It’s hard to make friends if you stay at home alone all the time. You need to get out of the house and do things that will help you _________ other people. Join a club, play a sport, do volunteer work or something else. You’ll find it’s easier to make friends when you have the _________ interests.

Learn from people who seem to make friends _________ . How do they make other people feel comfortable? Notice what they say and _________   they act. Don’t copy（模仿） everything they do, but try some of their _________ . It will help you have your own social style.

Don’t be afraid to _________   people what you’re really good at. Talk about the things that you like and do best. You might do well in sports, art or some _________ areas. People will want to learn about your _________ and your strong points.

Try to find some _________ that would make good conversations（对话）. Read the latest news, listen to the most popular music, or watch an interesting movie or TV show. The __________ you have to say, the more people will want to talk with you.

Be a good listener. Let people __________ themselves. Don’t try to dominate（支配）the conversation with “I, I, I…”.   Ask lots of questions. Show an interest in their answers. That will make people feel __________ , and they will want to be your friends.

Look at people in the eye when you talk to __________ . It’s hard to have conversations when your eyes are looking everywhere except（除了）at other persons’ eyes. __________ you don’t look people in the eye, they may think you’re not interested in them and they may __________ being interested in you.

I have two best friends but they don’t like each other. Every time I want to hang out（闲逛） with both of them, they never want to go and always get angry with me. When I hang out with one but not the other, the other one will get jealous. I want all of us to be good friends, but I don’t know what to do. Is there anybody who can help me?

Kate

Advice from Helen, Guangzhou

You need to ask both of them why they don’t like each other. You should do something to make them like each other again. You can invite both of them to your house, without telling them that he or she will be there. Let them stay there for about 30 minutes. See if they can talk with each other. Hope this helps!

Advice from Laura, Shanghai

Jack is my good friend. He is in Tianjin, not far from you. He had the same problem last year. He says if they are really your best friends, you should let them know that you like both of them. And they should try to be nice to each other because they have the same friend-you!

Once upon a time, a young man wanted to go to a village on business. Halfway there was a moutain. Before he left home, his family warned (提醒) him to stay calm and climb onto the trees if he was in face of beasts (野兽). In this way, the beasts couldn’t do anything to him. The young man remembered these words and began his trip.

He walked for a long time carefully and found no beasts were out there. He thought his family’s worries were unnecessary. And he became relaxed as he walked. Just at that moment, he saw a fierce (凶猛的) tiger running to him and he climbed onto a tree nearby at once.

The tiger roared (咆哮) around the tree and even jumped to reach the man. The young man was too scared to hold the tree and fell right on the back of the tiger. Full of fear, he had to hold the tiger tightly. The tiger thought that must be a giant beast. So it was afraid and started running madly.

People on the road didn’t know what happened and said, “Look at the young man. He is riding a tiger! Cool! Superman!”

Hearing these words, the young man was very angry. “Why can’t they see I’m suffering a lot? Don’t they understand I am in fear and almost scared to death?” He said to himself.

When I was in the eighth grade, I had problems behaving（表现）. My heart was in the right place, but I couldn’t always follow the rules. I played many tricks on my schoolmates. Once I even pulled a girl’s hair on the school bus to get her attention. As a result, I was repeatedly sent to the office of the principal(校长).

Although I hated going there, I did not hate the principal, Mr. Ratcliff. Mr. Ratcliff was a kind, elderly man. When he spanked（打屁股）me for putting some ants into a classmate’s pencil box, it didn’t hurt at all, but it did hurt my feelings. I thought so much of him and moments like that seemed to prove I was hopelessly bad.

When I got called to Mr. Ratcliff’s office for the sixth time, I had no idea what I had done. I felt disappointed（失望的）as I walked down there. I went into his office, sat down, and looked at the floor. Then he said the last thing I expected to hear: “Kevin, I’ve heard you’ve been behaving really well lately. I want you to know how proud I am of you, and I just called you down to my office to give you a peppermint（薄荷糖）.”

“Really?” I was surprised.

“Yes. Now you can take that peppermint and go back to class.”

I carried the peppermint with me as if it was a gold coin. When I got into my classroom, I bragged（吹嘘）to my classmates about my turnaround, excitedly. I wasn’t so bad after all.

Mr. Ratcliff was really kind. He made me realize that I was just a kid who had problems with behavior. He bought some peppermints and took the time to notice me when I got something-anything-right. Mr. Ratcliff gave me some hope by giving me some love. I will just remember him for the rest of my life.

Have you ever wondered what an American high school is real like? Now let me describe a typical (典型的)   American high school and students in it.

A typical American high school has several large buildings and enough space for about 1,500 students. Every student has a locker to put away their textbooks and to hang up(搁置)their outdoor clothes. As American textbooks are expensive, students would rather(宁愿) loan (租借) than buy them. Students have to pay if they lose any of them.

American students have different kinds of school transport. They usually take a yellow school bus or walk to school if they live close enough. Sometimes their parents drive them to school. When they turn 16 years of age, most take a free driving class at school for one term. If students pass the driving exam, they can begin driving themselves to school.

Each day, students take six or seven subjects. They must take Science, Maths, English and Social Studies. They can choose from Art, Homemaking, and other classes.

In some schools, students have to take one or more of the following special subjects: Health Education, Physical Education or Foreign Language Studies. Students move to different classrooms for each subject. This is because each teacher has his or her own classroom.

The school day usually ends early in the afternoon. After school more than half of the students are involved in after-school activities. These activities include sports like football, basketball, baseball, and different kinds of clubs, such as Yearbook Club, Speech Club, and so on.

The four March sisters were sitting around the fire in the living room. Meg was the eldest of the four sisters. She was sixteen. She was very pretty and she loved pretty clothes. Jo was fifteen. She was tall and thin. She was different from Meg. She didn’t c    66     about dresses or hairstyles. Beth was thirteen. She was very shy and quiet and she seemed to live in a happy world of her o    67    . The y    68     , Amy, looked like a snow princess w    69     her blue eyes and blonde hair. She loved beautiful things and she also thought that she was a very important person.

One day, they were having a picnic in the field with their friends Laurie.

“I have a lot of dreams,” said Laurie. He lay down and looked u    70     at the sky. “I want to t    71     around the world and see lots of places. Then I’d like to become a famous musician. Grandfather wants me to go to college and then become a businessman like him.”

“I’d like a lovely house, f    72     of all kinds of nice things-good food, pretty clothes and lovely furniture,” Meg said.

“I want to write books and be rich and f    73    . I want to do something important in my life. That’s my favourite dream,” said Jo. “And yours, Beth?”

“I dream about staying at home with Father and Mother forever and l    74     after the family,” said Beth quietly.

“I have lots of dreams,” said Amy. “But my favourite one is to be an artist. I’d like to go to Rome and p    75       wonderful pictures. I want to be the best artist in the world.”