I'm David．When I was 13．my parents decided that I should go to England to improve my English．I had never been to other countries before．so I felt a little worried．My parents prepared everything for my journey．My plane was due(预期的)to leave at 9：30 am and arrive in two hours．I phoned the English family who I would stay with and they told met hey would wait for me at the airport．

    Unluckily my plane to London was delayed(延误)．I tried to phone the English family again but I couldn't speak to them because they had already left home for the airport．

    When I arrived in London．it was already 1：30 pm．I went to get my luggage(行李)but I couldn't find it．I became very worried．Luckily,the airport staff(工作人员)was very helpful and efficient ． I didn't wait long—they found it 10 minutes later．

    My English family were still waiting for me!I was so happy!Then my new life in London began．My English family were quite kind．I learned a lot of English because I spent most of the day talking in English．I played computer games with the little boy in my English family．I also taught him how to play chess．Sometimes I told him stories I learned from my family．

    I missed my family during my stay in London,but I also felt sad when my stay there came to an end．My English family held a party for me．I enjoyed it very much．I'll never forget that summer in London!It is one of the most wonderful experiences I've ever had．

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

C

    Many years ago, a French naturalist, Comte de Buffon, wrote some books about natural history. The books were a great success even though some critics（批评家）did not like them.

    Thomas Jefferson did not like what Comte de Buffon had said about the natural wonders（奇观）of the New World. It seemed to Jefferson that Comte de Buffon had spoken of natural wonders in America as if（好像）they were unimportant.

    This troubled Thomas Jefferson. He was also a naturalist, as well as a farmer, an inventor, a historian, a writer and a politician（政治家）. He had seen the natural wonders of Europe. To him, they were no more important than those of the New World.

    In 1788, Thomas Jefferson wrote about his home state, Virginia. While writing, he thought of its natural beauty and then of the words of Comte de Buffon. At that moment, Jefferson created a new word—belittle. He said, “Comte de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic（大西洋）.”

    Noah Webster, the American word expert, liked this word. He put it in the English language dictionary in 1806, “Belittle—to make small, unimportant.”

    Americans had already accepted Jefferson's word and started to use it. In 1797, the Independent Chronicle（独立纪事报）used the word to describe a politician the paper supported. “It is an honorable man,” the paper wrote, “so let the opposition try to belittle him as much as they please.”

    In 1872, a famous American word expert decided that the time had come to kill this word. He said, “Belittle shouldn't become English. And more critical writers of America, like those of Britain, feel no need of it.”

    This expert failed to kill the word. Today, belittle is used where the English language is spoken.

    On Monday, I stopped my car in front of my daughter Juliet's middle school. She jumped in the front seat, feeling down. She asked me to help her study for her science test.

    "Dad I need to memorize a unit about the Reproductive Cycle of Plants. And I can hardly make it."

    "You know memorizing seems like the best way to study, but in fact you can do better in tests if you work on trying to understand the material."

    Juliet was open to my advice. It was Monday afternoon and we had two nights to study before the test on Wednesday. I suggested a plan. "Tomorrow night, you are going to teach the material to me. Tonight, read the unit. Prepare to teach."

    Asking her to teach me was an unusual idea but I was determined to do it. Studies show teaching somebody else is a very useful way to lean, Even if you don't do the teaching, the act of preparing to teach leads to more learning than just trying your best to memorize the material.

    On Tuesday afternoon, Juliet sat down with her Science book facing me said, "Okay Dad, let's study." I wanted her to teach me. But false starts happened. I couldn't be too hard on her. So instead we starred with me asking her some simple questions. She knew some but not other. When she didn't know the answers. I encouraged her to check the book.

    She started checking things that didn't make sense. And she was actively seeking to test her understanding. I was happy to see it. She wasn't memorizing, she was trying to make sense of things, which was exactly what I had hoped she would do.

    There are two twin boys. They are very different. One of them is happy and outgoing. He always looks on the bright side of things. His brother, however, is sad and unhappy. He has a negative outlook on life. The parents want to cheer up the sad child. They came up with a plan and put the two boys into different rooms.

    The sad boy was put in a clean room with all kinds of wonderful, interesting toys, while the happy boy was put in a dirty room with a lot of horse manure（马粪）.

    After an hour, the parents opened the door into the clean room. To their surprise, the sad boy was sitting, crying. He even didn't move or play with any toys.

    "Why are you crying?" asked the parents.

    "I don't have anyone to play with." he said.

    The parents then opened the second door. They were amazed. Their son was running excitedly around the room, and throwing handfuls（一把）of horse manure into the air. "What are you doing?" they asked.

    "Well, "said the excited little boy." With all this horse manure lying around, I guess there may be a baby horse hiding in this room and I'm going to find him!"

    If we have a positive（积极的）attitude, difficulties are easy to overcome.

    "We only had one recess (课间休息) today!" a girl from Connecticut said sadly to her mom. The mother, Lucy Dathan wishes her daughter had more recess time. "It helps kids build relationships and be creative thinkers," Dathan is working to pass a state bill(议案). The bill would require at least 50 minutes of recess every day.

    Advantages of recess

    There was a report about recess in 2017. It said that playtime encourages kids to be active. It can build healthy bodies. It also helps kids make friendships. Last year, the state started requiring two recess periods a day. Most U.S. schools offer 27 minutes. But some schools offer none at all.

    Powerful Voices

    At least six states have laws that require primary schools to provide recess. Other states are considering the same thing. Kids can help. In Arkansas, they asked lawmakers to consider a state bill. This bill requires 40 minutes of recess. Izzy Kopsky is one of those kids. Playing with his friends is his favorite part of recess, but he felt like he didn't have enough time to do that. He spoke in front of lawmakers and told them that more recess time could help students pay attention in class. The governor of Arkansas signed the state's recess bill on April 1st.He likes the kids' efforts. "Young people can have a powerful voice."

    Test Case

    Many schools have to make sure students do well on state tests. That's why some schools have shorter recess. It makes more time for class. But cutting back on recess may not be the right choice. Recess can improve a child's memory and focus.