Percy Lebaron Spencer (1894 - 1970) was an American engineer and inventor. Like several great inventors, Dr. Percy Spencer made his most famous discovery by accident. He was testing a new piece of radar technology called magnetron in a laboratory in 1946 when the candy bar in his pocket started to cook. This interested him, so he put some corn next to the magnetron - and that cooked too!

The next day Dr. Spencer and his colleague placed an egg near the magnetron. Dr. Spencer's curious colleague took a step closer to check the egg - just in time for it to explode and cover his face!

After a short time, the company Dr. Spencer worked for was trying to find a more controlled way to use this microwave energy to cook food. In 1947, the first microwave oven became available. It was almost two metres tall and weighed over 350 kilos!

Finally in 1966 technology became advanced enough to produce microwaves for everyday domestic use. By then they were much smaller and easier to control. Nowadays you can see microwave ovens all over the world. They are here to stay.

1.

Dr. Spencer discovered that ___________.

A.

a new piece was called magnetron

B.

a candy bar could cook his pocket

C.

magnetron could cook food

D.

invention often happened by accident

2.

The first microwave was invented in ___________.

A.

1946

B.

1947

C.

1966

D.

1970

3.

Which of the following is NOT true, according to the passage?

A.

Dr. Percy Spencer was a radar expert.

B.

His colleague had a minor accident in the experiment.

C.

The first microwave was hardly convenient to use.

D.

Microwave ovens are now part of our life.

4.

The phrase by accident in the first paragraph mostly means ___________

A.

on purpose

B.

by the way

C.

not controlled

D.

not planned

5.

What could be the best title for the article?

A.

The Uses of Microwave Ovens

B.

The History of Microwave Ovens

C.

The Story of Dr. Percy Spencer

D.

The inventions of Dr. Percy