阅读理解Dear Kate,
I know you have always had trouble making friends. Here I want to tell you some of my ways to help you solve the problem.
The biggest problem is that you are too afraid. The thing you should know is that everyone is as afraid as you are. Just try it. You can't practise without trying. I often try to find out something interesting about strangers. Their clothes, shoes, anything can bring into a talk. Finally you'll find something that you have in common. Then a small talk can turn into a big talk, which leads me to my next point.
Be interested in people. Ask them questions and really care about their answers. People become friendly very quickly when other people care about them. You can also watch their looks and actions and then guess what they are interested in. If you don't understand something they said, ask them to explain it. Don't be too shy.
There's no need to fear the one you're going to talk with. But keep in mind that failure (失败) is the mother of success. Maybe you'll experience several bad talks before you can have a successful one. Don't be afraid of it. Practise more and you'll make huge progress.
I hope these suggestions can be useful for you to make friends.
Yours,
Mr Known