FAMILY OPEN DAY
FAMILIES
Saturday, 7th August
Session Times:
10 am-12 pm
12.30 pm-2.30 pm
3 pm-5 pm
Suitable for age 6+
Prices:
|
Exploration Zone |
Woodland |
|
|
Single ticket |
£5 |
£1 |
|
A family ticket (4 people, must include 1 grown-up) |
£15 |
£3 |
Book Now
Visit the Science Oxford Centre as we open our doors for a special science-themed experience for families. We encourage children to play and learn, design their own experiments and make their own discoveries.
You can tour our Exploration Zone, and see the world differently through our hands-on exhibits. Try out marble run building, create flying objects that stay over our air table, and watch water freeze (结冰) before your eyes!
Outside in our 15-acre Woodland, families can follow our trails (小路) and explore this beautiful outdoor setting. You will pick up some signs of wildlife in the woods: see fox footprints, hear calls of our local birds, etc. Just ask one of our team for an activity sheet to get started! Your ticket includes two hours in the Exploration Zone or access to Woodland all day.
Notes
• All tickets must be booked in advance.
• All visitors must wash their hands upon entering and exiting the Science Oxford Centre.
• The café is open but you are welcome to bring a packed lunch to eat in our outdoor seating area by the café, as we ask visitors not to picnic in the woods as it is a protected area.
For more information about the Science Oxford Centre, please call us on 01865 810 000 or see Science Oxford Centre visitor information.
Before your visit you'll receive an email with helpful information about how to have a safe and enjoyable day out at the Science Oxford Centre.
After a drive down a dirt road that cut through the forest, the pickup truck stopped next to a wooden house, on which there are teeth and claw (爪子) marks left by grizzly bears. Kluane National Park, I later learned, has the largest number of grizzlies in Canada.
Luckily, I headed for the water. Climbing into a small boat, my guide Hansen and I rolled out onto Mush Lake. Thirteen kilometres long, the lake is the kind of place that would attract weekend visitors, were it close to human settlements. "Look around," Hansen said. "We're the only people on this big lake."
Lying in the far southwest corner of Canada, Kluane's 22, 000sqkm are 80% covered by snow and ice. Much of the rest is rainforest, thanks to the relatively warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.
As Hansen piloted our boat past snow-covered mountains, he showed me the survival pack on board. "If I die, this bag has everything you need to live," he said. "Just make a fire, and don't worry. They'll come for you by nine o'clock." Luckily, we both made it to lunch. At one fishing spot, Hansen caught three fish, and we set up on a nearby beach and cooked the fish over a fire.
After our lunch, we walked into the cold stream that emptied into the lake. We were looking for grayling, a type of fish found only in cold subarctic waters. Hansen showed me different casts (抛钓线), and — as I tried, I learned the hard way that fly fishing is more art than science. But the number of fish made up for my weaknesses. Sometimes two grayling would jump for the fly. Within an hour, I had caught some 40 fish.
Kluane also offers about 160km of trails, ranging from five-day treks (路程) to half-hour cakewalks. To experience the land's beauty, I joined guide Little for a long walk. Little told me, the park is home to the second highest mountain in North America, 5,959m-tall Mount Logan. To truly appreciate the park, Little suggested I see it from above. So we climbed aboard a plane. As we flew up over the mountain, I couldn't help showing surprise at its beauty.
The plot of the story of "The Million Pound Bank Note" centers on the impossibility of encashing (兑现) a high valued bank note by a common man. Within this story it is narrated that only two such notes were ever issued and anyone who walks into a bank to cash that note will get himself in trouble. So, do such million pound bank notes really exist? Let's do a bit of digging around for the purpose of satisfying the curiosity over this question.
Such high valued pound bank notes do exist, and they were usually used for transactions (交易) within banks. The Bank of England used "one million" and "hundred million" pound bank notes to maintain parity (平价) with bank notes issued by Scottish and Northern Irish banks. These notes — the one million ones were called "giants" and came in A5 size and the hundred million ones were called "titans" having an A4 size — were more like IOU documents (legal forms that describe a loan between a lender and a borrower) and they were special issues from the Bank of England to meet the requirement of backing the value of everyday notes issued by banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Nine such one million pound notes were issued in connection with the Marshall Plan (the US's post-war aid program to Western Europe), equal to the loan from the US after World War II (WWII) in 1948. After cancellation, of these nine only seven were destroyed and two survived with private collectors. Such high valued notes are not usually found in the normal transactional scenes and it is believed that notes worth eight billion pounds were printed in these heavy denominations (面额) in total.
Mark Twain can create humor from narrations of unrealistic (不现实的) and often funny simple situations and "The Million Pound Bank Note" is a nice example of his storytelling abilities.
Saahil Mehta, a 40-year-old Indian living in the United Arab Emirates, believes in gifting his two children, Yuvraj, 8 and Alisha, 6, experiences rather than material possessions (东西) to celebrate special occasions. This could be in the form of a visit to a theme park or a staycation in a new hotel.
"As a result, their desire to buy things has gone down. This is our way of addressing their basic needs," said Mehta.
In December 2019, Mehta took the family to visit the Indian city of Dharamshala where they spent time with poor children in a school. This was an eye-opener for Alisha and Yuvraj, as they realised that what was normal for them was a treat for those kids. "For those kids, it is a blessing (幸福) to be able to attend school. This experience taught my kids to count their blessings," said Mehta.
During the holiday, the Mehta family gave away pens and pencils to 250 children. This helped Alisha and Yuvraj understand the cost difference in schooling. "They notice how much we spend on their education. The difference in costs helped them make a comparison," explained Mehta.
Back home, the kids are encouraged to do basic housework like making their beds, opening curtains, etc. But Mehta never gives them money for doing those things. This way, they are taught that everyone has to chip in to keep the household running. When they do other tasks beyond the essentials, like massaging the mother's shoulders, etc., Mehta pays them a small amount.
Pointing out a weakness in the education system, Mehta said children don't get any experience in financial literacy (知识) until they attend university. The father is planning to introduce the concept of a family bank to his children. He also wants his children to pay attention to financial pitfalls such as spending beyond their means, too much use of credit cards, etc. He has set a plan on how money will be spent on some needs. It's up to his children to use the money carefully.
Joan Fournier and her daughter stopped at a fast food restaurant in Cornwall for some lunch. However, when her phone rang and she took it out to answer the call, without her knowing it, the money fell out of her pocket.
Later in the evening when they went shopping, Fournier realized the money wasn't there. Thinking someone must have picked up the bill and simply pocketed it, Fournier didn't hold out much hope for getting back the cash. However, she called the restaurant, just in case. Fournier was surprised to discover the $100 had been found just where it had fallen.
Bridget Patterson, a 17-year-old employee of the restaurant, was cleaning up shortly before closing time when she discovered the bill on the floor. Patterson put the money in an envelope, and took a photo of the area where she'd found it and put it under her manager's door with a note of explanation.
Fournier returned to get the money. She was surprised, honestly, that Patterson would go to all that trouble.
For Patterson's part, doing anything but returning the money never crossed her mind. "If it had been the other way around, I'd want someone to do the same thing," she said.
A. Her first thought was to put it in her pocket.
B. Fournier thought she would be getting it back.
C. Moreover, she never expected anything in return.
D. In her pocket, Fournier had her cellphone and a $100 bill.
E. She also brought along a card and a cash gift to express her thanks.
F. After searching everywhere, she decided that maybe it fell out at the restaurant.
G. When Fournier called, she heard the story of how Patterson had turned in the cash she'd found.
Today, it's natural to connect currency with coins or paper notes. However, currency has taken a number of different1throughout history. In many early societies, certain commodities (商品) became a(n) 2method of payment. The Aztecs often used cocoa beans 3trading goods directly. However, commodities have clear 4in this regard. Depending on their size, they can be hard to carry around from place to place. And in many cases, they have a(n) 5shelf life (保存期).
These are some of the reasons why minted (新发明的) currency 6. As far back as 2500 BCE, Egyptians created metal rings they used as7, and actual coins have been around since at least 700 BCE when they were used by a society in what is modern-day Turkey. Paper money didn't8until the Song Dynasty in China. Metallic money in the form of coins9from precious metals such as gold or silver has been commonplace since early civilization.
Other forms of currency that have 10include large round stones in the Pacific Islands, shells in pre-modern America, and measurements of salt.
More recently, 11has enabled a quite different form of payment: electronic currency. Using a telegraph (电报) network, Western Union completed the first 12money transfer (转让) way back in 1871. With the arrival of the computer, it became13for banks to remove money from or credit money to each other's accounts without the difficulty of14moving large sums of cash.
Today, electronic payments and digital money is not only common, but has become the most15money form.
In 2010, researchers at Princeton University decided (dig) into the question of whether money can buy happiness. The researchers surveyed over 450, 000 people to look for a connection between each person's emotional wellbeing (健康) their level of income.
The researchers found that money does increase one's emotional wellbeing, but only up to a certain point. Up to $75, 000 per year, more money leads to more happiness. The lower someone's income below $75, 000, the (bad) their emotional wellbeing. But making more $75,000 per year had no additional impact happiness.
This number actually isn't all that surprising. Based on data from GOBankingRates, the median (中间的) amount you'd need to make to live (comfortable) in the United States is $67, 690. So someone making $75,000 per year would be able to pay all their bills, while also having some leftover (剩余) to enjoy.
There are plenty of good points on both (side) of the argument of whether money can buy happiness. Sure, the money (it) doesn't make you happy. And buying more things likely won't either.
But money is a tool. And when it (use) properly, money helps you to reach financial goals that make you happier. For some, that happiness looks like more time with the family. For others, it's simply the stress relief that comes with knowing you don't have to worry about (be) late on your bills. It's not the money that makes you happy — it's how you use it.
Carlos and Maya dreamed of becoming space explorers.
On their way home, Carlos and Maya saw a spaceship in the window of a toy store. They went inside the store to see how much it cost. They saw the price and it was too expensive. They tried to pool their money together but it still wasn't enough.
They left the store sad and disappointed. Carlos suddenly realized that his birthday was coming up. Maybe he could ask their parents to buy the spaceship as a gift for his birthday.
When they got home, Carlos ran straight to their mother and told her what he wanted for his birthday.
Their family didn't have much when it came to money. So, when their dad stopped by the store to see the toy that Carlos wanted, he found it was too expensive. They couldn't afford it.
On the day of his birthday, Carlos got up early, excited to see his gift. But when he got to the living room, he saw a spaceship that was made out of a cardboard box. His dad had made it for him. It had wings on each side and had enough space to ride in. It was a spaceship but it wasn't what he wanted.
Tears flowed (流) from Carlos' eyes and he ran back to his room. Maya had just woken up and saw their mom knocking on the door and asking Carlos to come out. But he didn't want to.
Maya got to the living room but couldn't see the spaceship they had seen, only the cardboard box. She saw their dad beside it, bent down (弯着腰) on one knee with his head down.
Maya didn't want her brother to be sad on his birthday. So she tried to think of a way to cheer her brother up. She looked at the cardboard spaceship and got an idea.
Carlos didn't have breakfast and now he was hungry. He was about to get out of bed when he heard a knock on the door. It was Maya. She said that they had a surprise for him.
注意：
1）续写词数应为150左右；
2）请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Carlos opened the door and just saw Maya was sitting in the cardboard spaceship.
……
A moment later, they stopped at the dinner table where there was a card that said "Best Restaurant in Space".
