Children are natural scientists. They are interested in looking into the world around them. Helping them enjoy science can be easy; there’s no need for a lot of expensive lab tools. You only have to share your children’s curiosity(好奇).

Firstly, listen to their questions. I once visited a classroom of seven-year-old students to talk about working as a scientist. The children asked me questions about schooling and whether I liked my job. When I finished answering, we sat facing one another quietly. Finally I said, “Now that we’ve finished, do you have questions of your own about science?”

After a long pause, a boy put up his hand, “Have you ever seen a grasshopper(蚂蚱) eat? When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache. Why?” This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours.

Secondly, give them time to think. Studies have shown that, after asking a question, adults usually wait only one second or less for an answer, do not leave time for children to think. When adults increase their “wait time” to three seconds or more, children can give more logical(合逻辑的), complete and creative answers.

Thirdly, watch your language. Once you have a child telling his idea in a science discussion, don’t jump in with “That’s right. ” or “Very good. ”. These words work well when it comes to encouraging good behavior. But in talking about science, quick praise can mean that discussion is over. Instead, you can say “That’s interesting. ” or “I’d never thought of it that way before. ” or come up with more questions or ideas.

Never push a child to “Think”. Children are always thinking, without your telling them to. What’s more, this can turn a conversation into a performance. The child will try to find the answer you want in as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target(目标)for your disagreement.

Lastly, show; don’t tell. Real-life feeling of nature is far more exciting than any lesson children learn from a book. Let children look at their fingertips(指尖) through a magnifying lens(放大镜), and they’ll understand why you want them to wash before dinner.

(   )53. When children are in a science discussion, adults should ________.

A. speak highly of the children.

B. praise the children immediately

C. end up their discussion with “That’s interesting”

D. leave time for them to come up with better ideas

(   )54. What does “this” refer to in the 6th paragraph?

A. Pushing children to think.

B. Finding the answer you want.

C. Talking about science.

D. Telling children to discuss.

(   )55. These are the ways for adults to share children’s curiosity EXCEPT ________.

A. telling them encouraging stories instead of boring facts  

B. offering them chances to see things by themselves

C. being patient when the children answer questions     

D. persuading them to ask the questions of their own

阅读理解

　　Mr Smith, an expert of medicine, was very strict(严格的) with the students. Every time he took the chair on the exam committee(担任考试委员会主席), the students would be worried, for he was seldom pleased with their answers. A student would be lucky enough if he or she could receive a good mark(分数) from him. Now a student came into the exam room and sat before the committee. This student was a little nervous as he knew it would not be so easy for him to pass the exam.

　　The student was asked to describe an illness. His answer was OK. Then Mr Smith asked about the cure(疗法) for the illness, and the student, too, gave a quick answer. “Good,” said Mr Smith, “and how much will you give the patient(病人)?” “A full spoon,” answered the student.

　　“Now you may go out and wait for what you can get,” said Mr Smith. At the same time the committee discussed the answers the student had given. Suddenly the student realized that there was something wrong with his last answer. “A full spoon is too much,” he thought to himself. Very worriedly he opened the door of the room arid cried, “Mr Smith, I've made a mistake. A full spoon is too much for the patient. He can take only five drops(滴).” “I'm sorry, boy,” said Mr Smith coldly. “But it's too late. Your patient has died.”

l．Why were all the students afraid of Mr Smith?

[　　]

A．Because he was always strict with them.

B．Because he often laughed at them when they were in trouble.

C．Because he never listened to them carefully when they answered his questions.

D．Because he often misunderstood(误解) them and gave them bad marks.

2．What does the underlined word “seldom” in the passage mean?

[　　]

3．Before he left the room, the student was almost sure that ________.

[　　]

A．he hadn't done well in the exam

B．he had made a mistake in the exam

C．his answer to the last question was wrong

D．he had passed the exam and the only thing was to wait for the result

4．From the passage we can learn that the patient would ________.

[　　]

A．be safe in taking only five drops at a time

B．be in trouble if he took five drops at a time

C．be all right soon if he took one full spoon at a time

D．be not well again without the student's help

5．We can guess that the student ________.

[　　]

A．received a good mark at last

B．failed the exam at last

C．passed the exam at last

D．would be no longer afraid of Mr Smith from then on ________.