I don’t like getting up too early unless I have to．When you’re filming, you’ve got make-up on, which doesn’t happen often．As I’m not filming at present I’ll get up at 8.30．

　　Work normally means Matt coming over to my house about 10 am．We’re writing at the moment．We’ll chat for a bit before going to my study．One of us will have an idea for a sketch(梗概), we’ll talk about the characters and when we feel we have enough we’ll start writing．

　　Matt and I met at the National Youth Theatre in 1990 and started doing shows together in 95, at the Edinburgh Fringe festival．We know we’re onto something if we’ve made each other laugh, and that’s a really special moment．It’s not always like that, but we’re comfortable enough with each other that we can be honest and go．Some days you’re not in the mood to be funny－like writing when my dad was dying of cancer, or when Matt was separating from his partner．

　　We stop for lunch and sometimes go to Wagamama in Camden, but the last time we were followed by paparazzi(狗仔队), which gets you down－who wants to be pictured eating noodles?

　　When I’m not writing with Matt I work on other projects．My second children’s book comes out later in the year．It’s called Mr．Stink．The first one I dedicated to my three-year-old nephew, Eddie．Both books have been illustrated by Quentin Blake; it’s been a thrill to work with him－like 20 years ago reading a Roald Dahl book and looking at those drawings, then one day that person illustrates your work…magical．

　　At 5 I go swimming in Soho．My trainer makes me do horrible exercises, but I always feel better after．

　　Being in all day, I like to go out in the evening and look smart, but not like I’ve come out of the City．I’m a tall, broad guy and well-dressed．

　　For dinner I’ll meet friends．When you’re a single guy it’s great to have some good female friends．Or I might take my mum to the theatre, as I know she really appreciates it．I like watching TV comedy shows to see what everyone’s doing．When you see something impressive it makes you work harder．I also love Larkin’s poems：they don’t try to transcend(超越)the commonplace; they’re much more straightforward．

　　Poetry is great to dip into before going to bed, rather than falling asleep reading a novel and being confused over what you’ve read or not．I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in seven years; unfortunately, I rely on pills．I’ve tried everything．If I could wish anything for myself, I’d wish I could sleep better．

阅读理解

　　You know how wonderful you are, and you know that others know how wonderful you are, but what do you do when admiration crosses over the line into jealousy(嫉妒)? For most teens there will come a day when you realize that one of your friends is jealous and that this jealousy is hurting your friendship．When this happens it can seem like there is nothing that you can do, but the good news is that there is．Don’t let jealousy spoil your relationships．Handle it head on and you might be back to normal much sooner than you think．

　　It can be hard to walk up to a friend and ask them what the problem is, but if you want to save your friendship you’ll have to do just that．Don’t approach them and ask why they are jealous of you(unless of course you want to appear totally proud), just take some time alone with them and let them know that you’ve been feeling like there’s been something coming between you．If they refuse to respond, then use the opportunity to explain how you have been feeling．Chances are that something you say will strike a nerve and your friend will open up as well．

　　When you figure out what is annoying your friend, ask him or her what(s)he thinks would make the situation better．If, for example,(s)he says that(s)he feels like(s)he doesn’t get to spend any time with you because of your being off with your new friends from the swim team, then maybe you could invite her along the next time or block off one day a week for just the two of you．Remember, though, that whatever solution you decide on should be a compromise(和解)．Don’t limit your own talents or opportunities simply because your friend is unhappy．Try instead to include him or her in your new life and see how that works out．

　　Even the best of friendships can be tinged(略带着)with jealousy．This destructive emotion is rarely productive and can turn best friends into worst enemies．Before taking extreme action, chat with your jealous friend to see if the two of you can work out a compromise．If you can’t, be prepared to know exactly how far you will go to keep your friend and how far you won’t．