1
Three kids have been learning chemistry for
only a few months. But they have already begun to challenge (挑戰(zhàn)) a world famous scientist!
Li Weichi, Huang Runling, and Xiao Yan are
from Zhongshan Huaqiao Middle School in Guangdong. They have just found a red
cabbage that could be a new kind of acid-base indicator (酸堿指示劑). They want it to take the place
of litmus (石蕊) paper.
"We've learnt to think of and ask
questions about life by ourselves," said Li, "We work well with each
other."
British scientist Robert Boyle discovered the
use of litmus paper over 300 years ago. Now it is used widely in experiments
all over the world.
But when the kids did some experiments in
class last winter, they saw that the litmus paper didn’t turn very blue with
base matter. It's hard to get a clear result.
Will there be a better indicator than litmus
paper? The three kids decided to try and find out!
How? They went to collect over 40 plants in
parks, gardens and markets. Then they ground (研磨) leaves, flowers and stems (莖)
to get the pigments (色素) from them.
The kids mixed pigments with acid and base.
They spent months watching carefully to see which paper showed the best color
change. They decided it was the litmus paper!
"It's our first scientific journey,
Huang said, "But it makes me want to try harder."
1.Whom did the three kids want to challenge?
A. Their chemistry teacher.
B. Their headmaster.
C. Robert Boyle
D. Thomas Edison
2.From the text, a red cabbage is a kind of
____.
A. plant B. animal C. paper D. liquid
3.What is widely used as the acid-base
indicator now?
A. red
cabbage B.
litmus paper
C. any
plant
D. any flower
4.The story mainly tells us ____.
A. how to make litmus paper
B. about the three kids' spirit
C. scientists were wrong
D. the kids are heroes