单选题 Why does the Foundation concentrate its support on basic rather than applied research?. Basic research is the very heart 9f science, and its cumulative(积累的) product is the capital of scientific progress, a capital that must be constantly increased as the demands upon it rise. The goal of basic research is understanding for its own sake. Understanding of the structure of the atom or the nerve cell, the causes of earthquakes and droughts, or of man as a behaving creature and of the social forces that .are created whenever two or more human beings come into contact with one another — the scope is staggering, but the commitment to truth is the same. If the commitment were to a particular result, conflicting evidence might be overlooked or, with the best will in the world, simply not appreciated. Moreover, the practical applications of basic research frequently cannot be anticipated. When 'Roentgen, the physicist, discovered X-ray, he had no idea of their usefulness to medicine.
Applied research, undertaken to solve specific practical problems, has an immediate attractiveness because the results can be seen and enjoyed. For practical reasons, the sums spent on applied research in any country always far exceed those for basic research, and the proportions are more unequal in the less developed countries. Leaving aside the funds devoted to research by industry — which is naturally far more concerned with applied aspects because these increase profits quickly — the funds the U.S. Government allots(分配) to basic research currently mount to about 7 percent of its over-all research and development funds. Unless adequate safeguards are provided, applied research invariably tends to drive out basic. Then, as Dr. Waterman has point ed out, "Developments will inevitably be undertaken prematurely, career incentives will gravitate strongly toward applied science, and the opportunities for making major scientific discoveries will be lost. Unforunately, pressures to emphasize new developments, without corresponding emphasis upon pure science.., tend to degrade the quality of the nation's technology in the long run, rather than to improve it. /

单选题 The best title of this passage might be ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】这是一篇将基础性研究与应用性研究的研究对象、目的等进行对比的说明文。该题是一道文章的主旨题。本文的大框架就是基础性研究和应用性研究各自的情况，故以D项做文章标题最为确切全面。
单选题 Industry is primarily interested in applied research because it ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】这是一道文章的细节理解解，考查第二段中“工业主要关注应用性研究”的原因。由第二段中可知，“工业对于应用性研究更为关注，因为它可以迅速赚取利润”，因此只有B项的“提供即时的利润”与文章内容相符。
单选题 Basic research is vital because______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】这是一道语篇理解题，考查第一段中的内容——基础研究必不可少的原因。由第一段中可知，“基础性研究是科学的核心，它的成果是科学进步的资本，这一资本必须随着社会需求的提高而不断增加”，因此只有C项的“它为科学进步打下基础”与文章内容相符。
单选题 Less developed countries______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】这是一道文章的细节理解题，考查第二段中的内容——欠发达国家对于应用性研究的资金投入。由第二段中可知，“由于现实的原因，任何一个国家在应用性研究上的资金投入都远远超出基础性研究；对于欠发达国家来讲这一比例尤为悬殊”，因此只有B项“欠发达国家对于应用性研究投入更大份额的财政预算”与文章内容相符。