A
If there was a subject at school that made me anxious, it was science. Maybe that’s because in my tenth grade, I couldn’t understand my physics teacher’s instructions, causing me to accidentally set fire to the classroom. So, when my husband and I decided to home-school our daughters, we made a deal: he would teach science, while I would handle everything else. But that’s not how things have been going these past few weeks, since my husband has been too busy to teach the girls.
Recently, while out on my morning hike before starting lessons, I noticed that the sky was a beautiful blue, and the air was filled with the sweet smell of flowers. That’s why I decided that the day’s lessons would be taught outside, although I remembered that my daughters hadn’t had any science classes from my husband for a while.
I returned to the house to get the girls ready. We headed up into the forest, settling ourselves by a pond that rarely has any visitors. My daughter Saoirse started to pick up pond weeds and catch frogs, while my other daughter Ula looked at me, waiting to be instructed. I handed her a drawing board and colored pencils. “We wait, ” I told her, “and see if something comes along. In the meantime, just draw what’s around you. ”
We worked for more than an hour, hardly speaking. A bird flew across the water, and then settled in front of a fallen tree. I quickly told Ula, worried that she’d not seen the creature. But she had, and she started drawing it. An hour later, she finished her picture and I stared down at it. She drew the bird on her paper with amazing accuracy. But there was one other interesting fact about this drawing: she also drew me, sitting beside her.
I realized, as I stared at this child’s drawing of us watching a bird, how I’d lived for 40 years, gathered 10 years of higher education, and never understood the foundation of science before this moment. The foundation of science is a sense of wonder; it isn’t about accurately reciting words from a textbook. It is first and foremost about stepping outside our busy lives and marvelling at the world around us.
【文章大意】本文讲述了一位妈妈通过和孩子们的户外学习明白了科学的真谛。
1. How did the author feel about science when in school?
A. She was nervous about it.
B. She was fond of it.
C. She was confused about it.
D. She was eager for it.
【解析】选A。由第一段第一句“If there was a subject at school that made me anxious, it was science. ”可知选A。
2. The underlined word“it” in Paragraph 4 refers to “_________”.
A. the fallen tree B. the forest
C. the bird D. the picture
【解析】选C。由第四段中“ I quickly told Ula, worried that she’d not seen the creature. But she had, and she started drawing it. ”可知it指的是creature, 即the bird。
3. Which of the following best describes Ula?
A. She’s very outgoing.
B. She’s good at observing.
C. She’s very hard-working.
D. She shares interests with her sister.
【解析】选B。由第四段可知, 妈妈要求女儿画鸟, 女儿不但画了鸟, 也画出了妈妈, 可知Ula善于观察。
4. What is the foundation of science in the author’s opinion?
A. Attention to accuracy.
B. Curiosity about the outside world.
C. Determination to find out the truth.
D. Ability to understand teachers’ instructions.
【解析】选B。从文章的最后两句“The foundation of science is a sense of wonder; it isn’t about accurately reciting words from a textbook. It is first and foremost about stepping outside our busy lives and marvelling at the world around us. ”可知选B。
