There are good reasons to value our friendships.Some years ago a public-opinion research firm,Roper Starch Worldwide,asked 2007 people to name one or two things that said the most about themselves.Friends far outranked homes jobs, clothes and cars.

    “Ironically,” says Brant R.Burleson, professor of communication at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., “the better friends you are, the more likely you'll face conflicts.” And the outcome can be what you don't want—an end to the relationship.

    The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended.

    Swallow your pride. It wasn't easy, but that's what Denise Moreland of Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii did when a friendship turned sour.For nearly four months,Moreland,45,had watched over Nora Huizenga's two young daughters, who were living with their father on the base,while Huizenga,40,completed training as a dental hygienist in Nevada.“I felt honored to be asked to step in,” Moreland says.

    “When Huizenga returned at Christmas,” Moreland recalls,“I had so much to tell her, but she never called.”

    One daughter had a birthday party, but Moreland wasn't invited. “I felt like I'd been used,” she says.At first, Moreland swore to avoid Huizenga.Then she decided to swallow her pride and let her friend know how she felt. Huizenga admitted that she'd been so worried about being separated from her family that she'd been blind to what her friend had done to help her. Today she says, “I would never have figured out what happened if Denise hadn't called me on it.”

    When a friend hurts you, your instinct is to protect yourself.But that makes it harder to solve problems,explains William Wilmot,author of Relational Communication.“Most of us are relieved when differences are brought out in the open.”

    Apologize when you're wrong—even if you've also been wronged.But over the course of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes. “We don't think clearly when we're arguing,” says Michael Lang,a professional mediator (调解人) in Pittsburgh. Instead, says Lang, ask: “What's going on? This doesn't make sense.”

    See things from your friend's point of view. Sociologists Rebecca Adams Rosemary and Blieszner interviewed 53 adults who each had many friendships lasting decades. “We were curious how these people managed to sustain strong friendships for so long,” says Blieszner. Tolerance is key, the researchers learned.” It's surprising how often a dispute results from a simple misunderstanding,” adds psychotherapist Anne Frenkel.

    Accept that friendships change. “Friendships change as our needs and lifestyles change,” Wilmot observes.

    Making friends can sometimes seem easy,says Yager.The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that affect all relationships.Her suggestion: Consider friendship an honor and a gift,and worth the effort to treasure and nurture.

    Although problems are a part of our lives, it certainly doesn't mean that we let them rule our lives forever. One day or the other, you'll have to stand up and say - problem, I don't want you in my life.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Problems with friends, parents, girlfriends, husbands, and children - the list goes on. Apart from these, the inner conflicts within ourselves work, too. These keep adding to our problems. Problems come in different shapes and colors and feelings.

    But good news is that all problems can be dealt with. Now read on to know how to solve your problems.

    Talk, it really helps. What most of us think is that our problem can be understood only by us and that no talking is going to help.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Talking helps you move on and let go.

    Write your problems.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} When you write down your problems, you are setting free all the tension from your system. You can try throwing away the paper on which you wrote your problems. By doing this, imagine yourself throwing away the problems from your life. Don't lose faith and hope. No matter what you lose in life, don't lose faith and hope. Even if you lose all your money, family… you should still have faith.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Your problems aren't the worst. No matter what problem you get in life, there're another one million people whose problems are huger than yours,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Your problems might just seem big and worse, but in reality they can be removed.

    Go about and solve your problems because every problem, however big or small, always has a way out.

A. But the truth is that when you talk about it, you're setting free the negative energies that have been gathering within you.

B. When we have a problem, a pressing, critical, urgent, life-threatening problem, how do we try and solve it?

C. Tell yourself: when they can deal with them, why can't I?

D. Of course, we've been fighting troubles ever since we were born.

E. We can often overcome the problem and achieve the goal by making a direct attack.

F. Having a personal diary can also be of huge help if you don t want a real person to talk with.

G. With faith and hope, you can rebuild everything that you lose.

     “The gaokao,China's national college entrance exam,is winning more recognition as a way for universities overseas to evaluate Chinese students,”recruiting officers said.

    Stanley Nel,vice-president of international relations at the University of San Francisco in the United States,who is responsible for the university's admissions from China,said he had had several inquiries from US universities about how to recruit Chinese students on the basis of their gaokao scores.

    The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) have long been two musts for students from other counties,including China,to apply to study in the US.

    USF,a private university in California,started a pilot program to accept Chinese students based on their gaokao scores in 2015.The idea came from USF President Paul Fitzgerald's belief that standardized tests like the SAT are not very good predictors of how well students will do at the university."We are aware of the many criticisms that have been made of the gaokao,but it has the advantage of being what educational experts call a 'criterion-referenced' exam: It tests whether students are able to master a given body of knowledge,"he said.

    Currently,at least four higher education institutions in the US are recruiting Chinese students based on their gaokao performances.The Illinois Institute of Technology,a private institution in Chicago,started the practice first,in 2009.Outside the US,countries including Spain,Italy,Singapore,France and Australia also recognize gaokao scores.

    More than 200 students from China requested an interview with USF last year.74 of them were selected for a follow-up interview,44 received offers and 20 accepted the invitation and joined USF for the 2015 fall semester. Students admitted in this way have done "exceptionally well" in the past academic year,Nel added."The average GPA for all gaokao students is about 3.5 out of 4.For all other students—American and non-gaokao international students—American and non-gaokao international students—the average GPA is 3.2,"he said.

    Zhu Zihao gained admission in computer sciences at USF in 2015 through the program and performed well in his first academic year.He said that students who had experienced China's gaokao usually had comprehensive basic knowledge,which helps them excel in studies.

    Nel said,"students admitted through China's gaokao are not only smart but extremely conscientious（认真的）and hardworking."

    "This year we hope to recruit about 50 students in this way,and even more in years to come,"he said.

    Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So start off to travel around the world and to experience a lot.

    Enjoy much freedom.

    You will enjoy a much greater sense of freedom when no one is able to tell you what to do{#blank#}1{#/blank#}You decide where you want to go,what you want to do and how long you want to stay.

    Taste delicious food.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Do you like eating Chinese,Thai or Indian food?You will enjoy the food even more when you eat it from the place it originates（起源）.For foodies（吃货）,delicious food in different places on the journey is what attracts them most.

    Meet new people.

    You will have the chance to meet new people when you travel.Some are interesting,some boring,and some totally crazy.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Chances are that it will be worth listening to.Perhaps you will meet someone you can make friends with and get a life-long friendship.

    Appreciate beautiful nature.

    Instead of looking out your office window to see a hundred skyscrapers staring back at you,you will get the chance to see the world in all its natural beauty.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}You can walk throw the jungles of the Amazon.You can see most scenery with your own eyes instead of looking at a still image in a book.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}You might already be book-smart.But add street smart to your life and then there's no stopping you.Travelling teaches you many of life's lessons.You will gain pearls（珍殊）of wisdom along your journey,which will surely enables you to lead a smarter life.

A.You are the boss.

B.Live a colorful life.

C.Become street-smart.

D.Everyone has a story to tell.

E.You can see the deserts of Africa.

F.You will discover how simple life can be.

G.You will taste food from all corners of the world.

    Choosing the right college for you is not so easy. You should have a general idea of what you want and don't want. The idea can guide you to find what fits your needs best.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Think about what major you want to study in college. If you know that, just look at colleges that have your major{#blank#}2{#/blank#}So think carefully about your major and interests before choosing one.

    Where the college is located matters. Anyone who tells you the location isn't important is lying{#blank#}3{#/blank#}If you look forward to working in the publishing industry, New York may be your best bet. If your parents want you to stay close to home, please don't consider anywhere that requires a plane ticket to get to.

    Think about how much you can afford. Are your parents paying for your education? If so, how much are they willing to spend? Do you have to contribute anything? Financial aid and scholarships exist, but don't count on anything.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}These are all things to consider before you fall in love with a college.

    Make sure you're going to spend time with the right people. The cool thing about college is that each different one attracts different kinds of people. For the first thing in your life, you get to choose where you get to spend your time and who you get to spend it with.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Make sure that the people you're with for four years are your kind of people.

A. College is about learning what you love.

B. You'd better choose a major that is popular.

C. Go to the college with some people you like.

D. Remember, above all, it is the people that make the place.

E. Are you willing to go into major debt over a school?

F. If you don't like cold weather, stay away from northern schools.

G. These guidelines will help figure out what college you want to go to.

    There is an English saying: “{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise{#blank#}3{#/blank#}If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.

    Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.

A. Laughter can change one's life.

B. As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics in which they help to improve their patients' condition by encouraging them to laugh.

C. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemicals in the brain which diminish both stress and pain.

D. It increases blood pressure, the heart beating and breathing; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach and even the feet.

E. Although laughter helps cure the disease, doctors still can not put this theory into clinic practice.

F. Laughter is the best medicine.

G. They have found that laughter really can improve people's health.