！盩hey’resobusydistractingthemselvesorjustworryingaboutbeingtiredthattheydon'trecognizetheirdepression.”Thereisagreatdealyoucandoonyourowntodealwithbothsevereprolongedfatigueandthoseperiodicwashed-outfeelings。Vitaminsandtranquilizersarealmostnevertherightanswer,sleepingpillsandalcoholarecounterproductive,andcaffeineisatbestatemporarysolutionthatcanbackfirewithabuseandcauselife—disruptingsymptomsofanxiety。Instead，youmighttry:DietIfyoueatasmallbreakfastornoneatall，you’relikelytoexperiencemid-morningfatigue,theresultofadropinbloodsugar，whichyourbodyandbraindependonforenergy.Forpeakenergyinthemorning，besuretoeataproperbreakfast，lowinsugarandfairlyhighinprotein,whichwillprovideasteadysupplyofbloodsugarthroughoutthemorning.Coffeeandadoughnutarealmostworsethannothing，providingabriefboostandthenlettingyoudownwithathud。ExerciseContrarytowhatyoumaythink，exerciseenhances，ratherthansaps,energy.Regularconditioningexercises，suchasjogging,cycling，orswimming，helpyoutoresistfatiguebyincreasingyourbody’sabilitytohandlemoreofaworkload.Yougettiredlessquicklybecauseyourcapabilityisgreater。Exercisealsohasawell—recognizedtranquilizingeffect，whichhelpsyouworkinamorerelaxedfashionandbelessdraggeddownbythetensionsofyourday.Attheendofadayexercisecanrelieveaccumulatedtensions,giveyoumoreenergyintheevening，andhelpyousleepmorerestfully.SleepIfyouknowyou’retiredbecauseyouhaven’tbeengettingenoughsleep,thesolutionissimple：Gettobedearlier.There'snorightamountofsleepforeveryone，andgenerallysleeprequirementsdeclinewithage.Findtheamountthatsuitsyoubest,andaimforit.Insomnia（失眠）andothersleepdisordersshouldnotbetreatedwithsleepingpills，alcohol，ortranquilizers,whichcanactuallymaketheproblemworse。KnowyourselfTrytoscheduleyourmostdifficultjobsforthetimeofdaywhenyou'reatyourpeak。Someare"morningpeople”whotirebymid-afternoon；othersdotheirbestworkintheevening.Don’toverextendyourself，tryingtoclimbtheladderofsuccessatarecordpaceortomeeteveryone'sdemandsorexpectations。Decidewhatyouwanttodoandwhatyoucanhandlecomfortably，andlearntosaynotoadditionalrequests。Recognizeyourenergycyclesandplanaccordingly。Manywomenhavealowpointpremenstrually，duringwhichtimeextrasleepmaybeneededanddemandingactivitiesareparticularlyexhausting.TakebreaksNomatterhowinterestingordemandingyouwork,you'llbeabletodoitwithmorevigorifnowandagainyoustop，stretch，andchangethescenery.Insteadofcoffeeandasweetrollonyourbreak，trymeditation,yoga，callisthenics,orabriskwalk.Evenrunningupanddownthestaircasecanproviderefreshmentfromasedentaryjob。Ifyourjobisphysicallydemanding,relaxinaquietplaceforawhile。Thedo-something—differentrulealsoappliestovacation;”gettingawayfromitall"foraweekortwoorlongercanbehighlyrevitalizing，helpingyoutoputthingsinperspectiveandenablingyoutotakeyourjobmoreinstrideuponyourreturn。Unit5BringingUpChildrenItisgenerallyacceptedthattheexperiencesofthechildinhisfirstyearslargelydeterminehischaracterandlaterpersonality。Everyexperienceteachesthechildsomethingandtheeffectsarecumulative.“Upbringing”isnormallyusedtorefertothetreatmentandtrainingofthechildwithinthehome。Thisiscloselyrelatedtothetreatmentandtrainingofthechildinschool,whichisusuallydistinguishedbytheterm“education”。Inasocietysuchasours,bothparentsandteachersareresponsiblefortheopportunitiesprovidedforthedevelopmentofthechild,sothatupbringingandeducationareinterdependent。Theidealsandpracticesofchildrearingvaryfromculturetoculture.Ingeneral,themoreruralthecommunity,themoreuniformarethecustomsofchildupbringing。Inmoretechnologicallydevelopedsocieties,theperiodchildhoodandadolescencetendstobeextendedoveralongtime,resultinginmoreopportunityforeducationandgreatervarietyincharacterdevelopment.Earlyupbringinginthehomeisnaturallyaffectedbothbytheculturalpatternofthecommunityandbytheparents’capabilitiesandtheiraimsanddependsnotonlyonupbringingandeducationbutalsoontheinnateabilitiesofthechild.Wilddifferencesofinnateintelligenceandtemperamentexisteveninchildrenofthesamefamily。Parentscanascertainwhatisnormalinphysical,mentalandsocialdevelopment，byreferringtosomeofthemanybooksbasedonscientificknowledgeintheseareas，orlessreliably，sincethesampleissmaller,bycomparingnoteswithfriendsandrelativeswhohavechildren.Intelligentparents,however，realizethattheparticularsettingofeachfamilyisunique，andtherecanbenorigidgeneralrules。Theyusegeneralinformationonlyasaguideinmakingdecisionsandsolvingproblems。Forexample，theywillneedspecificsuggestionsforproblemssuchasspeechdefectsorbackwardnessinlearningtowalkorcontrolofbodilyfunctions。Inthemoregeneralsense,though，problemsofupbringingarerecognizedtobeproblemsofrelationshipswithintheindividualfamily,thefirstnecessitybeingasecureemotionalbackgroundwithparentswhoareunitedintheirattitudetotheirchildren.Allparentshavetosolvetheproblemsoffreedomanddiscipline。Theyoungerthechild,themorereadilythemothergiveintohisdemandstoavoiddisappointinghim。Sheknowsthatifhisenergiesarenotgivenanoutlet，herchild’scontinuingdevelopmentmaybewarped。Anexampleofthisistheyoungchild’sneedtoplaywiththemudandsandandwater。Achildmustbeallowedtoenjoythis“messy”buttactilestageofdiscoverybeforeheisreadytogoontothelessphysicalpleasuresoftoysandbooks.Similarly,throughoutlife,eachstagedependsonthesatisfactorycompletionoftheonebefore。Whereonestageofchilddevelopmenthasbeenleftout,ornotsufficientlyexperienced，thechildmayhavetogobackandcapturetheexperienceofit。Agoodhomemakesthispossible-forexamplebyprovidingtheopportunityforthechildtoplaywithaclockworkcarortoyrailwaytrainuptoanyageifhestillneedstodoso.Thisprinciple，infact,underliesallpsychologicaltreatmentofchildrenindifficultieswiththeirdevelopment,andisthebasisofworkinchildclinics。Thebeginningsofdisciplineareinthenursery。Eventheyoungestbabyistaughtbygradualstagestowaitforfood,tosleepandtowakeatregularintervalsandsoon.Ifthechildfeelstheworldaroundhimisawarmandfriendlyone,heslowlyacceptsitsrhythmandaccustomshimselftoconformingtoitsdemands。Learningtowaitforthings，particularlyforfood,isaveryimportantelementinupbringing，andisachievedsuccessfullyonlyiftoogreatdemandsarenotmadebeforethechildcanunderstandthem。Everyparentwatcheseagerlythechild’sacquisitionofeachnewskill-thefirstspokenwords,thefirstindependentsteps,orthebeginningofreadingandwriting.Itisoftentemptingtohurrythechildbeyondhisnaturallearningrate,butthiscansetupdangerousfeelingsoffailureandstatesofanxietyinthechild.Thismighthappenatanystage。Ababymightbeforcedtousatoilettooearly，ayoungchildmightbeencouragedtolearntoreadbeforeheknowsthemeaningofthewordshereads。Ontheotherhand,though,ifachildisleftalonetoomuch，orwithoutanylearningopportunities,heloseshisnaturalzestforlifeandhisdesiretofindoutnewthingsforhimself。Learningtogetherisafruitfulsourceofrelationshipbetweenchildrenandparents.Byplayingtogether,parentslearnmoreabouttheirchildrenandchildrenlearnmorefromtheirparents.Toysandgameswhichbothparentsandchildrencanshareareanimportantmeansofachievingthiscooperation.Buildingblocktoysandjigsawpuzzlesandcrosswordsaregoodexamples.Parentsvarygreatlyintheirdegreeofstrictnessandindulgencetowardstheirchildren.Somemaybeespeciallystrictinmoneymatters；othersaresevereovertimesofcominghomeatnight,punctualityformealsorpersonalcleanliness。Ingeneral，thecontrolsimposedrepresenttheneedsoftheparentsandthevaluesofthecommunityasmuchasthechild’sownhappinessandwell-being。Asregardsthedevelopmentofmoralstandardsinthegrowingchild,consistencyisveryimportantinparentalteaching.Toforbidathingonedayandexcuseitthenextisnofoundationformorality。Also,parentsshouldrealizethat“exampleisbetterthanprecept".Iftheyarehypocriticalanddonotpracticewhattheypreach，theirchildrenmaygrowconfusedandemotionallyinsecurewhentheygrowoldenoughtothinkforthemselves，andrealizetheyhavebeentosomeextentdeceived.Asuddenawarenessofamarkeddifferencebetweentheirparentsethicsandtheirmoralscanbeadangerousdisillusion.Unit6HowServiceExperienceAffectStudents1。Currently,highereducationisconfrontingurgentcallstoreturntoitsoriginalmissionofdevelopingawell-informed,criticallythinking,andcivicallyengagedcitizenry.2。Whatexactlycanhighereducationdotopromotecitizenshipdevelopmentamongstudents，andatthesametimeaddressthemyriadproblemsthatcontinuetoplaguesociety?3Oneanswermaybefoundwithinthecollegeoruniversitycurriculum，throughthesimplebutextremelypowerfulpedagogicaltoolknownas“servicelearning".Thebasicideabehindservicelearningistouseacommunityorpublicserviceexperiencetoenhancethemeaningandimpactoftraditionalcoursecontent。Connectingservicedirectlywithacademiccoursesmakesitquitedifferentfrom"volunteer”workthatisperformedinthecommunity.servicelearningalsoinvolvesmorethansimplysendingaclassofstudentsintocommunitiesforadditionalcoursecredit.Properlydesignedservicelearningcoursesrelatethecommunityserviceexperiencetothecoursematerialandrequirethatstudentsreflectontheirexperiencesthroughwritings，discussionsorclasspresentations。Servicelearningnotonlyenrichestraditionalcoursecontentbygivingthestudentanopportunityto“test"or”demonstrate”abstracttheoryintherealworld,Italsoimprovesthequalityoftheservicebeingperformedbygivingitanintellectualunderpinning。4Servicelearningmaybeimplementedinanynumberofacademicfields.Forexample，studentsenrolledinapsychologyclasscouldconductcounseling，mentoring,ordrugeducationforat-riskschoolchildren.Wehavealsoexaminedtherelationshipbetweentheserviceexperienceand35collegeoutcomesinthefollowingareas：civicresponsibility，academicattainment，andlifeskills.Themostremarkableresultofthestudywasthatall35studentoutcomemeasureswerefavorablyinfluencedbyserviceparticipation。Civicresponsibility5Theeffectsofservicearethestrongestintheareaofcivicresponsibility。Forexample，studentsareaskedtoindicatehowmuchtheir“commitmenttoservingthecommunity”hadchangedsinceenteringcollege。Morethantwiceasmanyserviceparticipantsasnon-participants（60percentversus28percent)reportedonthefollow—upquestionnairethattheircommitmenttoservingthecommunitywaseither“stronger”or“muchstronger”thantheircommitmenthadbeenwhentheywerefreshmen。Equallyimpressivearetheresultsonstudents'plansforthenearfuture:morethanfourtimesasmanyserviceparticipantsasnon-participants（39percentversus9percent）indicatedthattheyplannedtodovolunteerworkinthecomingfall。Further,duringcollege,studentparticipantsweremuchmorelikelythannon-participantstostrengthentheircommitmenttothefollowinglifegoals:promotingracialunderstanding，participatingincommunityactionprograms,andinfluencingsocialvalues。Academicdevelopment6Perhapsthemostcommonlyvoicedobjectiontovolunteerparticipationduringtheunder-graduateyearsisthatitconsumestimeandenergythatthestudentmightotherwisedevoteto“academic”pursuits.Thisargumenthasbeenlaidtorestbytheresultsofourlongitudinalanalyses,whichrevealsignificantpositiveeffectsonalltenacademicoutcomesincludedinthestudy.whiletheanalysesrevealthatthenetbenefitattributabletoserviceparticipationisquitesmallinthecaseofastudent'sgradeaverage—aboutIgradepoint—--thefactremainsthattheeffectisindeedpositiveandstatisticallysignificant。AmongstudentswhohadatleastaBaverageinhighschool,69percentoftheserviceparticipants(comparedto56percentofthenon-participants）wereabletomaintainatleastaBaverageincollage.AmongthosewhoenteredcollegewithaBorloweraverage，27percentoftheserviceparticipants(compareto19percentofthenon—participants）wereabletoimprovetiatleastaBaverageincollege.7Serviceparticipantsalsoaresignificantlymorelikelythannon—participantstoreport“stronger”or“muchstronger”changesduringcollegeingeneralknowledgeofafieldordiscipline,andpreparationforgraduateorprofessionalschool.Participantsaremorelikelythannon-participanttoreportthattheydidextraworkforcourses。Finally，althoughbothgroupsshowanetdeclinebetweenpre—textandpost-textintheiraspirationsfordoctoraloradvancedprofessionaldegrees，thedeclineissignificantlygreateramongnon—participants。8.Intheareaoflifeskills,serviceparticipantsshowgreaterpositivechangethandonon—participantsintermsofalleightoutcomesanalyzed,withthelargestdifferencesoccurringinunderstandingcommunityproblems,knowledgeofdifferentraces/cultures，acceptanceofdifferentraces/cultures，andinterpersonalskills.Othersignificantdifferencesthatfavorserviceparticipantsincludeunderstandingthenation'ssocialproblems，theabilitytoworkcooperatively，skillsinconflictresolution,andtheabilitytothinkcritically。9The“realworld”valueofserviceparticipationfurtherrevealsitselfinthepositiveeffectsobservedinthreeareasofstudentsatisfaction:leadershipopportunities,relevanceofcourseworktoeverydaylife，andpreparationforfuturecareer.Finally，duringcollege，serviceparticipantsexhibitgreaterincreasesinsocialself—confidenceandleadershipabilitythandonon—participants.Asamatteroffact，whileserviceparticipantsshowincreasesduringcollegeintheirself-ratedleadershipabilities,non-participantsactuallyshowslightdecreasesintheirs.Unit7SupportingScience1.Thetwilightofthe20thcenturyisanageofenormoustechnologicalchange.Everydaybringsnewexamplesofadvancesincomputing，communications，andbiotechnologythatchangethewaywelive，andthewaywelookattheworld.Economicallyspeaking，technologycompaniesfoundedinjustthelast30yearshavecreatedanaggregatecapitalvalueofclosetoatrilliondollars,makingtechnologyamajorenginedrivingtheU。S.economy.2.Giventhistremendoussuccess,onemightexpectthatbasicsciencewouldreceivecommensuratesupport.Sadly,thisisnotthecase,andindeedalmosttheoppositeseemstobeoccurring。Basicresearchwithinindustryisnolongerfashionable-—thegreatcorporatelabsofthepastfewdecadeshavebeensubjecttocutsinfundingandcorporatebreakups。Thosethatremainareoftendownsized，orhaveturnedawayfromthechallengeofprofounddiscoveryandtowardimmediateapplication。Thistrenddoesnotcomeonlyfromtheboardroom——somesciencewritersgoevenfartherandpronouncebasicsciencedeadaltogether,anobservationgivenintellectualbackingbyresearchers，whodocumentthedeclineofunfetteredresearch。3。Investingtimeandmoneyintoappliedresearchandproductdevelopmentisimportant，andthechallengeofreducingknowledgetopracticalapplicationsintheformofaproductisanintellectuallysatisfyingpursuitandanobviousnecessitytoindustry。Icouldhardlythinkotherwise，becauseIspendafairamountofmyowntimeinappliedresearch.Buttechnologicalprogresscannotcontinuewithouttheinputofbasicresearchandtheconceptualbreakthroughsitmakespossible。Inordertoreduceknowledgetopractice,onemusthavetheknowledgeinthefirstplace.Scienceistherawmaterialthatappliedresearchandengineeringrefineintotheirproducts。4。Whileoldercompaniescutbackonresearch,youngercompanies，bornofthecurrenttechnologicalrevolution，simplyignoreit.Apartfromahandfulofexceptions,thenewtechnologicalcompaniesintheSiliconValleymolddonotinvestinlong-rangeresearch.Start-upcompaniescannotaffordit,andthosewellpastthestart-upstagemayhavetheresources，butarenotinclinedtousethemforbasicresearch.Anironicexampleisthepersonalcomputerrevolution,whichwasbasedonresearchdoneinindustriallabs，notablytheXeroxPaloAltoResearchCenter(PARC).Despitethisundeniableorigin,personalcomputercompanieshavenotsoughttorenewthesourceoftheirsuccess。Indeed,itiswidelyacceptedinbusinesscirclesthatlabslikeXeroxPARCareamistakebecauseXeroxfailedtocapitalizeonitsinventionofthepersonalcomputer。XeroxresearchersinventedthelaserprinteratPARCduringthesametimeperiod，andtheprofitsfromlaserprintingandotherinventionsthattheydidcapitalizeonhavemorethanrepaidtheirinv