telephone to give my American friend Daisy a call and tell her that I had arrived. A friendly old man saw me looking lost and asked if he could help me.

"Yes", I said, "I want to give my friend a ring."

"Well, that's nice," he said, "Are you getting married? But aren't you a bit young?"

"Who is talking about marriage?" I replied. "I only want to give my friend a ring to tell her I've arrived. Can you tell me where there is a phone box?"

"Oh!" he said, "There is a phone downstairs."

When at last we met, Daisy explained the misunderstanding to me.

"Don't worry," she said to me. "I had so many difficulties at first. There are lots of words which the Americans use differently in meaning from British. You'll soon get used to all the funny things they say. Most of the time, British and American people understand each other!"

21. Where was the writer from?　　

A. He was from France.　　 B. He was from China.

C. He was from England.　 D. He was from America.

22. The writer thought in America.

A. the Americans might not understand him

B. he would not understand the Americans

C. he would have difficulties at the airport

D. he wouldn't have any language difficulties

23. From the passage, we can see that "give somebody a ring" .

A. means "be going to get married with somebody"

B. means the same in America as in England

C. means "call somebody" to the old man

D. has two different meanings in America and in England

24. In the last paragraph the word "they" refers to .

A. the French B. the old man and the boy

C. the British D. the Americans

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　B

The world celebrates Earth Day every year on April 22. But one school in Maryland tries to honor Earth Day every day.

Children at that school love being outside in the open air, running after each other, sliding (滑动，移动)and swinging（摇摆，秋千） on playground equipment. And children at St. James Children's School also have fun by observing（观察） worms and picking up trash in the school yard. Besides, they learn to save water and electricity. They also recycle and reuse things. And every spring they get the soil ready to plant flowers and vegetables in the school garden.

Rebecca Boker teaches the children the importance of taking care of the Earth. She said, "If children learn it early on when they are younger, it will become part of their daily lives. It's not something they have to think twice. It should be something that everyone does."

St. James children observe the growth of plants from seeds to sprouts（幼芽） in cups kept in the classroom. Then they watch the plants continue to grow after placing them in the garden. The students also observe the lifecycle of butterflies and other insects and learn about rain and sea life. They try to use as much recycled material as possible.

But do these very young children really get the message that their teachers try to communicate?