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2017 ‫מועד פברואר‬ - 49 - ‫ פרק שנ י‬- ‫ אנגלית‬

Text II (Questions 18-22)

(1) In November 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was working in his
laboratory, experimenting with different types of light and energy. Puzzled by a screen
that appeared to be glowing for no reason, he spent weeks eating and sleeping in his lab,
determined to identify the cause of this mysterious glow. The result was the discovery

(5) of the X-ray, which earned him widespread recognition as well as the very first Nobel
Prize in Physics, in 1901.

In a series of experiments, Röntgen discovered that X-rays could travel distances of
several metres and could pass through materials such as cardboard, wood and human
skin unimpeded, but could not penetrate denser materials such as lead, gold and,

(10) perhaps more notably, bone. The stark images of Röntgen's first X-ray photographs, in
particular a picture of his wife Anna Bertha's hand, clearly showing the bones and a ring
on her finger, had a profound effect worldwide. Accounts and images of Röntgen's

experiments appeared in almost every newspaper and scientific publication. Doctors
quickly realised that this new photographic technique could help them look inside the
(15) human body without surgery and, within weeks, were using X-rays to diagnose bone
fractures and locate embedded bullets or swallowed objects.

Röntgen was a quiet, humble man. Though the remarkable discovery was officially
named after him, he continued to use the term he came up with during the weeks of
working in his lab. Using the common mathematical symbol for something unknown,

(20) he referred to his discovery as X-rays. Moreover, he refused to patent his findings,
convinced that his inventions and discoveries belonged to the world at large.

Questions

18. The main purpose of the text is to -

(1) introduce X-rays and the man who discovered them
(2) demonstrate the profound effect of X-rays on diagnostic medicine
(3) explain the scientific properties of X-rays
(4) describe the remarkable career of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen

19. The second paragraph discusses the ____ X-rays.

(1) characteristics and uses of
(2) advantages and disadvantages of
(3) local and worldwide responses to
(4) development and improvement of

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