Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends. They believe that their family members don't know them as well as their friends do. In large families, it is quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for some ideas.

    It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends. Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone. This communication is very important in children's growing up, because friends can discuss something. These things are difficult to tell their family members.

    However, parents often try to choose their children's friends for them. Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends. Have you ever thought of the following questions?

    Who chooses your friends?

    Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?

    Have you got a good friend your parents don't like?

    Your answers are welcome.

    Sydney has a huge bus system(系统). No buses accept cash, and a ticket needs to be bought ahead of time. The buses often run at busy hours and regularly(有规律地) during the day. The Sydney Explorer bus provides air-conditioned service and stops at 27 tourist attractions. Its partner, the Bondi Explorer, stops at 19 attractions. Tickets allow holders to jump on and off as they please, and they are valid(有效的) for one or two days. It's an easy way to see the city and the surroundings.

    Sydney's train service runs throughout the central city area and the surroundings. Tickets can be bought from machines that operate 24 hours a day or from ticket offices. The monorail(单轨铁路) travels through central Sydney. It is the most excellent way to gain a good view of the whole city. The monorail runs every three to five minutes, and it takes 15 minutes to complete its journey.

    Sydney is built around a harbor, and the Parramatta River has a large ferry（渡轮）system. It serves the area around the harbor. These include Taronga Zoo, Darling Harbor, Rose Bay, the North Shore, Cockatoo Island and Sydney Olympic Park. The ferries have operated for more than 135 years and 14 million passengers take the ferries each year.

    Water taxis can transport passengers to specific locations(地点), and offer guided tours of waterways. They also offer special services that some visitors may enjoy. The tickets sell for 20 AUD (Australian dollars)for a day or 57 AUD for a week. It is strange, isn't it?

    After the examination, the doctor told my parents my sight would get worse and that I would lose my sight finally. On the way home from hospital, no one said a word. One day, would I only imagine the scenery beyond the glass rather than see it?

    That September, I entered middle school. Most nights I had homework that included an armful of books to read. To keep up with other children, I took great trouble to finish the task. With my nose a couple of inches from the page, I was tired easily. What's worse, after I had read several pages on my own, the words slipped off the page into inky pools.

    However, then I did not have audio books and electric devices like kids do now. Instead, Mum volunteered to read out loud. Mum worked part-time, cleaned the house, cooked and spent time with Grandma. In spite of being so busy, she showed up in my room like clockwork. She put on her reading glasses. Mum always thought those glasses made her look old. To me, she looked like a teacher.

    In my room, Mum's voice raced with the ticking of the clock. Being forced to focus on listening, I found a way to keep my marks up and compete with the other kids. When the teacher asked a question, I raised my hand with confidence. Teachers praised me for having a good memory. Reading removed my fear for my failing sight, reading also made me curious about other people's challenges and how they managed. Though I could not use my eyes to fix on each passage, my mind lit up with every new book.

    True to what the doctor said, the worst came, but thanks to Mum, my sense of hearing now allows me to “see”. This was the most precious gift from a mother to her child.

    After the examination, the doctor told my parents my sight would get worse and that I would lose my sight finally. On the way home from hospital, no one said a word. One day, would I only imagine the scenery beyond the glass rather than see it?

    That September, I entered middle school. Most nights I had homework that included an armful of books to read. To keep up with other children, I took great trouble to finish the task. With my nose a couple of inches from the page, I was tired easily. What's worse, after I had read several pages on my own, the words slipped off the page into inky pools.

    However, then I did not have audio books and electronic devices like kids do now. Instead, Mom volunteered to read out loud. Mom worked part time, cleaned the house, cooked and spent time with Grandma. In spite of being so busy, she showed up in my room like clockwork. She put on her reading glasses. Mom always thought those glasses made her look old. To me, she looked like a teacher.

    In my room, Mom's voice compared with the ticking of the clock. Being forced to focus on listening, I found a way to keep my marks up and compete with the other kids. When the teacher asked a question, I raised my hand with confidence. Teachers praised me for having a good memory. Reading removed my fear for my failing sight, reading also made me curious about other people's challenges and how they managed. Though I could not use my eyes to fix on each passage, my mind lit up with every new book.

    True to what the doctor said, the worst came, but thanks to Mom, my sense of hearing now allows me to “see”. This was the most precious gift from a mother to her child.

    If you're planning on travelling, there are a few simple rules about how to make life easier both before and after your journey.

    First of all, always check and double­check departure (起程) time. It is amazing how few people really do this carefully. Once I arrived at the airport a few minutes after ten. My secretary had got the ticket for me and I thought she had said that the plane left at 10：50. When I arrived at the airport, the clerk at the departure desk told me that my flight was closed. Therefore, I had to wait three hours for the next one and missed an important meeting.

    The second rule is to remember that even in this age of credit cards, it is still important to have at least a little of the local currency (货币) with you when you arrive in a country. This can be necessary if you are flying to a place few tourists normally visit. Once I arrived at a place at midnight and the bank at the airport was closed. The only way to get to my hotel was by taxi and because I had no dollars, I offered to pay in pounds instead. "Listen! I only take real money!" the driver said angrily. Luckily I was able to borrow a few dollars from a clerk at the hotel, but it was embarrassing.

    The third and last rule is to find out as much as you can about the weather at your destination before you leave. I feel sorry for some of my workmates who travel in heavy suits and raincoats in May, when it is still fairly cool in London or Manchester, to places like Athens, Rome or Madrid, where it is already beginning to get quite warm during the day.

    Demand for the Chinese tech company's devices(设备) is red hot even though the country's overall market for smartphones is getting smaller Huawei's China sales rocketed more than 20% in the final quarter of 2018, and experts say that's partly due to the US govenment's global campaign against the company.

    "The latest tension between the US and China raised the patriotism(爱国主义) in Chinese consumers, said Jusy Hong, an analyst at research firm IHS Markit

    He pointed out that some Chinese companies encouraged employees to buy Huawei phones late last year. The moves were a gesture of support after the firm's chief financial officer was arrested in Canada in early December at the request of the United States.

    Huawei's booming sales show how major parts of its business continue to increase even as the United States tries to persuade other countries to shut Huawei products out of 5G wireless networks and pursues(追究) criminal charges against it. The company expects to overtake Samsung as the world's biggest smartphone maker by next year.

    Huawei sold 30 million phones in China in the last three months of 2018, nearly three times as many as Apple(AAPL), according to data published this week by research firms Canalys and IDC. Apple's sales plunged almost 20%.

    Huawei's success in China, the world's largest smartphone market, is more than about geopolitics(地缘政治). Chinese consumers love its flagship, high -end- phones because they have great cameras, cutting edge technology and cost less than the latest iPhones, according to analysts. And by offering a selection of cheaper phones, Huawei is able to target a bigger market.

    It also benefited from the troubles this year at ZTE (ZTCOF), a rival Chinese smartphone and telecommunications equipment maker. ZTE was banned by the US government from buying vital American parts for months last year.