2 . I heard many parents complaining that their teenage children are rebelling(叛逆). I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out boldly on their own, most of them are clutching at one another’s hands for reassurance.

They claim they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. Then set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up with listening to the same record together. Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that many people are doing it. They have come out of their cocoon into a larger cocoon.

It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and go his or her own way. Industry has firmly carved out a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from the advertisements what a teenager should have and be.

And many of today’s parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds to a great barrier for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path.

But the barrier is worth climbing over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don’t care to share with your classmates at once, well, go to it. Find yourself. Popularity will come with the people who respect you for who you are. That is the only kind of popularity that really counts.

3 . Friends make it easier for us to go through difficulties and struggles in life. They _________ a shoulder for us to cry on. It is easy to meet people, but it is _________ to make good friends.

My best friend was Asha. She was good at English and always _________ me with it. Because of her, I made great progress. We _________ most of our time playing together. Then her parents decided to _________ in the United States. After she went away to the United States, I began to feel very _________. I remember how much I _________when I went to see her off at the airport.

It was for a long time that I could not find any friend I could feel very _________ with. Most of my friends were boring. I began writing to Asha _________. We exchanged letters every week and sometimes even __________ each other over the telephone. __________, I still had a feeling of loss after she went away.

I wanted to meet her again. So I asked my parents to __________ a trip for me to go to the US. They found the __________ ridiculous (荒谬的) as they felt that it was too expensive to go abroad. I felt __________ because my parents turned down my wish to go and visit my friend.

After a few days, I got a call from Asha to __________ that her parents had decided to visit India to meet her grandparents and other __________. Hearing the news, I jumped up with __________. I eagerly waited for the day of her __________.

I went to meet her at the airport. We hugged each other and had so much to __________. We talked the whole night. __________ we hadn’t seen for a long time, we felt that we had never been separated from each other.

4 . The basic meaning of“pet”is an animal we______for emotional(情感的)rather than economic reasons. A pet animal is kept as a companion, and we all need companions to keep us feeling______. But pets offer more than______: they invite us to love and be loved. Many______ feel their pets understand them, for animals are quick to sense anger and sorrow. A cat or dog can______us at times when human words don’t______. We feel loved, too, by the way pets depend on us for a home, for food and drink. Dogs______, look up to their owners, which makes them feel______and needed.

A pet can be something______to each member of the family, another baby to the mother, a sister or brother to an only child, a grandchild to the______, but for all of us pets provide pleasure and companionship. It has______been suggested that tiny pets should be______as companions to astronauts on space ships， to help______the stress(紧张)and loneliness of space flights.

In this Plastic Age, when most of us live in large cities, pets are particularly important for______. A pet in the family keeps people in touch with the more______, animal world. Seeing an animal______birth brings understanding of the naturalness of childbirth, and seeing a pet die helps a child to cope with______. Learning to______a pet helps a child to grow up into a loving adult who feels responsible toward those______on them. Rightly we teach children to be good to their pets. They should learn, too, that pets are______for us human beings.

5 . Michael Yellow-lees set off to complete a 5,000-mile walk across Canada in the spring of 2021, wearing a kilt(短褶裙)and carrying a few items in a handcart, including a guitar. The 32-year-old musician from Dunked, Scotland, walked from the shores of the Pacific Occam to the cast coast of Newfoundland on the edge of the North Atlantic with his pet dog, Luna, an Alaskan husky, by his side.

Speaking about the Scottish Highlands, Mr.Yellow-lees said,“It is a beautiful landscape, but with a strong sense of sadness because of the absence of woodland,wildlife and people. So I decided to walk across the great wildernesses of Canada to raise funds for Trees for Life, a Scottish rewinding charity, and its work to restore(恢复)Scotland’s Caledonian Forest.”

The enthusiastic walker shared some of his experiences, including meeting black bears and hearing wolves cry loudly at night. He also mentioned a moment when he lost Luna after she jumped out of a little boat during a trip in the waterway section of the Trans Canada Trail in Nor-them Ontario.

Yet Mr Yellow-lees was deeply touched by the warmth of the people along the way. In every town and village,people offered him food, shelter and donations. And he was accompanied into towns and cities by marching pipe bands and interviewed by newspapers, the radio and TV.

Steve Mickie wright,chief executive officer of Trees for Life,said, “We followed Michael’s journey across Canada with respect and admiration. Restoring native habitats and wildlife to the Highlands is a big task that no one can do alone. But Michael’s extraordinary journey is proof that an individual can really make a difference.”

Bob Davidson, one of Michael Yellow-lees’ friends, said, “This is not a slow walk in the park, but a long march with heavy equipment on the rough road at an incredible pace. He’s an amazing guy.”

9 . Kindness can really make you pause and be thankful during a stressful time.

Cassandra Warren was in a____and was feeling a little overwhelmed(使应接不暇)by work and planning her wedding. After she got her____invitations ready one day she hurriedly____one to her aunt and uncle. A week later, the invitation came back. She had written down the____address. A handwritten note was____to the returned envelop, which read, “I wish I____you-this is going to be an enjoyable experience. Congratulations- go to have dinner on me.” A $ 20 bill was inside.

Cassandra was at a bit of a professional crossroads and had been having a____day. In fact, she’d nearly broken down, telling her____to her husband-to-be Jesse Jones just as she____the misdirected envelop. Then she read the note. “It was kind of perfect timing, ” said Cassandra Warren. “We are____of who the mysterious(神秘的)note writer is．But I really____it．”

Cassandra and Jesse ____ with a friend who was going overseas the following night. They happily put the $ 20 towards their___. Then Cassandra bought a thank-you card. She____wrote her aunt’s address on the envelop again this time ____ and addressed it to “Kind Stranger”___by the following words inside, “Thank you for the____and taking time to____it.   Not so many people would have done that. It was a big____after the day I was having. I am___ for people like you still being in the world. ”

10 . You might have ever noticed how some people can effortlessly talk to anyone they meet, no matter how different their backgrounds are. Or you may have seen that one person who always offends someone, no matter what the topic of conversation is. These two situations describe how we can differ in our abilities to interact, get along with, and relate to others around us. In the same way that we vary in traditional academic abilities, we can vary in how socially qualified we are. After years of academic research and development, this social ability is now commonly referred to as “social intelligence. ”

Social intelligence is the ability to understand other people, how they work, what motivates them, and how to work cooperatively with them. It is a relationship-based concept that centers on the way we understand others, interact with others, and present ourselves to others. As an example, you would not speak in the same way toward your 70-year-old mother as you would to your 16-year-old daughter. In our working lives, we come across different social groups including those from different countries, varying age groups and cultural identities. Being able to acknowledge and understand people’s different backgrounds is a key way to connect with them.

Our ability to navigate successfully through our lives relies heavily on our levels of social intelligence. It can affect the relationships we form with our partners and children, the friendship circles that we build, and our ability to progress in our careers and ambitions. Given the importance of social intelligence in multiple aspects of life, it is therefore in our best interest to better understand the concept of social intelligence.