The life and work of Marie Curie: Reading answers

The passage opens

Answers 1–13

1. 1

   Marie Curie's husband was a joint winner of both Marie's Nobel Prizes.

   FALSE True / False / Not Given

   The statement says her husband shared both prizes, but the passage says Marie was the sole winner of the 1911 prize. This contradicts the statement.

   “was then sole winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize for Chemistry”

2. 2

   Marie became interested in science when she was a child.

   NOT GIVEN True / False / Not Given

   The passage describes Marie as having a remarkable memory in childhood, but does not say when she became interested in science. The statement is neither confirmed nor contradicted.

3. 3

   Marie was able to attend the Sorbonne because of her sister's financial contribution.

   TRUE True / False / Not Given

   The passage says Bronia would later help Marie get an education, and then says Marie went to Paris to study. This supports the statement that her sister's financial contribution enabled her to attend the Sorbonne.

   “From her earnings she was able to finance her sister Bronia's medical studies in Paris, on the understanding that Bronia would, in turn, later help her to get an education.”

4. 4

   Marie stopped doing research for several years when her children were born.

   FALSE True / False / Not Given

   The statement says she stopped research for several years, but the passage says her daughters' births failed to interrupt her scientific work. This contradicts the statement.

   “The births of Marie's two daughters, Irène and Eve, in 1897 and 1904 failed to interrupt her scientific work.”

5. 5

   Marie took over the teaching position her husband had held.

   TRUE True / False / Not Given

   The passage says Marie took the professorship left vacant when her husband died. This matches the statement that she took over his teaching position.

   “she was appointed to the professorship that had been left vacant on her husband's death”

6. 6

   Marie's sister Bronia studied the medical uses of radioactivity.

   NOT GIVEN True / False / Not Given

   The passage says Bronia became director of the Radium Institute in Warsaw, but does not state that she studied the medical uses of radioactivity. The statement is neither confirmed nor contradicted.

7. 7

   thorium Note completion

   The question paraphrases “had the same property” as being radioactive. The passage says thorium also had the radioactivity found in uranium.

   “She discovered that this was true for thorium.”

8. 8

   pitchblende Note completion

   The question asks for the mineral whose radioactivity the Curies investigated. The passage identifies it as pitchblende.

   “Turning her attention to minerals, she found her interest drawn to pitchblende”

9. 9

   radium Note completion

   The question paraphrases recognition for her work as the 1911 Nobel Prize. The passage says she received it for isolating pure radium.

   “In 1911 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the isolation of a pure form of radium.”

10. 10

    soldiers Note completion

    The question describes the medical use of X-radiography. The passage says the mobile units were used to treat wounded soldiers.

    “used for the treatment of wounded soldiers.”

11. 11

    illness Note completion

    The question asks what kind of cases radioactive material could help treat. The passage says the material was needed to treat illness as well as to supply research.

    “not only to treat illness but also to maintain an abundant supply for research.”

12. 12

    neutron Note completion

    The question asks for one discovery the Paris stock of radium helped make possible. The passage names the neutron.

    “This work prepared the way for the discovery of the neutron by Sir James Chadwick”

13. 13

    leukaemia / leukemia Note completion

    The question asks what illness resulted from her exposure to radiation. The passage states that she died of leukaemia caused by that exposure.

    “Marie Curie died as a result of leukaemia caused by exposure to radiation.”

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