内容正文:
备战2021年高考英语考前时事热点话题阅读
热点43 中国科学家及其奋斗精神
一、阅读理解
1
Nearly each country in the world has its official honors reserved (保留) for outstanding people. For instance, in the United State, the highest civilian honor is the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In China, there are also such official honors given to people who have made outstanding contributions (贡献)to the nation's construction and development.
On Sept. 17, 2019, President Xi Jinping signed a presidential decree (主席法令) to award 42 individuals the Medal of the Republic, the Friendship Medal and various honorary titles.
Shen Jilan, an 89 year old farmer, is one of the eight people who were awarded the Medal of the Republic. She is the only person in China who has served at all 13 National People's Congresses (人民代表大会) since 1954. She is the very witness to the development of the People's Congress system. It was she who put forward the clause on “equal pay for equal work” between men and women, which was written into the first Constitution of PRC in 1954.
Tu Youyou, who had received the Nobel Medicine Prize in 2015,was also awarded the Medal of the Republic. She is famous for finding outQinghaosu, which has helped to save millions of lives. Before the discovery, malaria is a deadly disease to people of tropical developing countries in South Asia, Africa and South America. Therefore, her discoveryof Qinghaosuand its treatment of this disease is considered as an important breakthrough in the 20th century.
Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice (杂交水稻), received the Medal of the Republic as well. He is known for his great contributions to hybrid rice research and the wonderful work he has done to improve rice production in many developing countries. Judging from his appearance, he looks like a farmer rather than a scientist, with his sunburnt face and slim, strong body. That is because he always works under the sun for a long time and that is how he developed hybrid rice which produces 1/3 more than normal rice.
Ye Peijia