Today is the first第一 /fɜːrst/ day of school学校 /skuːl/. I wake up醒来 early早 /ˈɝː.li/ and feel both excited兴奋的 /ɪkˈsaɪ.tɪd/ and nervous紧张的 /ˈnɜːr.vəs/. I get dressed穿好衣服 quickly and put on背上（书包） my new bag书包 /bæɡ/. Mum is already已经 /ɔːlˈred.i/ in the kitchen. " Eat吃 /iːt/ your breakfast早餐 /ˈbrek.fəst/ first," she says. "Today is a big重大的 /bɪɡ/ day日子 /deɪ/."
Dad drives驾车 /draɪvz/ me to school. On the way路上 /weɪ/, he says, "Jack, every great了不起的 /ɡreɪt/ story故事 /ˈstɔːr.i/ has a beginning开始 /bɪˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/. This is yours你的 /jɔːrz/." His words话 /wɜːrdz/ help me帮助了我 feel less afraid害怕的 /əˈfreɪd/. When we arrive, Dad stops停车 /stɑːps/ the car汽车 /kɑːr/ at the gate大门 /ɡeɪt/ and gives me a wave挥手 /weɪv/. " Go ahead去吧," he says. "I believe相信 /bɪˈliːv/ in you."
The school is large很大的 /lɑːrdʒ/ and full of students学生们 /ˈstjuː.dənts/. I follow跟随 /ˈfɑːl.oʊ/ a sign指示牌 /saɪn/ that says "Grade 10 →" and find my way找到路 to the room教室 /ruːm/. Inside, the desks课桌 /desks/ are lined up in neat整齐的 /niːt/ rows排 /roʊz/. The board黑板 /bɔːrd/ at the front前面 /frʌnt/ is clean and white白色的 /waɪt/. I choose a seat座位 /siːt/ near the window窗户 /ˈwɪn.doʊ/ and sit down坐下.
A girl女生 /ɡɜːrl/ sits down坐下 next to me and smiles微笑 /smaɪlz/. "Hi, I'm Amy艾米（人名）. Is this your first第一次 /fɜːrst/ year学年 /jɪr/ here?" I nod点头 /nɑːd/ and say, "Yes. My name is Jack. I just moved搬来 /muːvd/ here last上个 /læst/ month月 /mʌnθ/." She says, "Don't worry担心 /ˈwɜːr.i/. I'll show告诉 /ʃoʊ/ you around." I feel lucky幸运的 /ˈlʌk.i/ to meet认识 her already已经 /ɔːlˈred.i/.
Our teacher老师 /ˈtiː.tʃɚ/ walks in. His name is Mr. Chen陈（姓）, and he teaches教 /ˈtiː.tʃɪz/ history历史 /ˈhɪs.tɚ.i/. He is a tall高的 /tɔːl/ man with black黑色的 /blæk/ glasses眼镜 /ˈɡlæs.ɪz/ and a calm平静的 /kɑːm/ voice声音 /vɔɪs/. He starts开始 /stɑːrts/ the lesson课 /ˈles.ən/ by asking a question问题 /ˈkwes.tʃən/: "Why do we study学习 /ˈstʌd.i/ history历史 /ˈhɪs.tɚ.i/?" The room教室 /ruːm/ is quiet安静的 /ˈkwaɪ.ɪt/. Then a boy男生 /bɔɪ/ in the front row排 /roʊ/ raises举起 /ˈreɪ.zɪz/ his hand手 /hænd/ and says, "Because the past过去 /pæst/ teaches教导 /ˈtiː.tʃɪz/ us how to live生活 /lɪv/ in the present当下 /ˈprez.ənt/." Mr. Chen nods and says, " Exactly正是 /ɪɡˈzækt.li/."
After class下课后, Amy leads带领 /liːdz/ me around四处 /əˈraʊnd/ the school学校 /skuːl/. We pass经过 /pæs/ the library图书馆 /ˈlaɪ.brer.i/, the sports运动 /spɔːrts/ field操场 /fiːld/, and the lunch午饭 /lʌntʃ/ hall食堂 /hɔːl/. "The food here is really真的 /ˈriː.ə.li/ good不错的 /ɡʊd/," Amy says with a grin咧嘴笑 /ɡrɪn/. " Wait and see等着瞧." We sit together坐在一起 at lunch午饭 /lʌntʃ/ and talk聊天 /tɔːk/ for a long很长 /lɔːŋ/ time时间 /taɪm/. She tells me she loves art美术 /ɑːrt/ and reads阅读 /riːdz/ a lot of books书 /bʊks/. I tell her I play踢 /pleɪ/ football足球 /ˈfʊt.bɔːl/. We have a lot in common有很多共同点.
The last lesson课 /ˈles.ən/ of the day is English英语 /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/. The teacher老师 /ˈtiː.tʃɚ/ is a young年轻的 /jʌŋ/ woman女士 /ˈwʊm.ən/ named Ms. Lin. She asks each student学生 /ˈstjuː.dənt/ to stand站起来 /stænd/ up and share分享 /ʃer/ one idea想法 /aɪˈdɪr/: "What do you want想要 /wɑːnt/ to learn学到 /lɜːrn/ this year年 /jɪr/?" Some students学生们 /ˈstjuː.dənts/ say they want to write写作 /raɪt/ better. Others say they want to read阅读 /riːd/ more books书 /bʊks/. When it is my turn轮到 /tɜːrn/, I say, "I want to get better变得更好 at speaking口语 /ˈspiːk.ɪŋ/." Ms. Lin smiles微笑 /smaɪlz/ and says, " Good很好 /ɡʊd/ idea想法 /aɪˈdɪr/. You will work hard努力 and get there."
At the end结束 /end/ of the day一天 /deɪ/, Dad waits等待 /weɪts/ for me at the gate大门 /ɡeɪt/. "How was it?" he asks. I think想一想 /θɪŋk/ for a moment片刻 /ˈmoʊ.mənt/. "I met a friend朋友 /frend/. I learned学到了 /lɜːrnd/ something real真实的 /riːl/. And I'm already已经 /ɔːlˈred.i/ looking forward to期待 tomorrow." Dad puts his arm around搂住 my shoulder肩膀 /ˈʃoʊl.dɚ/ and says, "That's my boy好小子 /bɔɪ/."