Discover Nature Schools programs
Becoming Bears (Kindergarten-2 grade)
By becoming baby bears, children learn from their “parent” to survive the seasons. Kids will find safety in the spring and learn kinds of food bears eat during the summer, and then create a cave for winter hibernation(冬眠). After learning the skills needed to survive, students will go out of the cave as an independent black bear able to care for themselves. (1.5-2 hours)
Whose Clues? (3-5 grade)
Kids will discover how plants and animals use their special structures to survive. Through outdoor study of plants and animals, kids will recognize their special structures and learn how they enable species to eat, avoid their enemies and survive. Using what they have learned, kids will choose one species and tell how they survive in their living places. (3-4 hours)
Winged Wonders (3-5 grade)
Birds add color and sound to our world and play an important ecological (生態(tài)的) role. Students will learn the basics of birds, understand the role birds play in food chains and go bird watching using field guides and telescopes. Students will do hands-on activities. Students will use tools to build bird feeders, allowing them to attract birds at home.(3-4 hours)
Exploring Your Watershed (6-8 grade)
We all depend on clean water. Examining how our actions shape the waterways around us. Go on a hike to see first-hand some of the challenging water quality problems in a city. Students will test the water quality to determine the health of an ecosystem.
● Each program is taught for a class with at least 10 students.
● All programs include plenty of time outdoors. So please prepare proper clothing, sunscreen and
insect killers for children.
● To take part in a program , please email dcprograms@mdc.mo.gov.
小題1:What can kids do at Becoming Bears?

A．Watch bears’ performances.

B．Take care of bears

C．Dress up as baby bears to learn about bears.

D．Learn how to survive a bear attack.

小題2:Kids who are interested in plants will choose______________.

A．Winged Wonders	B．Exploring your Watershed
C．Becoming Bears	D．Whose Clues?

小題3:According to the passage, all the four programs _____________.

A．have the same teaching hours

B．have outdoor activities

C．a(chǎn)re offered during summer holidays

D．a(chǎn)re designed for primary school students

A motivational strategy that parents can employ with their kids, is to frame tasks and responsibilities in the context of what the end benefit is for them. I call this strategy WIIFM
(“What’s in it for me?”).
When a teen can combine an understanding of WIIFM with a sense of passion about achieving a goal, barriers will start to fall away. At our teen summer camps, we arrange an event near the end of the 10-day session that helps campers identify an important life goal and mentally break through their biggest barrier to achieving the goal.
We pass around 12-by-12-inch pine boards. We tell campers that this activity is not about breaking a piece of wood. It’s about how you can get what you want in your life. It’s about breaking barriers to grab on to your goals.
They have the power to break through any barrier. It has nothing to do with body size or physical condition. The skinniest, smallest teens will break through the board almost as easily as the big ones.
We talk to the campers about the reasons they might have had for not reaching their goals in the past. Maybe they got lazy and decided it wasn’t worth the effort. Maybe they failed and let their fear of failure hold them back. But this exercise is about putting the past where it belongs. Today is about making new choices.
By this point in the program, we ask them to think of the goal they’ve set for themselves and write their goals on the boards. Then they write the possible obstacles which may hold them back on the opposite sides. An inch of pine now stands between them and their dreams.
The facilitators and their teammates gather around. The support is strong. One by one, they break through the barriers and grab their goals! All around us teens are laughing, crying, hugging, and holding up the broken pieces of their boards. The confidence shown on their faces is beautiful.
While arranging such an activity in one’s home is almost unrealistic for parents, the value of helping a teen break through a personal barrier simply by being there as moral support can not be overestimated. More help for parents in the form of videos and articles is available at our website, in our blogs and in a monthly e-newsletter.
小題1:The 12-by-12-inch pine boards are used as _________________.

A．materials to test one’s muscles

B．signs of goals in one’s life

C．a(chǎn)ssessments to show one’s progress

D．symbols of barriers in one’s life

小題2:We can learn from the passage that through the event the campers _________.

A．become hard-working	B．get moral support
C．gain confidence	D．set right goals

小題3:Which is the best title for the passage?

A．The Power of WIIFM	B．What’s in It for Me
C．The Importance of Goals	D．Motivational Strategies

小題4:The passage is intended for _____________.

A．teens

B．parents

C．campers

D．Tutors

The World's Largest Insect .This giant insect can be used as a toy.
A child ties one end of a string to a stick and the other end around the "neck" of an insect. Holding the stick, the child lets the insect go. With a loud whirring sound, the insect takes off, pulling the string in a large curve over the child's head. The child laughs as the stick jumps around. The child is African, and the toy is the African Goliath beetle, the largest insect in the world.
The Goliath is a true insect because it has six legs and a body that is divided into three parts. Like all beetles, it has two pairs of wings. The front pair are thick and stiff and protect the back pair, which are soft. It is these soft back wings that make the beetle fly forward. They also cause the loud whirring sound the beetle makes when it flies. To steer, the beetle twists and turns its legs the same way you steer a bike by turning its front wheel.
African children often use the Goliath beetle as a toy. Although it is over 15 centimeters long, it is quite harmless.
小題1: The African Goliath beetle is _______. 

A．the world's largest insect

B．a(chǎn) toy used in many parts of the world

C．the only insect found in Africa

D．the world's smallest insect

小題2:What do African children often use the Goliath beetle as?

A．a(chǎn) tool.

B．a(chǎn) toy.

C．harmfull insects.

D．Good animals.

小題3:We know the Goliath beetle is a true insect because it _______. 

A．makes a whirring sound when it flies	B．has both soft and hard wings
C．has six legs and a body with three parts	D．can fly

小題4:When flying, the Goliath steers by_______. 

A．turning its soft back wings

B．twisting and turning its hard front wings

C．twisting and turning its legs

D．twisting and turning its whole body

Some snakes eat other snakes, even poisonous ones. The poison does not do them any harm(傷害). Snakes can swallow(吞下) things that are bigger around than they themselves are. This is possible because the jawbones(腭骨) are loosely joined, and the mouth can stretch（伸展）to make room for a fat animal. The snake’s slim body stretches to make space for the animal when it is inside.
Many snakes eat birds’ eggs or frogs（青蛙）. Others eat pests（害蟲）, mice and other animals that harm crops on farms. Because snakes do this valuable work, you should never kill one. It is too dangerous for you to kill a poisonous one. Leave that job to experts.
小題1: Which of the following groups of food is usually had by a snake?

A．Mice, crops, birds’ eggs.

B．Pests, frogs, some animals, plants.

C．Birds’ eggs, frogs, all animals, other snakes.

D．Mice, frogs, pests, some animals, other snakes.

小題2:We should not kill a snake because       

A．it is poisonous

B．it can do something useful for man

C．it will strike you in return

D．we are not experts

小題3:Snakes may do some valuable work by       

A．eating pests, mice and some harmful animals

B．doing harm to other animals

C．eating birds’ eggs and frogs

D．both A and C

小題4:In writing this passage the writer mainly wants us to       

A．have a better impression(印象) about snakes

B．like snakes

C．kill snakes with the help of experts

D．regard snakes as one of man’s best friends

As rain begins to fall from the clouds, it is very pure. However, as it falls through the air it dissolves some of the gases in the air ,It also collects bits of dust and microbes(微生物)that are floating in the air, When the rain reaches the ground it begins to pick up more dust and dirt, Many kinds of mineral substances dissolve in the water ,Sand and nud cannot dissolve in water.
Since water is so important to us, it is very important that the water we use should be clean , Otherwise, we might get some of the diseases that are carried by water Many microbes are harmful ,They are so small that we cannot see them ,These microbes must be removed or killed before the water is not clean, people who drink this water may get these diseases, Thus , to provide people with clean water, the government purifies the water.
Purification is a long process and consists of three stages: storing ,purifying and distributing ,The first stage is storing , Man-made lakes called reservoirs are used for this purpose ,Water from the rains ,other lakes, streams and rivers is collected in the reservoirs ,This water is usually dirty and muddy.
In the second stage shich is purifying , water from the reservoirs is filtered in a special pond, Stones, sand and other unwanted tiny things are caught in it, After that, tiny microbes are still present in the water ,These microbes are removed by “airing ”the water and by adding a chemical substance called chloring(氯)to the water ,This kills all the microbes in the water ,A fter this the water can be safely used for drinking.
The third stage is the distribution of the purified water to homes ,hospitals, offices ,factories and other places, This is done through a network of pipes of various sizes, These pipes must be make of a suitable material.
小題1:From Paragraph 1, we can learn that           

A．Rain has contained gases when it forms in the clouds

B．Dust and microbes are dissolved in rain when rain falls on the ground

C．The closer rain is to the ground, the more impure things it contains

D．Sand and mud are things rain collects when it falls through the air

小題2:According to Paragraph 2 ,the following statements are wrong except that        

A．All the microbes in water are harmful so water must be purified

B．some diseases can spread through drinking water if it is not clean

C．Water is safe to drink if only harmful microbes are removed from it

D．it is the govrnment’s responsibility to make drinking water clean

小題3:What can we know about man-made lakes?

A．It is used through the whole process of purification

B．Only rain water can be collected and stored in it

C．Water collected can be stored and filtered in it

D．Water from them contains a lot of impure substances

小題4:What is the function of the chemical substance chlorine?

A．to air the water	B．to catch tiny things
C．to kill microbes	D．to remove harmful gases

小題5:What is probably this passage?

A．A news report

B．A book review

C．A magazine article

D．A school paper

A study shows that nearly ninety percent of teens report that they have tried alcohol. That’s an increase of 23 percent in just four years!
Each year, 1.1 billion cans of beer are drunk by students aged 15-19 years old. Beer is the most common alcoholic drink among teens—81 percent of the drinkers had tried it. Beer is followed by wine with 63 percent, hard liquor(烈酒) with 53 percent and wine coolers with 35 percent.
When the young people are asked why they drank, the most common answer is that drinking is “something to do”. If a teen’s parents drink alcohol, the teenager is more likely to start drinking at an early age. Also, tens see all of their friends drinking alcohol so they think it is the must-to-do thing. Peer pressure is probably the hardest thing teens have to deal with. What’s more, teens often drink alcohol because it makes them feel older and cooler.
Researchers asked 56,000 students about their drinking habits and grades, to see how drinking might affect their grades in school. The results seem to be clear. Students who got a C level or lower tend to use three times as much alcohol as those who got B’s or A’s.
Alcohol use can be deadly. About 8,100 young people are killed per year in alcohol-related accidents. Eight young people die per day as a result of a drunk-driving accident. Between 50 and 65 percent of all teen suicides (自殺) occur after the young people drink.
So you see, drinking the alcohol doesn’t always end up with a good time. The next time you try to push someone to drink or someone tries to push you to drink, please remember this. One drink can set the habit for life. Why not throw it away?
小題1:The reasons for teens’ drinking alcohol are mentioned EXCEPT that _______________.

A．they think it is cool to drink alcohol

B．their parents set a bad example to them

C．a(chǎn)lcohol can make them happier

D．peer pressure plays an important role

小題2:What can we learn from paragraph 4?

A．Drinking alcohol makes students stupid.

B．Good students never try alcohol.

C．Drinking habits have something to do with IQ.

D．Students with poor grades tend to use more alcohol.

小題3:The passage was written mainly to ______________________.

A．show the bad effect of drinking alcohol

B．show how many teenagers drink alcohol

C．tell teenagers not to try alcohol

D．tell the reasons why teenagers drink alcohol.

Babies who are slow to gain weight in the first months of their lives generally catch up to their peers by age 13,a large UK study shows, Researchers said the results would make parents whose babies fail to put on weight quickly less worried.
The researchers looked at data from ,11,499 children who took part in a large study, It showed that 507 who were slow to gain weight in the first eight weeks of life recovered fairly quickly and had almost caught up by age 2. Another group of 480 who were slow to gain between eight weeks and nine months continued to put on weight slowly until they were seven years ,but then had a sudden increase and caught up by age 13, The different pattems of recovery between the two groups were likely due to different reasons for slow weight gain ,the researchers said, All the children were still lighter and shorter than their peers by the time they were teenagers ,but within the normal range.
The findings highlight the importance of monitoring a baby’s weight and height gain during the first few weeks and months ,but not creating anxiety with parents of slow-growing babies, said the study leader Prof Alan Emond from the University of Bristol.
“In the past, a lot of parents have been caused unnecessary anxiety by heaith professionals and this is a positive and reassuring message.”He said in many cases of slow growth where children do not follow the standard’curve’(曲線)it is just because they are following their genetic potential.
Dr Simon Newell, vice-president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said he broadly agreed with the concluslons of the researchers but stressed that poor weight gain was something that needed to be monitored closely, “I would encourage parents to use growth charts but if measurements show your baby is smaller than averager it may be completely normal, ”he said.
小題1:What can we know from the findings of the research?

A．All the cases of slow weight gain in the first months of the babies’ lives are caused by the same reason

B．Slow-growing babies will have the same height and weight with their peers by age13

C．Many cases of children whose growth don’t meet the growing standard curve cannot be treated as abnormal

D．The findings won’t cause parents’ anxiety so monitoring a baby’s growth from his/her birth is unnecessary

小題2:Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．It’s important to monitor a baby’s weight and height gain for new parents

B．New parents should feel anxious about their baby’s weight and height gain

C．Researches still couldn’t find the reasons for slow weight gain

D．All the children’s weight and height became normal by age 13

小題3:What does the underlined word in the fourth paragraph mean?

A．Making sure something is certain to be true

B．Making someone calmer and less anxious

C．Confirming something is to happen again

D．Being sure that someone can be attracted

小題4:Which of the statements would Dr Simon Newell agree to?

A．To some degree, growth charts can help parents monitor their babies’ weight gain

B．It’s abnormal for babies are smaller than average

C．He agreed with the researchers completely

D．Babies’ weight gain can only be monitored and measured by using growth charts.

小題5:The writer wrote this passage in order to        

A．tell us how to help babies grow faster

B．explain why babies are gain weight slowly

C．report on the findings of a research

D．reduce the anxiety of some parents

What if we could replace oil with a fuel which produced no pollution and which everybody had equal access to?The good news is that we can, In fact, we are swimming in it—literally.
Hydrogen is one of the building blocks of the universe ,Our own sun is basically ,a big ,dense cloud of the stuff ,And hydrogen can be used to create electricity for power ,heat and light.
The problem is that hydrogen is everywhere and nowhere at the same time , It does not exist as a material on its own ,but is always part of something else, So it has to be separated before it can be used.
Most commercial hydrogen in use now is created from natural gas , As oil will start to run out in around the year 2030.,it makes sense to produce as much hydrogen as possible as soon as we can ,But natural gas supplies will also begin to run out soon after, Another source is needed.
Researchers are now using electricity to make water into hydrogen ,Companies are working on the problem in their own areas ,The first commercial hydrogen ,”fuel cells”for computers and mobile phones have already come on to the market ,Auto companies have also invested over US ＄2billion in the production of hydrogen fuelled cars
Thd nations of a hydrogen fuelled planet would not fight over evergy recourses, There would be a great reduction in pollution ,The only by-product of creating hydrogen is pure drinking water—something that is very scarce in many parts of the world ,But that is not where the good news ends, Once the costs of producing hydrogen have been brought down ,it will possibly provide power for a third of the Earth ‘s population that has no electricity.
And electricity creates wealth, In South A frica over the last decade there has been a large programme of electrification, Thanks to the programme , people do not have to spend their days looking firewood to burn for heat, And with electric light , they can work long into the night.
Some scientists see radical changes in the way the human race co-operates, Hydrogen creates clectricity, and is also created by it. With dual use fuel cells, everyone who consumes energy could also produce it ,Late at night, a man drives home in London and connects his car into the “world-wide hydrogen web”, which it supplies with electricity ,A few hours later, a man in Beijing uses that electricity to power the hydrogen cell in his car, Hydrogen could be the first democratic energy source.
Like all dreams of the future, it seems very far away, But the threat of war and terrorism in the Middle East has made governments and businesses more aware of the need to edn oil dependency and spend more time and money on hydrogen resource, So maybe the threat of war is not a completely bad thing for the future of the human race.
小題1:What does the underlined word “it”in the last but one paragraph refer to?

A．wealth

B．hydrogen

C．electricity

D．fuel

小題2:What is the problem with using hydrogen as energy?

A．It has by-products

B．It has to be separated from other materials

C．It will make energy too cheap

D．It is too far away from us

小題3:Why does the author give the example in the last but one paragraph?

A．To tell us that we produce energy while using hydrogen power

B．To tell us that hydrogen power does not produce pollution

C．To show hydrogen power can stop war

D．To show hydrogen power is cheap

小題4:What is the author’s attitude about the future?

A．skeptical

B．negative

C．indifferent

D．positive

小題5:What is the passage mainly about?

A．war and energy

B．the future of hydrogen as an energy resource

C．the disadvantages of oil

D．How to end war

If you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think. This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of our brains are not getting enough exercise and, as a result, we are growing old unnecessarily soon.
Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why quite healthy in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a rather early age, and how the speed of getting old could be slowed down.
With a team of researchers at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages with different jobs. Computer technology helped the researchers to get most exact measurements of the volume of the front and side parts of the brain, which have something to do with intellect and feelings, and decide the human character. As we all know, the back part of the brain, which controls task like eating and breathing, does not contract with age.
Contraction of front and side parts—as cells die off—was seen in some people in their thirties, but it was still not found in some sixty and seventy-year-olds.
Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple way to prevent the contraction—using the head.
The findings show that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than in the towns. “Those with least possibility,” says Matsuzawa, “are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. White collar workers doing the same work day after day in government offices are, however, as possible to have contracting brains as the farm worker, bus driver and shop assistant.”
小題1:The team of doctors wanted to find out _____.

A．a(chǎn)t what point people grow mentally old

B．how to make people live longer

C．the size of certain people’s brains

D．which people are the most clever

小題2:Their research findings are based on _____.

A．a(chǎn)n examination of farmers in northern Japan

B．tests given on a thousand old people

C．examining the brain volumes of different people

D．using computer technology

小題3:The doctors’ tests show that _____.

A．our brains contract as we grow older

B．one part of the brain does not contract

C．sixty-year-olds have better brains than thirty-year-olds

D．some people’s brains have contracted earlier than other people’s

小題4:The most possible conclusion of the passage is that _____.

A．most of us take more exercise

B．it’s better to live in the town

C．the brain contracts if it is not used

D．the more one uses his brain, the sooner he becomes old

LG Electronics, the world’s fourth largest cell phone producer, has added another feature to the mobile phone-reading books for the visually impaired(弱視的). The company started marketing the model, the LF1300 on Sep.18. No other people but the blind and visually-impaired with a certificate(證書) can buy the talking phone at sales shops of LG Electronics.
“The LF1300 is the world’s first mobile phone that is capable of reading books for the print-disabled, who otherwise could not enjoy them. This is not about making money but about continuing to put froth efforts to reduce the digital difference for the disabled,” LG Vice President said.
Its users can download about 300 audio (聲音的) books from the Internet site of LG Sangam Library to their phones for free in two ways. One is to access the digital library’s Website on a computer designed for the blind to get the audio books and transfer them to cell phones. The other is to download the digital books directly with cell phones through the wireless net work by touching a hot key on the LF1300 phone.
On top of its unique feature of reading books, the LF1300 is no worse than the popular top-line phones in both outlooks and functionalities(功能性). The phone is armed with an MP3 player and a Bluetooth headset, enabling users to listen to the music or talk without a cord. The user interface（界面) of the LF1300 is also designed for the blind, enabling phone users to control it through a voice guidance system.
However, because the phone’s internal memory of 17MB is small even for a single audio book file, which takes up 80MB on average, a high-volume external memory is a must for the talking book services.
小題1:          are allowed to buy the talking phone.

A．Disabled people with a certificate

B．All the blind and poor-sighted people

C．The blind and poor-sighted with a certificate

D．Both healthy and disabled citizens

小題2: The users can download audio books on LF1300 by         .

A．talking to the microphone

B．touching any key

C．touching its screen

D．touching the hot key

小題3:What can be learned from the passage?

A．This is the first time LG Company has done something for the disabled.

B．Phone users don’t have to pay much to download the digital books.

C．LF1300 has a less attractive outlook than any other top-line phone.

D．The disadvantage of LF1300 is that it has too small internal memory.

小題4:The best title of the passage might be         .

A．A New Type of Cell Phone is on the Market

B．Mobile Phones Can Read Books for the Print-Disabled

C．The Disabled will Benefit from Cell Phone Producers

D．Advanced Technology Helps the Blind Read Books