How to Make Friends

    Friendship is a very important human relationship and everyone needs good friends. Good friendship has many benefits. If offers companionship, improves self-worth and promotes good health. There are times in our lives such as when we have recently moved into a new town, or changed our jobs or schools. Such changes often leaves us without a friend.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. But for many of us the process is difficult and requires courage. Below are some helpful suggestions on how to make and keep friends.

1）Associate with others.

    The first step to making friends is associating with other people. You can go to public places to meet new people. Besides, you will need to make yourself known by becoming an active member of such places.

2）Start a conversation.

    Starting a conversation is the second most important step in making new friends.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can always start the conversation. Being able to make small talk is a very useful skill in relating with other people.

3）{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Choosing friends with common interests is important in building friendship as these interests would always bring you and your friend together. Hanging out will always be a pleasant experience.

4）Let it grow.

    It is a good thing to stay in touch. However, try not to press your new friend with calls, messages or visits as this would likely wear him or her out and finally you may lose your friend.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The best friendships are the ones that grow naturally.

5）Enjoy your friendship.

    The best way to enjoy your friendship is to allow your friends to be themselves.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Try not to change them from who they are to what you want them to be.  Become the kind of friend you will want your friend to be to you.

A. Be cheerful.

B. So you will need to give your friend time to react to you.

C. Making new friends comes easy for some people.

D. For a friendship to develop you need to stay in touch.

E. Do not wait to be spoken to.

F. Try not to find fault with your friends.

G. Do things together.

Problem-solving skills

    We face problems in our everyday life. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Don't worry. The following tips may help you to solve problems.

    ⒈Know the problem

    First of all, it is important to know and understand the problem clearly.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Following questions like why, what, how, when, where and who will take you to the root cause of the problem.

    ⒉Analyze the problem

    Analyzing the problem will give you time to think of a proper solution. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It can be a diagram, a flow chart or a list, etc.

    ⒊Plan a strategy(策略)

    Planning a strategy will help you waste less energy and time in trying all the solutions. This step includes knowing the advantages and disadvantages of a solution. In this way you can rule out the strategy that you don't find worthy to apply.

    ⒋{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Leave out the information that is not required for the solving of the problem. You need to be accurate with the details. Keeping the irrelevant(不相关的) information usually won't simplify the problem as we tend to overlook the relevant information.

    ⒌Carry out the solution

    Carrying out the solution in a correct way to get the expected result is important while solving a problem. You need to be creative while carrying out a solution just in case some other problem arises while applying the solution.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Solving a problem is easy if you understand the problem in the first place. By analyzing the problem, planning a strategy, using the best solution, and carrying out the solution in the best method, you will solve your problem smoothly.

A. Make a wise decision.

B. Delete irrelevant information

C. You can use various tools to analyze the problem.

D. Knowing the problem means solving half the problem itself.

E. It can be social problems, relationship problems, or problems at work.

F. Sometimes we can take wrong decisions for solving the problems in haste.

G. Being ready with other choices is also important in case a solution works only half way.

Teenagers earning money

    In the United States, you can only get a full-time job if you are 16 years old or older. But there are things that teenagers can do to earn (赚得) some spending money. Here are a few ideas.

    Parents with young children sometimes want to go out for dinner or to the movies, but they don't want to leave their children alone. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If the children go to bed early, you can do some of your homework!

    Some adults have a dog, but they don't have time to take it for a walk. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} So some teenagers work as dog walkers. It's a good idea — you earn money and you're outside in the fresh air. You get some exercise, too!

    Teenagers can deliver (递送) newspapers. You usually ride a bike around a neighborhood and leave a newspaper at each house. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}You have to get up early, too, because people want to read their newspaper with their breakfast.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Some companies pay teens to do online research. They want to know what teens are interested in. It's a fun and easy way to make money. You can also design web pages for friends or adults.

    Sometimes adults pay teenagers to mow (修整) their lawns (草坪). It's a great job because you get fresh air and exercise. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Then you have regular customers (常客), because grass always grows!

A. Dogs need a lot of exercise!

B. It brings a lot of safety problems.

C. Normally you have to have your own bike.

D. Teenagers can work at home on their computers.

E. It's important to tell an adult where you're going.

F. Do your job carefully and people will want you to do it again.

G. So, they ask a teenager to stay in the house and look after their children while they are out.

    Self­love is the key to a happy life. After we have learned how to love ourselves, we will be able to love others. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You have to learn some steps to develop self­love.

    Accept yourself the way you are. Every person has his or her own advantages and disadvantages. Our advantages make us proud but our disadvantages make us unhappy. This isn't the right attitude towards life.  {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In fact, no one on this earth is perfect. The key is to achieve a better balance (平衡) and try to be as happy as possible.

    Stop worrying. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It won't help you get the solution (解决办法). In fact, it will make you very unhappy. So, don't let your worries influence you. This will help you face the difficulties of life more positively.

    Enjoy life. Take part in activities that you love and develop a hobby.  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Take some time to enjoy them at least once a week. This way you are doing something that you are good at, which will make you feel good about yourself，and make you start loving life and everyone and everything in it.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}If your body is weak and suffering from some health problems, you aren't going to like anything about it. So you must take good care of your health. It includes eating fresh healthy food, taking enough rest and doing exercise.

A. Live a healthy lifestyle.

B. Make efforts to improve yourself.

C. It will hold you back from loving yourself.

D. They can be anything that makes you happy.

E. Worrying about a problem won't let you think clearly.

F. However, learning to love yourself isn't going to be easy.

G. The correct thing to do is accept the fact that you aren't perfect.

    The history of writing instruments, with which humans have recorded and conveyed thoughts and feelings, is the history of civilization itself. This is how we know about our ancestors and their life.

    The handy sharpened-stone was adapted into the first writing instrument. Around 24 000 BC, the cave man started drawing pictures with the stone onto the walls of his cave. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Walls at the Apollo site in Namibia are believed to be the oldest rock paintings to date.

    Before paper came along, people used clay or wax tablets on which they wrote with sharp objects such as metal sticks or bones. Around 6000 years ago, the Egyptians invented the first paperlike material called papyrus. The word "paper" actually comes from the word "papyrus".

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Bones or metal sticks were no longer useful as the papyrus could not be scratched. So the Egyptians created a reed-pen perfect for the papyrus. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} And thus, ancient Egyptians transformed bamboo stems (茎) into an early form of a fountain pen.

    Another writing instrument that remained active in history for a long period was the quill (鹅毛) pen. Introduced around 700 AD, the quill was a pen made from a bird feather. Goose feathers were most common. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} For making fine line drawings, crow feathers were the best.

    When writers had better inks and paper and handwriting had developed into both an art form and an everyday occurrence, man's inventive nature once again turned to improving the writing instrument. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Now something was needed to write upon the papyrus.

B. The papyrus became the most popular material at that time.

C. Swan feathers were of a high quality, being rare and most expensive.

D. Bamboo stems were better and much more expensive than goose feathers.

E. This led to the development of the modem fountain pen in the 19th century.

F. These were mostly the stems of grasses, especially from the bamboo plant.

G. These drawings showed events in daily life like the planting of crops or hunting victories.

    Women's roles have changed throughout the world in recent years, but nowhere so obviously as in America {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. In many American homes today, the husband still carries on his traditional role of breadwinner ,while his homemaker wife is in charge of the home and child—raising. But it is more and more common to find that the children are left in day –care centers or nursery schools while both parents work{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. At home, household duties are shared in varying degrees by all family members .It is not unusual to find father cooking dinner, cleaning the living room or changing the baby .{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Children have responsibilities, too .One of the goals of the Women's Liberation Movement has been to have both men and women share in childcare, housework and financial responsibility.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    The high cost of living has made it necessary for many women to have jobs outside the home, but women often choose to have jobs in order to use their skills and education or to seek a more fulfilling and interesting life .Many American women enjoy the independence that an outside job and the salary give men and even some women—sometimes are not for women working outside the home ,and in some cases ,a woman might be paid less than a man who performs the same job .{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. As the roles of women have changed, so have men's

B. The woman may earn as much or more money than her husband

C. Mother might be outside mowing the lawn or washing the car

D. Today many American women will not marry a man who is not willing to share equally in household responsibilities

E. American women, however, have met challenges since pioneer days, and they continue to work for true equality

F. women didn't play an important role in the past

G. women in America were not happy in the past