化学化工专业英语教程.doc

1 CHEMISTRY AND CHEMIST Without chemistry our lives would be unrecognisable, for chemistry is at work all around us. Think what life would be like without chemistry - there would be no plastics, no electricity and no protective paints for our homes. There would be no synthetic fibres to clothe us and no fertilisers to help us produce enough food. We wouldn’t be able to travel because there would be no metal, rubber or fuel for cars, ships and aeroplane. Our lives would be changed considerably without telephones, radio, television or computers, all of which depend on chemistry for the manufacture of their parts. Life expectancy would be much lower, too, as there would be no drugs to fight disease. Chemistry is at the forefront of scientific adventure, and you could make your own contribution to the rapidly expanding technology we are enjoying. Take some of the recent academic research: computer graphics allow us to predict whether small molecules will fit into or react with larger ones - this could lead to a whole new generation of drugs to control disease; chemists are also studying the use of chemicals to trap the sun’s energy and to purify sea water; they are also investigating the possibility of using new ceramic materials to replace metals which can corrode. Biotechnology is helping us to develop new sources of food and new ways of producing fuel, as well as producing new remedies for the sick. As the computer helps us to predict and interpret results from the test tube, the speed, accuracy and quality of results is rapidly increasing - all to the benefit of product development. It is the job of chemists to provide us with new materials to take us into the next century, and by pursuing the subject, you could make your positive contribution to society. Here are some good reasons for choosing chemistry as a career. Firstly, if you have an interest in the chemical sciences, you can probably imagine taking some responsibility for the development of new tech