Marie Curie was one of the greatest scientists in history. Together with her husband, Pierre, she discovered radium(鐳), an element widely used for treating cancer, and studied uranium(鈾) and other radioactive matter. Their cooperation later helped to unlock the secrets of the atom.

Born in 1867 in Warsaw, Poland, she showed a brilliant mind and a merry personality. Her great desire for learning encouraged her to continue with her studies after leaving high school. She became disappointed, however, when she learned that the university in Warsaw was closed to women. Determined to receive a higher education, she bravely left Poland and in 1891 entered the Sorbonne, a French university, where she gained her master’s degree and doctorate in physics.

Marie was lucky to have studied at the Sorbonne with some of the greatest scientists of her day, one of whom was Pierre Curie. They got married in 1895 and worked together. A short time after they discovered radium, Pierre was killed by a horse-drawn wagon in 1906. Marie was shocked by this horrible misfortune. The fact that she had two young daughters to raise by herself greatly increased her sorrow.

Marie’s feeling of sorrow 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 world-famous university. In 1911 she received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for isolating (分離) radium. Although Marie Curie eventually suffered a serious illness from her long exposure to radium, she never became very clear about the fatal results of radium. Regardless of the results, she had devoted herself to science, trying to discover mysteries of the physical world.

1. Marie traveled to France for further education, because ________.

A. French universities could offer her a better environment

B. women were not allowed to enter a university in Poland

C. her husband was a professor in a French university

D. she wasn’t qualified for a university in Poland

2. The underlined word “succeed” in the fourth paragraph probably means “ ______”.

A. divorce　　　 B. reject　　　 C. follow　　　 D. remember

3. After she became seriously ill, Marie Curie _______.

A. became careful　　　　　　 B. stopped her work

C. continued her study　　　　 D. was discouraged

4. According to the passage, we know that _______.

A. Marie and her husband found the secrets of the atom

B. Marie’s husband died before they discovered radium

C. Marie was the first woman professor at the Sorbonne

D. Marie was sad all her life after the death of her husband