Bruce Alberts, the former President of the National Academies (USA), has now tak

Bruce Alberts, the former President of theNational Academies (USA), has now taken over as Editor-in Chief of Science.Judging by his editorial in this week’s issue Considering Science Education therecould be some interesting times ahead in Science offices.

    Here’s part of what Brucehas to say about science education…

    I consider scienceeducation to be critically important to both science and the world, and I shallfrequently deal with this topic on this page. Let’s start with a big-picture view. Science hasgreatly advanced our understanding of the natural world and has enabled thecreation of countless medicines and useful devices. It has also led tobehaviors that have improved lives. The public appreciates these practical benefitsof science, and science and scientists are generally respected, even by thosewho are not familiar with how science works or what exactly it has discovered.

    But society may lessappreciate the advantage of having everyone acquire the ways of thinking andbehaving that are central to practice of successful science: scientific habitsof mind. These habits include a critical attitude toward established claims anda strong desire for logic and evidence. As famous astronomer Carl Sagan put it,science is our best detector (检测器). Individuals and societies clearly need a means to logically testthe constant clever attempts to operate our purchasing and political decisions.They also need to challenge what is unreasonable, including the intolerancethat led to so many regional and global conflicts.[来源:Zxxk.Com]

    So how does this relate ofscience education? Might it be possible to encourage, across the world,scientific habits of mind, so as to create more rational (理性的) societies everywhere? In principle,a strong expansion of science education could provide the world with such anopportunity, but only if scientists, educators, and policy-makers redefine(重新定义) the goals of science education, beginning withcollege-level teaching. Rather than only conveying what science has discoveredabout the natural world, as is done now in most countries, we should providefirst all students with the knowledge and practice of how to think like ascientist.

1. Which of the following is NOT included in the “scientific habits of mind”?

   A. A critical attitude towardestablished claims.      B. A strong desire for logic.

   C. A clever and activemind.                    D. A strong desire for evidence.

2. What does the underlined phrase “such an opportunity” refer to in the last paragraph?

   A. To create more rationalsocieties everywhere.

   B. To relate decision-making toscience education.

   C. To encourage scienceeducation around the world.

   D. To set right goals of scienceeducation.

3.In Bruce Alberts’ opinion, which is the most important in scienceeducation?

A. Offering all students enough practice todrill their mind.

B. Equipping all students with a thinkingmodel of a scientist.

C. Telling students what science hasdiscovered about the natural world.

D. Advising all students to challenge allestablished scientific achievements.

4.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

   A. Bruce Alberts, a greatscience educator   

B. Science education and world peace

   C. The government and scienceeducation  

D. Bruce Alberts’ opinion on science education

试题答案

【答案】

1.C           

2.A

3.B

4.D

【解析】 略