【推荐1】Your third year of high school is probably a tough and busy time.     1     We all know that not getting enough sleep is not good for our health, but it has been found that less sleep could even cause us to have fewer friends.

According to researchers from the University of California, people who don’t get enough sleep are less willing to socialize with others.     2    

The researchers carried out a small study. They tested 18 young people who had just had a good night’s sleep, and tested them again after a sleepless night.     3     When each person on the video got too “close”, the participants could choose to stop the video.

The results showed that the participants kept each person at a distance of 60 percent further back if they hadn’t gotten enough sleep.     4     But when the participants got a good night’s sleep, they allowed the person to get much closer to them.

According to lead researcher Matthew Walker, the less sleep you get, the less you want to socialize with others. In turn, other people may think you’re weird and stay away from you.     5    

So if you want to be a more sociable and popular person, sleeping well might help. “One night of good sleep makes you feel more outgoing and socially confident,” Walker said.

【推荐2】Friendship is something that everyone needs. Success is nothing without friends. You share life, happiness and sadness. A friend is someone you can depend on in a time of need and that can trust you with every secret he or she has.

So, what happens when a friendship of eight years is broken over something out of their control? Does that mean it was never a true friendship to begin with?

My friend and I met in high school and have known each other for nearly eight years. What happened recently broke our lifelong friendship.

This makes me think about what friendship really means. I always thought my friend and I could get through any argument, fight, or the sadness of life. We promised each other we’d always be friends, through thick and thin. We even joked about how we would sit in a circle and laugh at some jokes when we had grandchildren. We always laughed at every little thing.

But then her grandfather passed away (去世) and suddenly our friendship was nothing. It happened so suddenly that I never found out about it until I discovered a note she had written on the Internet. I was sad and hurt that she would post (发帖子) what I told her for other people to see. I understand that she was sad and wanted to vent (发泄) her sadness, but I wish she’d kept everything between us.

I don’t understand why she broke our friendship, and I don’t think I ever will. I think friendship means we’ll always forgive each other for our mistakes. I hope that finally I’ll find that true friend who will always be there for me, and I there for her.

【推荐3】I think a close friend is someone you get on really well with, who helps you when you have problems, who gives you advice, and who always has time for you. I didn’t use to have many close friends when I was at school or at university as I was very shy, but now I have several. They are all women—I think it’s difficult to have a close friend of the opposite sex (异性).

—Marie

I don’t really have any close friends. I know a lot of people but mainly through work, and the kind of social occasions when we meet are business dinners and evening parties. I think if you come from a really close family, then friends are a bit unnecessary. The little free time I have I prefer to spend with my family.

— Richard

I think a close friend is someone who you’ve known for a long time, and who you still get on with. They probably have similar hobbies to you so you can do things together. I’ve got three close friends who I was at high school with and we often go away together (without our parents of course). We always go camping and somewhere we can go walking, play football and be outside in the open air.

—David

For me close friends are the people you spend your free time with. I go out at weekends with a group of people — there are about seven of us, and I’d say we are all close friends. We also live near each other. I don’t think you can have close friends at a distance; you need to be able to see each other often. But I don’t think you need to be doing the same things. I mean I’m at university but none of my friends are.

— Ana

【推荐1】One day a student went to see his teacher.He had been given an important position and now was coming to say goodbye to his teacher.The old man asked him how he would live among high officials.The student answered, “ I will be all right.I have prepared a hundred high hats, one for each official I will meet.I am sure I will succeed.” The teacher got angry on hearing this. “What?” he cried.“Is this what ten years of my teaching has made of you? Nothing but flatterer(拍马屁的人)?” “Excuse me, honored(尊敬的) master,” the student rose to his feet and apologized hurriedly.“But you have always been absorbed in your studies and don’t know how vulgar(庸俗的) the world has come to be.There are few men in the world who are above flatterers like you.” “There is something true in what you said,” the teacher nodded, smiling with one of the student’s “high hats” on.

【推荐2】It was a warm winter’s day in South Africa and I planned to go surfing. The area of beach I went to is famous among surfers for its powerful waves and popularity with sharks.

After a while my brother and some of my friends got out of the water because they felt uneasy. There was the smell of fish in the air, which could attract sharks. A few of us stayed, Finally, I saw my first big wave, but as I was about to hit it, two great white sharks attacked me.

It happened so quickly. One shark hit me, throwing me into the air; in a split second, it dragged me under the water. The shock stopped me from feeling pain. Under the water, another shark went for my head and shoulders but missed.

Perhaps surprised by the competition, the first shark lost its grip on me and the next thing I knew was that I was staring a shark straight in the face. It stared back at me for a few moments. Its mouth was wide open; I could see huge teeth and dark black eyes. After it passed, I swam to the surface as fast as I could.

When I got there, I saw my surfboard lying in front of me. As I climbed on, I saw that my right hand was hanging off. I was losing blood quickly. When surfing, there is always the fear in the back of your mind of sharks. Now it was real. I was shaking, crying and panicking, realizing that I could die. I tried all my hardest to swim back to the shore.

Eventually, I made it to dry land. I felt relief. Someone tied my arm to slow the bleeding and my brother rushed me to the hospital. The surgeon managed to save my fingers.

That day changed my life, but it hasn’t stopped me from surfing. I started a surfing school to teach the sport to others. I was more afraid of sharks before my attack. Now I’m just grateful to be alive.

【推荐3】Don't ignore the difference teenagers can make.

John Michael Thomas, 14，Florida

When John Michael Thomas decided to honor his friend and classmate Elizabeth Buckley, who died from cancer, he remembered how much she loved peacocks (孔雀).

He wanted to build a life-sized peacock fountain (喷泉) in Elizabeth's favorite park in the city. He thought it could be a place for people to relax (放松) and be inspired.

John Michael raised $52,000 to build the fountain.

Barrett England, 13, Utah

The wheels began to turn for Barrett England when he heard about Karma Bike shop, a place where young people can earn free bike by reading and performing community service.

Barrett visited Karma's owner with his idea: He would collect and repair used bikes and donate (捐献) them to the shop.

He expected to get about 10 donated bikes. In the end, Barrett received 39.

Zachary Blohm， 15, Wisconsin

The 25 -year-old playground at an elementary school near Milwaukee, Wis., was so small that only 70 of its 575 students could play on it at a time (一次).

That's when Zachary Blohm saved the day. He and some volunteers wanted to build a huge playground. To raise money, Zac planned T-shirt and bake sales, sold tickets and more. He held monthly money- raising events for more than a year. Overall, he collected $130,000—enough to finish his project.

Jack Zimmerman, 16, New Jersey

For some people, finding a meal is as simple as opening the refrigerator. For more than 366,000 hungry kids (小孩子) in New Jersey, it's not that easy.

That fact didn't sit well with Jack Zimmerman, who organized a drive to lessen (缓解) childhood hunger in his state. His goal: create 40,000 packaged meals that could be donated to those in need.

On game day, Jack and his volunteers started their work. After the final count, the team had packaged 47,124 meals-well above Jack' s goal.