The example given in the third paragraph is mainly used to show______. A. western Europe is spending more money than America in certain fields B. Europeans are making more discoveries than Americans in retain fields C. European scientists are more intelligent than American scientists D. America’s scientific leadership is being replaced by European countries
America’s scientific institutions--its technological universities and government laboratories--are the envy of the world, producing ideas, devices and medicines that have made the U.S. prosperous, improved the lives of people around the globe and profoundly affected their perception of the world and the universe. This tremendous creativity is reflected in the technical reports that are published in scientific journals throughout the world. Fully 35% of them come from scientists doing their research at American institutions.
Yet American dominance can no longer be taken for granted, Many recent U.S. achievements and a- wards stem in large measure from generous research grants of the past, and any weakening of government and industry commitment to support of basic research count in the next few decades cost the nation its scientific leadership. Some slipping is already divalent. In high-energy physics, where Americans once reigned supreme, Western Europe now spends roughly twice as much money as the U. S. Result: the major high-energy physics discoveries of the past few years have been made not by Americans but by Europeans.
Even so, money alone cannot guarantee scientific supremacy. Freedom of inquiry, an intellectually stimulating environment and continuous recruitment of the best minds must accompany it. That combination has been achieved in many U.S. institutions--educational, governmental and industrial--but perhaps no- where more successfully than at the National Institutes of Health, Bell Laboratories and Caltech.