A Great Friendship

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison met in 1776. Could it have been any other year? They worked together and started to further American Revolution and later to shape the official new plan of the government,    1    (develop) a close friendship, which lasted for 50 years. There were    2    (share) purposes and a common end on both sides. Four and a half months    3    he died, when he was ill and worried about his family, Jefferson wrote to his longtime friend. His words and Madison's reply remind us that friends are friends till death.

"The friendship which     4    (exist)between us for half a century, the harmony of our political principles an pursuits have been sources of constant happiness to me through that long period. it's also been a great comfort to me     5    (believe)that you are engaged in vindicating(证实)to the younger generation the course that we've pursued for preserving to them. If ever the earth has noticed a system of administration conducted with    6    single and keen eye to the general interest and happiness of those committed to, it must be the system protected by truth, to    7     our lives have been devoted. To myself, you have been a great supporter throughout life. Take care of me when dead and be assured that I should leave with you my last affections.”

A week later, Madison replied.

“You cannot look back    8     the long period of our private friendship and political harmony with more affecting recollections than I do.     9    they are a source of pleasure to you, they are the same to me. We cannot be deprived(失去)of the happy consciousness of the pure devotion to the public goodand I have confidence     10     sufficient evidence will find its way to another generation to ensure, after we are gone, whatever of justice may be withheld while we are here.”

The desire to be physically near others is human nature. We humans are social creatures. Many studies have shown that hunter-gatherers formed “bands” as they found    1    more efficient to find enough food for     2     （ survive)through joint efforts. They also found strength in numbers. When    3    ( work)as a group, they could deal with threats more    4     ( effective).

Today, having physical contact with other people and enjoying the company of others can release all sorts of chemicals in the brain and body,     5     essentially give us feelings of happiness and even love. This is    6    it's not just the athletes or the musicians that give us the sense of pleasure when we go to a concert or a football match. Being with a lot of other people     7     ( add)to the happiness. After events like this, people say they feel more    8     ( bond)to one another and that they feel part of something whole.

In these complex    9     ( society)we have developed,we head one another to get by.In hunter-gatherer days, one person or family may have been responsible for finding food, cooking it,building a home and making clothes.Now we rely heavily    10    other people from all over the world, with their own sets of knowledge and skills, to carry out different functions.

It is possible that we simply do not stay in one place for a true friendship     1     (develop). However, there can be no disagreement on     2     need for each of us to think carefully about the kind of friendships we want.

To most of us, friendships     3     (consider) important, but we need to have clear minds of the kinds of friendships we want. Are they to be close or kept at arm’s     4     (long)? Do we want to share something with our friends or do we want to walk on the surface? For some people, many friendships on the surface are quite enough       5    that’s all right. But at some point, we need to make sure that our expectations are the same       6    our friends’ expectations. If one     7     (want) more from the friendship than the other, and if this is not talked about, one is likely at last to feel that he’s holding the short end of the stick. The sharing of     8    (person) experience including our tears as well as our dark     9     (dream) is the surest way to deepen friendships. But it must be undertaken       10     (slow) and carried on only if there are signs of interest and action in return.

【推荐1】A new TV series in England, Away from it all, has surprised everyone by becoming a huge success with young people across the country. Its success is surprising because     1     main character in the series is a shepherd, and the series is about the relaxing and different     2     (lifestyle) of people who live in the country. There is none of the actions that we usually see on TV today. There are also no stressful moments, busy offices or     3     (crowd) cities. Away from it all     4     (set) in the peaceful English countryside and tells simple stories about people’s kindness.

The director of the TV series says that its success is a sign of teenagers     5     (suffer) from stress. He says that watching Away from it all     6     (help) teenagers forget about the pressures of exams and homework, and the troubles     7     fill the world today.

    8     the series’ success might have a good side, many teachers and parents are worried. They say that some of their students and children are becoming couch potatoes and are using Away from it all as an excuse for not completing homework. Some children have even refused to learn for exams because they say that they can only achieve     9     (person) happiness by avoiding stressful situations     10     (complete).

Female Entertainers Fight Ageism in the Reality Show

A band of entertainment industry "has-beens" has stepped back into the spotlight in Older Sisters Riding Winds and Breaking Waves. It is a girl group knockout reality show     1     (feature) performers older than 30.

Produced by Mango TV, the reality show has made huge waves across China's social platforms.The show consists of 30 seasoned, established female singers, actors and hosts,     2    were born before 1990.

"    3     some possibilities in life fade after you hit 30, you can still transcend time and reinvent yourself," reads part of the show's preamble(开场白), conveying a clear message     4     the ageism facing women.

Some contestants spoke out about their attitude towards aging and age discrimination.

Wu Xin, 37, a hostess on the popular variety show Happy Camp,     5    (voice) her opinion, believing she's at the best age of her life. "I used to limit myself due to a narrow vision, and thus missed a lot of opportunities.     6    I get older, I've come to realize that I can do many things, so I decided       7    (seize) this chance to stretch myself," she said.

While some people see the successfully staged show as a progression in challenging society’s youth-obsessed pop culture,     8     remain doubtful and critical.

Some viewers reveal that their anxiety towards aging has gotten     9     (bad) after watching the show.

“My heart quivered as I heard 50-year-old Christy Chung say she still feels as young as 20 physically and would always be 18 at heart. The show actually points out the possibility     10    a woman’s actual age is neither acceptable for the public nor for herself,” reads a Weibo post by Tang Shuang, a senior fashion editor of Vogue China.