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Lesson 15
Secrecyinindustry
工业中的秘密
Firstlistenandthenanswerthefollowingquestion.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
Whyissecrecyparticularlyimportantinthechemicalindustries?
Twofactorsweighheavilyagainsttheeffectivenessofscientificresearchinindustry. Oneisthegeneralatmosphereofsecrecyinwhichitiscarriedout, theotherthelackoffreedomoftheindividualresearchworker. Insofarasanyinquiryisasecretone, itnaturallylimitsallthoseengagedincarryingitoutfromeffectivecontactwiththeirfellowscientistseitherinothercountriesorinuniversities, oreven, oftenenough, inotherdepartmentsofthesamefirm. Thedegreeofsecrecynaturallyvariesconsiderably. Someofthebiggerfirmsareengagedinresearcheswhichareofsuchgeneralandfundamentalnaturethatitisapositiveadvantagetothemnottokeepthemsecret. Yetagreatmanyprocessesdependingonsuchresearcharesoughtforwithcompletesecrecyuntilthestageatwhichpatentscanbetakenout. Evenmoreprocessesareneverpatentedatallbutkeptassecretprocesses. Thisappliesparticularlytochemicalindustries, wherechancediscoveriesplayamuchlargerpartthantheydoinphysicalandmechanicalindustries. Sometimesthesecrecygoestosuchanextentthatthewholenatureoftheresearchcannotbementioned. Manyfirms, forinstance, havegreatdifficultyinobtainingtechnicalorscientificbooksfromlibrariesbecausetheyareunwillingtohavenamesenteredashavingtakenoutsuchandsuchabook, forfeartheagentsofotherfirmsshouldbeabletotracethekindofresearchtheyarelikelytobeundertaking.