IwasluckyenoughtohaveachancetostudyintheUnitedStatesasaninternationalstudentfromUkrainewhenIwasfourteenyearsold．Iwenttoawonderfulschool，WestCatholicHighSchool，formyfreshmanyear．Iremembermyfirstdayatth

　　I was lucky enough to have a chance to study in the United States as an international student from Ukraine when I was fourteen years old．I went to a wonderful school，West Catholic High School，for my freshman year．

　　I remember my first day at that school as if it were yesterday．I was very nervous，and I could feel my heartbeat on the tips of my toes．My main fear was that I would not be able to express myself due to the language barrier．I was trying to have as little communication as I possibly could．And I almost succeeded，until we had to introduce ourselves in front of the class．

　　And the moment the word"international"flew out of my mouth，I was surrounded by thirty people who were asking questions one after another．I remember some of the questions were"Where is Ukraine？Is it a kingdom？""Do you have McDonald's？Does it taste the same？"and"Say something in your language"．It turned out to be the opposite of less communication，but it was so much fun．

　　During the first three months，I certainly experienced a bit of cultural shock．I think Americans are the nicest people I have ever met in my entire life．They always smile and say，"Hi，how are you？"

　　One day，I noticed the students looking at me suspiciously．Finally，my classmate came up to my locker and whispered，"Is that true that you are a princess and that you came to study here so that nobody would recognize you？"At one point，I even had an image of myself wearing a gown （长袍） and waving at the crowd．What？People do have a wild imagination!

　　During my study abroad experience，I saw a totally new world，experienced great culture，met a lot of incredible people and improved my language．This trip inspired me to learn foreign languages．That is one of the reasons why I speak five different languages today．

　　25．Why was the author afraid on the first day of school？___

　　A．Because she was eager to talk with others．