阅读下列短文，从下面每小题的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。

    Brenda Bongos was a happy, talented girl. She had one big dream-to play the drums in a band. But one big problem lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get them nervous. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone who would get mad.

    One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a musical astronaut.

With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble (透明圆形罩). This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out (抽出) all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit (成套设备) and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble，turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.

    It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos became very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a special space journey. Finally,           , and it was far beyond (超越) her first dream of playing drums in a band.

    Years later, when asked how she had achieved all her dreams, she thought for a moment, and said," If those old people next-door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened."

    I'm Sharon. One of my favorite countries to go on vacation is China. After falling in love with the country on business（生意）trip two years ago, I took my children to China last summer.

    We visited three cities, but Xi'an was the most interesting one. This old city is amazing and our children loved to ride bicycles on the famous City Wall. The wall is about 14 kilometers long and it has a very long history. Visitors can rent bicycles there and it is very cheap. And on each corner（街角）you can take a rest and enjoy a bottle of cold water, because it was very hot when we visited it in July. Trust（相信）me, your children will love the trip!

    Comments（评论）

    Tina Reply

    Aug 31, 2018

    Hi, Sharon! I also think China is a great country to visit. We just came back from Beijing and we had great fun. Next time, we'll go to Xi'an on vacation. Can you tell me some other interesting activities in Xi'an?

    Sharon Reply

    Sep 1, 2018

    Hi, Tina! I'm glad that you love China, too. I think you can try some Chinese food in Xi'an. There're also a lot of places of interest in Xi'an. I'm sure you'll love them!

    One Thursday afternoon, when I was in Grade 9, a new boy came into my classroom. He was short and thin. He walked up to the teacher and told her, very seriously, that he was new. His name was Christian. He sat down, took a look at me, and then looked away. I didn't think he was very nice and I was sure he wasn't the type I would like to make friends with.

    During that year, I didn't talk to him much, but he smiled at me when our eyes met, always shyly. He never ate lunch with anybody, and he never talked to anybody but me.

    But one day I joined those unkind kids who were making fun of him. We made fun of him though I thought it was wrong.

    "Haven't you got any friends?" a kid asked Christian, who had walked past us alone, with his head down.

    "No, he hasn't got any friends. He's too stupid and shy," I said. Then Christian looked up at me with the saddest dog eyes I had ever seen. I felt very sorry at that moment.

    That night, I couldn't sleep because I couldn't get Christian's face out of my mind. In the weeks that followed, be never met my eyes, in class and never smiled at me, It was really hard for me to decide to write him a note asking him. to forgive(原谅) me. But I thought I should.

    The next day in class, I wrote him a note telling him how sorry I felt. About five minutes later, I turned and saw tears in his eyes. "You will never realize what your apology(道歉) has meant to me, Jimmy," he said to me. "I hope we can become friends."

    We had lunch together that noon and we had the best talk I had ever had. Over the years at high school, we were close friends.

    When I think back, I realize that, if I had not apologized, I would never have known what a lovely person Christian was.

    Apologies can really change your life, so never miss the chance to tell somebody you are sorry.

    There were two men who lived next to each other. One of them was a retired teacher and the other was a businessman. Both of them had planted many different plants in their gardens. The retired teacher seldom watered his plants and didn't pay a lot of attention to them. But his neighbor was very careful with his plants and watered them often.

    The retired teacher's plants were small, but still looked okay, while the businessman's plants were much bigger and greener. One night, there came a storm with a heavy rain and strong wind. The next morning, both of the neighbors came out to check in their gardens. The businessman saw that his plants had come out from the earth, and were totally out of life. But the retired teacher's plants nicely stood where they were.

    The businessman was surprised. He went to consult (咨询) the retired teacher. "We both grew the same plants and I cared for my plants better than you did. How could your plants still be okay?"

    The retired teacher smiled and said, "Because you gave your plants too much attention. You made it too easy for them to grow. I gave my plants just a little bit of water, so they had to grow deeper to absorb(吸收) more water. That is why my plants survived."