Known as the “father of hybrid rice”, Yuan Longping always considered【小题1】(he) a farmer. As a young man, Yuan was concerned about farmers’ poor harvests and shortage of food to eat. To tackle this problem, he 【小题2】(choose) to study agriculture and received an education at Southwest Agricultural College.

After graduating, Yuan worked as a researcher. He【小题3】(convince) that the solution lay in the【小题4】(create) of hybrid rice rather than larger fields, which was then against the common assumption 【小题5】 it could not be done. Through intense effort, Yuan overcame enormous technical difficulties and cultivated the first high-yielding hybrid rice, enabling farmers to increase their output greatly 【小题6】 expanding the fields. Today it’s estimated that about 60 percent of domestic rice 【小题7】(consume) in China consists of crops 【小题8】(generate) from Yuan’s hybrid strains (杂交株).

Despite Yuan’s invaluable contributions and great achievements, he never led a life of leisure. Instead, he devoted his whole life to 【小题9】(fulfil) his dreams. He was indeed a great scientist, 【小题10】 deserves our greatest respect.

Edison was one of the greatest   【小题1】(scientist) that greatly shaped modern society. When he was seven, Edison's family moved from Ohio to Michigan after his father got a job there. Because of hearing problems, he had difficulty 【小题2】 (follow) the lessons and often ran away from school.

However, he used the time 【小题3】 (read) books and set up a lab in his home. But the smell from his lab was often so strong that his mother had to stop 【小题4】 (he) from carrying out any more experiments at home.

At the age of twelve, Edison got a job on the Grand Trunk Railway. There, he made use 【小题5】   an abandoned (被抛弃的) car as his lab. During that time, he 【小题6】(success) developed a device (设备) that could send messages. By 1869, Edison's inventions in telegraphy were widely accepted, 【小题7】 made him decide to leave the job and become a fl-time inventor. Edison's most "well-known" inventions included the electric light bulb, microphones and so on. When 【小题8】 (ask) to explain how he could come up with so many inventions, Edison said "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration (汗水)."

Edison 【小题9】 (die) at the age of 84 on October 18, 1931. At the time of his death, he was still doing experiments in his lab in West Orange, New Jersey. He clearly enjoyed his work and lived life to 【小题10】 fullest.

Would you like to explore the oceans? Do you want to find【小题1】than we imagine there? For Jacques Cousteau, the answer was “yes”. His career was a lifelong dream, and he is【小题2】(probable) the most famous ocean scientist in recent times.

Cousteau was born in France in 1910. Even as a child, he loved water. Cousteau was bright,【小题3】he got bored with school and began to cause trouble. His parents sent him to a strict boarding school. There, Cousteau finally【小题4】(challenge). He studied hard and did well 【小题5】all his courses. In 1933, he served as a general officer in the French Navy. He also began to explore the life under the water.【小题6】(invent) in 1943, the breathing machine made it possible for him to stay under water longer.

In 1948, Cousteau became a captain, and he had new duties. Even so, he continued to explore the oceans. Two years later, he became the president of the French Oceanographic Campaigns. He also bought a ship【小题7】(help) with his dives. But he【小题8】(need) a way to get money for his trips. To do that, he produced many films and published a number of books. His films include The Silent World (1956) and World Without Sun (1996). One of his books is The Living Sea (1963).

In 1974, he founded the Cousteau Society,【小题9】function was to further oceanic research and encourage people to help protect the oceans and the life within them.

Cousteau won many honors for his work,【小题10】(include) the Presidential Medal of Freedom and membership in the French Academy in 1989.