It's hard to make friends if you stay at home alone all the time. Get out of the house and do things that will put you in touch with other people. It's easier to make friends when you have the same interests.

    Don't be afraid to show people what you are really good at. Talk about the things you like and do best. People will be interested in you if there is something interesting about you.

    Look at people in the eyes when you talk to them. That way, they will find it easier to talk to you. If don't, people may think you are not interested in them and may stop being interested in you.

    Be a good listener. Let people talk about themselves before talking about 'me, me, me'. Ask lots of questions. Show interest in their answers.

    Try to make friends with the kind of people you really like — not just with those who are easy to meet. Be friendly to a lot of people. If so, you will have a bigger group of people to choose(选择) from and have more chances (机会) to make friends.

Title: {#blank#}1{#/blank#}to make friends

    It's a Saturday morning. Mary doesn't need to go to school. She says to her mom, "I need some clothes. Can we go to Nice Girls' Store?"

    "Well, what do you need, Mary?" Mom asks her. “My skirt is small, so I want to buy a skirt. And (A) I need a pair of sports shoes, too," Mary says.

    "I see. Let's go and see now." In the store, Mary sees a blue skirt. It's nice. So she asks the clerk , “how much is it?"

    The clerk says, "It's twenty dollars." "OK. Let me think about it. Thanks."

    Mary asks her mom, (B) "What do you think of that blue skirt, Mom?"

    "It's nice, but I don't think blue is nice on you. What about this green skirt, Mary? "

    "Oh, it's nice! " Mary says.

    They take(C) it at a good price. Only 12 dollars! They buy a pair of green sports shoes, too. It's 32 dollars.

    Everyone wants to relax (放松) after working or studying for a long time. I have many ways to relax. Let me tell you some of my favorites.

    I am a big sports fan (迷). So I often watch or play many kinds of sports. But my favorite is football. I find it really cool.

    I usually listen to music in my free time. My favorite is some beautiful piano music. Some people can't do things well when listening to music, but for me, it is not the case, I think I can study better with my favorite light music.

    I also like visiting places of interest in China and in other countries, and enjoying nice food there. It helps me to know more about various people and places.

    Conan Doyle, a famous writer, the creator of the famous character Holmes, was telling a story about himself in which he was the laughing-stock（笑柄）.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} When a taxi pulled up, he placed his suitcase in the car and took a seat next to it. 'Where can I take you, Mr. Doyle?" asked the taxi driver politely. Doyle was very surprised. He asked, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}"The driver answered, 'No, sir, I have never seen you before."

    Doyle couldn't believe and asked him how he knew he was Conan Doyle. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} People who return from Marseilles always come to the taxi-stop. Your skin tells me you have been on vacation.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Your clothing is very English, and not French. And so, I deduce（推论） that you are Sir Conan Doyle," said the driver.

    Doyle was astonished by the driver's words and said, "This is truly amazing. Your are talented and a real-life counterpart（对应的人） to my creation, Holmes." "Thanks to another thing," the driver said. "What is that?" {#blank#}5{#/blank#}"

A. Have we met each other before?

B. One day he was waiting at a taxi-stop outside the railway station in Paris.

C. This morning's paper had a report about you being on vacation in Marseilles.

D. Your name is written on your suitcase.

E. Your right finger suggests to me that you're a writer.

    Connor Bloom had an amazing two weeks at Stanford University this summer. Eyery part of the experience was amazing. The particle accelerator(粒子加运器), the chance to meet like minded kids from across the world? You guessed it. . .

    Bloom, 14, an eighth-grader at Whitefish Middle School in Montana, US, participated in a special camp at Stanford University. The camp holds many different classes for students who want to challenge(挑战)themselves.

    When Bloom looked online and saw that Stanford was to hold the "Gified Youth" program, he signed up(报名). "I like physics and math. 1like to study new things and find out everything about them, "said Bloom. " That's what made me want to sign up. "

    He handed in his test scores from fifth grade on, wrote an article and got recommendation(推荐)letters from teachers. Bloom stood out among thousands of students and got the invitation.

    Bloom had a great time with 86 students from all over the world. On the first day, they learned college-level math. Over the next four days they got to work in laboratories(实验室). They even touched a dead body to learn about how the human body works.

    In the second week, they saw the school's particle accelerator, "I never saw such a machine before, "said Bloom. " But it was just the mental workout(智力测验)1 was hoping for. "

    Bloom did more than just study for two weeks. He made friends with students from China, India and Japan. He worked together with other students in class to learn better. He spent his free time with kids who were also music fans.

    "Once we got to know each other, we helped each other out, "he said. " We learned a lot from each other. that's for sure. "