M1U1SCHOOLlifeintheUKGoingtoaBritishhighschoolforoneyearwasaveryenjoyableandexcitingexperienceforme.IwasveryhappywiththeschoolhoursinBritainbecauseschoolstartsaround9a.m.andendsabout3.30p.m.ThismeansIcouldgetupanhourlaterthanusualasschoolsinChinabeginbefore8a.m.Onthefirstday,allofthenewstudentsattendedanassemblyintheschoolhall.IsatnexttoagirlwhosenameisDiane.Wesoonbecamebestfriends.Duringtheassembly,theheadmastertoldusabouttherulesoftheschool.Healsotoldusthatthebestwaytoearnrespectwastodevoteoneselftostudyandachievehighgrades.ThissoundedlikemyschoolinChina.Ihadmanyteachersinthepastyear.Mr.Heywood,myclassteacher,wasveryhelpful.MyfavoriteteacherwasMissBurke—IlovedthelessonsthatshegaveinEnglishLiterature.Inourclasstherewere28students.ThisisabouttheaveragesizeforBritishschools.Wehadtomovetodifferentclassroomsfordifferentclasses.Wealsohaddifferentstudentsinsomeclasses,soitwasastruggleformetorememberallthefacesandnames.IfoundthehomeworkwasnotasheavyaswhatIusedtogetinmyoldschool,butitwasabitchallengingformeatfirstbecauseallthehomeworkwasinEnglish.IfeltluckyasallmyteachersgavememuchencouragementandIenjoyedallmysubjects:English,History,EnglishLiterature,ComputerScience,Maths,Science,PE,Art,CookingandFrench.MyEnglishimprovedalotasIusedEnglisheverydayandspentanhoureachdayreadingEnglishbooksinthelibrary.IusuallywenttotheComputerClubduringthelunchbreak,soIcouldsende-mailstomyfamilyandfriendsbackhomeforfree.IalsohadanextraFrenchclassonTuesdayevenings.CookingwasreallyfunasIlearnedhowtobuy,prepareandcookfood.Attheendoftermweheldaclasspartyandweallhadtocooksomething.IwasgladthatallmyclassmateswerefondofthecakethatImade.StudentsatthatschoolhavetostudyMaths,EnglishandScience,butcanstopstudyingsomesubjectsiftheydon’tlikethem,forexample,HistoryandFrench.TheycanchooseothersubjectslikeArtandComputerScienceorLanguagessuchasSpanishandGerman.IntheArtclassthatItook,Imadeasmallsculpture.Thoughitdidn’tlookverybeautifulwhenitwasfinished,Istilllikeditverymuch.ImissedChinesefoodalotatlunch.Britishfoodisverydifferent.Britishpeoplelikeeatingdessertattheendoftheirmainmeal.Afterlunch,weusuallyplayedontheschoolfield.SometimesIplayedfootballwiththeboys.SometimesIjustrelaxedunderatreeorsatonthegrass.Iwasveryluckytoexperiencethisdifferentwayoflife.IlookbackonmytimeintheUKwithsatisfaction,andIreallyhopetogobackandstudyinManchesteragain.在英国的学校生活在英国上了一年的中学对我来说是一段非常令人愉快和兴奋的经历。我很喜欢英国中学的作息时间，因为学校每天上午大约9点上课，下午大约3点半放学。这意味着我每天可以比以往晚一个小时起床，因为在中国学校每天上午8点之前就开始上课了。开学第一天，所有的新生都去学校礼堂参加晨会。我当时坐在一个名叫黛安娜的女孩身边：我们很快就成了最要好的朋友。在晨会上，校长向我们宣布了校规。他还告诉我们，赢得尊重的最佳途径就是专心学习并取得好成绩。这听起来倒是像我在国内就读的学校。过去的一年里我有过许多老师。海伍德先生，我的班主任，对我的帮助很大。我最喜欢的老师是伯克小姐——我喜爱她教的英国文学课程。我们班上一一共有28个学生。英国中学的班级差不多就是这么大。我们上不同的课得去不同的教室。上某些课的时候，班上的同学也不一样，所以对我来说记住所有的人的面孔和名字可是一件难事。我发现这里布置的家庭作业不像我以前在原来学校时那么繁重，可一开始我还是觉得有些挑战性，因为所有的作业都是英语的，让我感到幸运的是，所有的老师都给了我很多鼓励，因此，我也喜欢我所学的每一门功课：英语、历史、英国文学、计算机、数学...
