Many of the scientists and inventors who lived long ago are remembered today and their inventions are widely used. By today’s   (1)  , they should have been rich and famous.

     (2)  , many of them never tasted the fruit of their success in their lifetime. Many had to spend their own money   (3)  heir inventions. As they didn’t always succeed the  (4)  time, much money was wasted on  (5)  trial experiments.

     (6)   people wanted to lend money to such experiments   (7)   they were not always fruitful. Thus, the inventor had to work with makeshift(凑合的)equipment and tools. Sometimes, they had fulltime jobs which provided them with some funds to finance their experiments   (8)   support their families. But even so, a large amount of money which went into the experiments was taken out of household expenses.

   You can imagine the family   (9)   which it may have resulted in. Poverty, loneliness and failure were more   (10)   among the early pioneers than riches and   (11)  .

Today’s inventors have a   (12)   better deal. Universities and government bodies  (13)   research and development. Funds are  (14)   to do experiments and tests. These  (15)   be in diverse fields like medicine, defense, agriculture, education and housing.

Large companies each   (16)   have a department to develop new products. Inventors and scientists are paid and provided with up-to-date equipment to   (17)   their tests. They are encouraged to discuss their work and   (18)   with other scientists   (19)   seminars(研讨会), the Internet and journals. This interaction   (20)   new heights of achievement.