One of the most important things in the world is friendship. In order to have friends, you have to be a friend. But how can you be a good friend at school?

Listen—Listen when they are talking. Don’t say anything unless they ask you a question. Sometimes it’s not necessary for you to have anything to say; they just need someone to talk to about their feelings.

Help them—If your friend is ever in need of something, be there to help them. You should try to put them first, but make sure you don’t do everything they want you to do. Try to take an extra pencil or pen with you to classes in case they forget one. Have a little extra money in your pocket in case they forget something they need.

Be there for them—Be there for your friends to help make them feel better in hard times. Marilyn Monroe, a famous U.S. actor, once said, “I often make mistakes. Sometimes I am out of control, but if you can’t stay with me at my worst, you are sure not to deserve to be with me at my best.” Always remember this! If you don’t want to stay with your friends when they’re in hard times, then you don’t deserve to be with them when they’re having a good time!

_________—Try to make plans with your friends. Go shopping, go for ice cream, have a party, go to a movie and so on. Take time to know each other even better by doing something you both enjoy. By planning things together, you both can have a good time. And you’ll remember these things when you’re all old!

1. While your friend is talking to you about his or her feelings, you should______________.

A. give him or her some advice

B. just listen unless asked

C. calm him or her down

D. share your feelings as well

2.When we provide help for our friends, we should ___________.

    A. try to do everything for them

    B. put them before ourselves

    C. change their bad habits first

    D. ignore their faults

3.What can we learn from Marilyn Monroe’s words?

    A. Life without a friend is death.

    B. A friend is easier lost than found.

    C. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

    D. A man is known by his friends.

4. Which of the following can be put in the blank of the last paragraph?

A. Make plans                       B. Enjoy yourself      

C. Understand your friends          D. Play with your friends

5.The passage is mainly about _______.

   A. how to find a good friend        B. how to help friends in trouble

    C. How to be a good friend          D. how to make more friends

Body and Food
Your body, which has close relations with the food you eat, is the most important thing you own, so it needs proper treatment and proper nourishment (营养).The old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away ”is not as silly as some people think. The body needs fruit and vegetables because they contain vitamin C. Many people take extra vitamins in pill form, believing that these will make them healthy.
But a good diet is made up of nourishing food and this gives all the vitamins you need. The body doesn’t need or use extra vitamins, so why waste money on them?
In the modern western world, many people are too busy to bother about eating properly. They throw anything into their stomachs, eating hurriedly and carelessly. The list of illnesses caused or made worse by bad eating habits is frightening,
【小题1】“Your body has close relations with the food you eat.” It really means that ______.

Lexi Peters, a 14-year-old girl in New York, loves hockey. She’s not only good at playing on her after-school team, but also at playing hockey video games. But when Peters played the popular NHL (National Hockey League) games made by Electronic Arts, something really bothered her. The virtual (虚拟的) character in the game could only be a boy — not a girl.
She didn’t think that was reasonable. There must be many girls playing hockey in the US. So she wrote a letter to Electronic Arts.
“Being represented by a man is unfair to women and girl hockey players,” Peters wrote. “Women’s hockey is a fast-growing sport. I am confident that I’m not the only woman interested in the opportunity to create herself in the game.”
Several weeks later, Peters received an unexpected e-mail from the senior producer for EA Sports’ NHL games, David Littman. “Hi, Lexi,” the e-mail began. “We agree with you!”
Electronic Arts said it would create a female player in the game. “I was thinking you could be the model,” Littman wrote. Peters almost couldn’t believe it. Later, she sent photos of herself taken at all different angles (角度).
And so, when Electronic Arts released the newest version of their game, NHL 12, this fall, Peters was the face of the female player. She can now skate with the NHL’s great players. “It’s strange at first, but you get used to it,” said Peters. “It’s really funny and cool.”
For Peters, there is also an important lesson that she will take with her the rest of her life. “If you have something to say, and you think it’s important, go for it!” she said.
【小题1】What bothered Peters when playing NHL games?

Who’s in control of your life? Who is pulling your string? For the majority of us, it’s other people—society, colleagues, friends, family or our religious community. We learned this way of operating when we were very young, of course. We were brainwashed. We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do  everything we could to make other people like us. As Oscar Wilde puts it, “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry(模仿), their passions a quotation.”

So when people tell us how wonderful we are, it makes us feel good. We long for this good feeling like a drug—we are addicted to it and seek it out wherever we can. Therefore, we are so eager for the approval of others that we live unhappy and limited lives, failing to do the things we really want to. Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting their fix (一剂毒品). We worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval.

    But, just as with any drug, there is a price to pay. The price of the approval drug is freedom—the freedom to be ourselves. The truth is that we cannot control what other people think. People have their own agenda, and they come with their own baggage and, in the end, they're more interested in themselves than in you. Furthermore, if we try to live by the opinions of others, we will build our life on sinking sand. Everyone has a different way of thinking, and people change their opinions all the time. The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted and probably pleasing no one in the process.

    So how can we take back control? I think there’s only one way—make a conscious  decision to stop caring what other people think. We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values---not values imposed（强加）from the outside by others, but innate values which come from within. If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others, we will live a more authentic, effective, purposeful and happy life.

What Oscar Wilde says implies that _____________.

A. we have thoughts similar to those of others

B. most people have a variety of thoughts

C. other people’s thoughts are more important

D. most people’s thoughts are controlled by others

What does the author try to argue in the third paragraph ?

A. Changing opinions may cost us our freedom.

B. We may lose ourselves to please others.

   C. We need to pay for what we want to get.

D. The price of taking drugs is freedom.

In order to live a happy, effective and purposeful life, we should _________.

A. care about others’ opinions and change opinions all the time

B. guide ourselves by means of values from the outside

C. stick to our own values

D. persuade others to accept our opinions

It can be concluded from the passage that __________.

A. it’s better to do what we like           B. we shouldn’t care what others think

   C. we shouldn't change our own opinions   D. it’s important to accept others’ opinions

  How to make friends with people from a different culture? The rules are as follows:
Appreciate the person
Most Americans like to be recognized as individuals as someone special with unique, personalities. Therefore never say,“you are from America so I want to be your friend.” Also don’t imply that the reason why you approached them is that you wanted someone to practice your English with . That turns people off. Instead try saying,”“you seem like a real nice and interesting person and I would like to get to know you better .’ This way , they are much more inclined to be friendly because you see them as a three dimensional person and appreciate them for who they are in the inside . And by doing so , you not only learn about Americans and practice your English , but also gain a real friend in the process
Quit Calling Us Foreigners.
Please avoid calling a foreigner especially in his face . The word makes people feel like an outsider , and even unwelcome , suggesting separation and insurmountable difference , widening an already existing gap in the situation. When Americans travel , they rarely say,“I’m foreign to your place .” They tend to say ,”I’m new in town . I’m new here.” The reason is because new and unfamiliar things can become old and familiar. But can foreign things become native? You catch my drift.
Just Do It .
Some students like to be told about American culture but are less interested in spending the time and effort to actually experience it .As Americans always say ,“get your hands dirty.” You should have first hands on experience, or you will never really know anything.
Find that Common Language.
Now I just must stress the importance of finding a common language. By that I don’t mean English, Chinese , German ,French,etc. I mean finding something you have in common with another person on a spiritual and philosophical level: likes , dislikes, worldviews, ways of thinking and attitudes toward life. And to start , you must first enhance your knowledge of the particular culture from which your potential
【小题1】 The underlined sentence“get your hands dirty” means     .
A get involved   B talk about American culture    C star with dirty work   D Don’t wash your hands too often
【小题2】 Americans prefer to make friends with those who    .
A  avoid talking about their homeland     B  recognize their personalities
C  obey rules of communicating with friends   D  needn’t practice English while playing together
【小题3】According to the passage , which of the following is friendly?
A   I am longing to make friends with an American.
B   This is my friend Tom , who is a foreigner.
C   There must be a gap between us in many things.
D   You ‘ve  got a great personality
【小题4】  In the last paragraph , the author suggests we should   
A  Learn at least one foreign language well
Bfind common interests or opinions with our potential new friend
C make sure we can understand each other
D ask where our potential new friends come from