True friends are rare to make these days. Even if you believe you've connected with someone, how do you really know he is a true friend? And often you will find that someone who you thought you could trust may disappoint you. There are ways you can know if a friendship is true and how you can hold onto that friend.

    A true friend is someone who will be there for you no matter what happens. Through good times and bad times, they will stand by you. They will accept you for who you are without trying to change you, and they will be there to help you grow in new ways.

    Trust is another important aspect. A true friend will keep your secrets. You can depend on them. They will listen and be someone you know you can talk things over with, even if they may not have advice to share with you.

    Friendship is a two-way street. To find true friends and keep them, you must in turn be the same as well. Be there for them in their hard times and share the good times with them. Be someone your friends can depend on and offer them the same things they give to you. A friendship will fall apart fast if only one person is giving and putting all the effort in. To keep a true friendship, you must be honest.

    There will be barriers in the road but that is the test of true friendship. If it can survive those barriers, it will be stronger and last forever. St Thomas Aquinas said, “There is nothing on this earth more prized than friendship” and it holds true.

    It may take a long time for some people to learn to speak English. However, by following these tips（实用的提示） you should be speaking English in no time.

    Tip I: Forget about having a large vocabulary. Only learn the words you will need most. For example, if you are traveling in an English-speaking country, make a list of all the possible sentences and questions that you would need to know, such as "Do you know where the nearest bathroom is? "and" I am lost. Can you help me?" Think about what sentences you would want a traveler to know if they came to your country and couldn't speak your language.

    Tip 2: Once you have a list of vocabulary that you think will be most useful to you, make sure you understand the meaning of each word and know how to use each word in a sentence. Try making lists with new words and sample sentences(例句). Ten new words is enough on each list. Then stick(粘贴)the lists up all over your house where you can easily see them. Practice every day. Whenever you see a list, make sure you stop and read through it.

    Tip 3: Now pronounce these words and sentences properly. Try to learn pronunciation by listening to how English speakers pronounce words. Watch English TV shows, listen to English radio programs and try to talk with as many English speakers as you can, online or in person.

    I wish you the best of luck and I hope my tips are helpful!

    Mo Ya, Nobel Prize winner in literature (文学)in 2012, believes his success comes from a large amount of reading.

    Mo was born into a farming family in a village in Shandong Province. Mo left school at the age of 12 and started to work in the fields. Mo was tired after his daily hard work, but he was always hungry for books. However, there were very few books in the village, he never gave up. He read his elder brother's textbooks and even dictionaries.  He helped others with farm work in exchange for books.

    After Mo left his hometown and joined the army in 1976, he began to read widely, including works by Lu Xun and many other famous writers. He studied from these writers but did not copy them.  Instead, he developed his own style.

A. Arguments are useless.

B. Parents help us grow better.

C. Everyone's opinion counts.

D. Learn to control our emotions.

E. Deal with the bad situation better.

    There always comes a moment when I wonder where I will end up and this moment always gives me a life lesson. These are the lessons that I wish I'd learned earlier:
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    There was a time when everyone's opinion was mine as well. Remember that your opinion matters just as much as the next guy's, whether they make more money than you or are less popular than you. Everyone's opinion holds the same weight.
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    When I was a teenager, I'd be angry and go crazy if I had heard someone said bad things behind my back. Looking back on those memories now, I'm not too surprised. After all, when you have little self-control, anything is possible.
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    Will one small quarrel among friends decide the development of the friendship? In my world it felt like it. I just wanted so much to be right and for them so much to be wrong. It only resulted in me wasting my time and in the other person storming off in frustration.

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    I'm not saying every parent knows what's the best for kids, but in general, parents do what they do to help us know how to look after ourselves. My parents used to make me do the dishes, cook dinner, sweep the floors, take out the garbage…Now I can take better care of myself.
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    Whenever I'd lose a friend, get an awful grade, or disappoint my parents, I feel terrible. Fortunately, I know now that we don't have to be stuck in bad situations. We can go out and create better ones. It all depends on how you see the situation.

    When I was a child, my parents always told me that I should never talk to strangers. This was part of a whole list of things I should never do never accept food or candy from strangers, never get in a car with strangers, and so on.

    But if we didn't start a conversation with strangers, we'd never make new friends and we'd never get a job. ①We may miss the joy that comes from talking with strangers. And the more people you know, the more chances you can find.

    The following passage offers you some advice on how to ②break the ice.

    Don't just stare at your shoes. Go and say "Hi" to that new guy. It will be easier to break the ice if you know more about different cultures.

British: Beautiful day, isn't it?

    The weather in Britain is changeable. So, it's one of the topics the British care most about. And there's a simple rule: Say "Yes" whether you agree with the person's idea on the weather or not. ③That's because the British start a conversation using the weather so that they can continue their talk.

    French: Where did you go on holiday?

    To talk with a French person, the safest way is to ask about his or her last holiday. French students enjoy a 10-to-15-day holiday every two months. French employees(雇员) get more than six weeks of holidays per year.

    American: So, where are you from?

    The US is so big and people move so often that the location is always a source(来源) of talk. You can try to find a connection with the place they're from. For example, if someone's from Los Angeles, you could say, "Oh, I have a friend who studied there."