【推荐1】In this digital age, people measure their popularity by the number of likes and followers they get on social media. But as it turns out, people are happiest when their friends are high quality – not high quantity.

Scientists from the University of Leeds, UK, studied data from two online surveys of nearly 1,500 people. Those who took the survey gave details about their age, social interactions, and how satisfied they were with their social lives. The researchers found that those who had a small number of close friends generally tended to be happier than those who had a large number of superficial(关系浅表的)friends.

“Loneliness has less to do with the number of friends you have, and more to do with how you feel about your friends,” said Wandi Bruine de Bruin, one of the researchers.

Bruine de Bruin found that older people tended to have smaller social circles than young people, but the people in these circles tended to be closer to them.

Younger people, on the other hand, tended to have bigger circles that were made up of “peripheral(次要的)others” – people who are not true friends, but just people they know. These people had no influence on the younger interviewees’ happiness.

The results of the study show that the opinion society has about old people being sad and lonely might not be accurate.

“The research shows that older adults’ smaller networks didn’t prevent social satisfaction and happiness. In fact, older adults tend to report better well-being than younger adults,” said Bruine de Bruin.

1. According to the study, people tend to be happier when they _____.

A．have a small circle of close friends

B．are satisfied with their work and lives

C．have a lot of followers on social media

D．make friends with people who are older

2. What do we know from Paragraphs 4 and 5?

A．Older people’s friends seem to be of higher quality.

B．Young people don’t need to make peripheral friends.

C．Older people’s happiness has nothing to do with their friends.

D．Both old and young people find it hard to make close friends.

3. Which word might Bruine de Bruin use to describe older adults?

A．Sad.	B．Happy.
C．Lonely.	D．Superficial.

4. What is the focus of the story?

A．Different types of friends.

B．Changes in people’s happiness levels.

C．Interactions between old and young people.

D．The relationship between happiness and number of friends.

【推荐2】Life affects friendships. As we grow, marry, fight in wars, move across the country or change jobs, old friendships fall away and new ones form. As long as we live, the things around us change, and as long as things change, friendships are affected.

When we were children we had best friends. No matter what happened we were still friends. We live our lives, however, and do what life calls for us to do, and as we get older, memories fade (逐渐消失), faces blur (变得模糊不清), and even friends' names from childhood are forgotten.

Do you have a question about friendship? Do you wonder what to do with a friend who is no longer friendly? Perhaps you will see that you can't control others. If someone wants to be your friend, it is their choice. All you can do is treat them well and do the best for them when you are with them. Then you wish them well when they leave.

You can talk to old timers and they will tell you that life is full of incredible (难以置信的) joy and incredible sorrow, and that what bothers you today will one day become a memory and the sting (痛苦) will be gone. Seniors might tell you that you will learn more as you get older. They will tell you that friendships come and friendships go. Sometimes when they go it will hurt, but you will be okay with it. It's the way life works, after all.

1. What can we learn about friendship, according to the text?

A．Friendship can not be easily affected by one's family.

B．Friends are always around us and will never go away.

C．Friends in childhood are the best no matter what happens.

D．Friends in childhood are sometimes forgotten by us.

2. What does the underlined words “old timers” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Old people.	B．Kind people.
C．Rich people.	D．Smart people.

3. The text mainly tells us ________.

A．how to face the changes in friendship

B．how to deal with unfriendly people

C．that childhood friendship is valuable

D．how to share happiness with friends

4. The text is most probably taken from a ________.

A．science newspaper	B．novel
C．psychology book	D．health magazine

【推荐3】In our daily life, friends are needed. Everyone likes feeling close to someone. It is nice to have a friend to talk, laugh, and do things with. Surely, there are times when we need to be alone. We don’t always want people around. But we will feel lonely if we never have a friend.
No two people are just the same. Sometimes friends don’t get along well. That doesn’t mean that they no longer like each other. Most of the time they will make up and go on being friends. Sometimes friends move away. Then we feel very sad. We miss them very much. But we call them and write to them. It could be that we would even see them again. And we can make new friends. It is surprising to find out how much we like new people when we get to know them.
Families sometimes name their children after a close friend. Many places are named after men or women who have been friendly to people in a town. Some libraries are named this way. So are some schools. We think of these people when we go to these places.
There’s more good news for people who have friends. They live longer than people who don’t. Why? It could be that they are happier. Being happy helps you stay well. If someone cares about you, you will feel good.
1. The first paragraph tells us     .

A．making friends is a need in people’s life

B．we always need friends around us

C．what the feeling of having no friends is

D．we need to be alone in our life

2. Which of the following places people name after their friendly people is NOT mentioned (提到) in the passage?

A．A town.	B．A room.
C．A school.	D．A library.

3. Why do people who have friends live longer?

A．They feel happier and healthier.

B．They know more about friendship.

C．They take less care of themselves.

D．They care more about their friends.

【推荐1】My name is Jimmy. One Thursday afternoon, when I was in senior one, a new boy came into my classroom. He was short and thin. He walked up to the teacher and told her, very seriously, that he was new. His name was Christian. He sat down, took a look at me, and then looked away. I didn’t think he was very nice and I was sure he wasn’t the type I would like to become friends with.

During that year, I didn’t talk to him much, but he smiled at me when our eyes met, always shyly. He never ate lunch with anybody, and he never talked to anybody but me.

But one day I joined those unkind kids who were making fun of him. We made fun of him though I thought it was wrong.

“Haven’t you got any friends?” a kid asked Christian, who had walked past us alone, head down.

“No, he hasn’t got any friends. He’s too stupid and shy,” I said. Then Christian looked up at me with the saddest dog eyes I had ever seen. I felt very sorry at that moment.

That night, I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t get Christian’s face out of my mind. In the weeks that followed, he never met my eyes in class and never smiled at me. It was really hard for me to decide to write him a note asking him to forgive (原谅) me. But I thought I should.

The next day in class, I wrote him a note telling him how sorry I felt. About five minutes later, I turned and saw tears in his eyes. “You will never realize what your apology (道歉) has meant to me, Jimmy.” he said to me. “I hope we can become friends.”

We had lunch together that noon and we had the best talk I had ever had. Over the years at high school, we were close friends.

When I think back, I realize that, if I had not apologized, I would never have known what a lovely person Christian was.

Apologies can really change your life, so never miss the chance to tell somebody you are sorry.

1. What do we about know Christian from the passage?

A．He was tall and fat.	B．He was short and thin.
C．He was short and active.	D．He was lovely and fat.

2. Why didn’t Jimmy talk to Christian much at first?

A．He didn’t think Christian was the type he wanted to become friends with.

B．Christian wasn’t nice to people around him after he came to the new class.

C．Christian made friends with others.

D．Christian had the saddest dog eyes.

3. How did Jimmy feel after he made fun of Christian with other unkind kids?

A．Happy.

B．Interested.

C．Sorry.

D．Bored.

4. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To tell us it is important to make an apology when we hurt others.

B．To show Jimmy’s apology was unimportant to Christian.

C．To introduce Christian wasn’t lovely in fact.

D．To tell us it is unimportant to say sorry to others.

【推荐2】

Dear Mary, I’m a young professional working for a company. I’ve been in the same workplace for a couple of years, and there are many things I love about it. A few months ago, however, I got a new boss. He never gave me positive feedback, but leaned over my shoulder and disliked everything I did. When I tried talking to him about my concerns, he suggested I give up. The stress being too much to bear, I moved to another job in the same company. While the pay was lower, it would allow me to take some classes to improve myself. Here’s the problem. At the beginning, I agreed to help with small tasks from my old department while it searched for my replacement(接替者). But it seems that my old boss isn’t actively searching. I am still under as much stress as I was working for him full time, but now I’m getting less pay. How do I deal with this situation without jeopardizing my new position, which fits my education schedule so well? Rose

Dear Rose, You have probably realized that it was a mistake to make such an open-ended offer. You should have suggested helping out with certain tasks for a certain period of time, which would have made your old boss replace you timely. Now here’re two ways. First, communicate what’s going on to your new boss. Don’t make it a huge complaint, just be matter-of-fact. You thoughtfully offered to help your old department through a transitional(过渡的) period for the good of the company—but you can’t keep doing two jobs forever, and you want to focus on doing the best you can in your new role. Your new boss needs to know that this is happening—and, frankly, should immediately step in to handle the matter without further discussion. Second, you should say no if necessary. The next time your old boss asks you to do something, tell him that while you are happy to help him, you must give your new job your full attention. Remember you’re not complaining, or starting a fight; you simply have the company’s best interests in mind. Your old department needs to move on—and you need to do your new job. Mary

1. What’s the problem with Rose now?

A．She’s getting on badly with her new boss.

B．She’s getting less pay for her new job.

C．She’s overworking for her old boss.

D．She’s losing interest in her new job.

2. What does the underlined word “jeopardizing” in Rose’s letter probably mean?

A．Preventing.

B．Damaging.

C．Benefiting.

D．Refusing.

3. By the underlined sentence in Mary’s letter, what is Rose probably regretful about?

A．Accepting tasks without certain limits.	B．Asking for too much from the company.
C．Refusing many tasks from the new boss.	D．Losing her job from the old department.

4. Which of the following does Mary recommend?

A．Balancing the old and new jobs.	B．Making more huge complaints.
C．Saying no to any given tasks.	D．Having open communication.

【推荐3】When her classmates were having a good time, Molly sat at the picnic table alone. She remained embarrassed around her classmates. She seemed unsure of what to do or say, yet I could see her eyes longing for acceptance. Many students had already decided that her friendship would not be worth（值）the energy required to overcome the embarrassment. Others laughed at her. Most ignored her—except for one.

Brianna was making the other students laugh, as usual. “Brianna, do you see Molly down there? Would you mind walking down there and inviting her to come up here with the rest of us? I said.

Brianna sighed. I could tell she didn’t want to waste her precious time to do what I was asking of her, but I also knew her heart. She often thought of others before herself—a rare character for anyone, much less a kid.

Knowing this choice was hard for her, I pulled out a D-buck, our class currency（货币）. Though this was not the ideal way to deal with this situation. I needed her cooperation（合作）. “Here, I’ll pay you for your time.” I said to her. She offered an insincere smile, grasped the green paper, and headed down the hill.

As the rest of the children screamed and laughed, my eyes locked on Brianna as she neared the picnic table. Molly could be difficult to get along with, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if she sent Brianna back alone, refusing her invitation. When she encouraged herself to a standing position, I sighed with relief.

Minutes later, I felt a tap on my shoulder. “Here. Mrs. D.” Brianna handed me the D-buck. “Why?” I asked. “I shouldn’t keep this.” Her eyes fell to her feet, guilt showing from her quiet voice. “I don’t want Molly to think I only went to get her so I could earn the money. She’s my friend.”

A moment later, they were all laughing again, and who should I see among them, laughing for the first time that week? Molly.

1. According to the author, what was Molly like?

A．She ignored the jokes from other kids.

B．She felt embarrassed at being laughed at.

C．She desired to be accepted by other kids.

D．She had no interest in making friends.

2. What made Brianna different from other kids?

A．Her talent.	B．Her cooperation.
C．Her honesty.	D．Her kindness

3. How did the author feel as Brianna walked to Molly?

A．Worried.	B．Satisfied.
C．Excited.	D．Confused.

4. What was the purpose of Brianna’s returning the D-buck to the author?

A．To avoid losing it one day.

B．To get a pure friendship with Molly.

C．To make friends with her teacher.

D．To escape from being punished by her teacher.