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

　　You speak, write a letter, make a telephone call. Your words ___1___ a message（信息）. People communicate（交际）with words. But do you think you can communicate ___2___ words! A smile on your face shows you are ___3___ or friendly. Tears（泪水）in your eyes tell ___4___ that you are sad. When you ___5___ your hand in class, the teacher knows you want to say ___6___ or ask a question. You ___7___ your head, and people know you are saying “no”. You nod（点头）and people know you are saying “yes”. Other things can also carry messages. For example, a sign（招牌）at the bus helps you to know which bus to take. A sign on the door tells you where to go in or out. Have you ever noticed（注意）that there are a lot of signs around you and that you get messages from them all the time?

　　 People can communicate ___8___ many other ways. An artist（艺术家）can use his drawing to tell about beautiful mountains, about the blue sea and many other things. Books are ___9___ to tell about all the things in the world and also about people and their ideas. Books, TV, radio films all ___10___ us communicate with others. They all help us to know what is going on in the world and what other people are thinking about.