Friends play a very important part in everyone’s life. Friendship     1    (usual) develops during childhood. New friends are made when you progress through school. Those friends     2     you make as a student can usually last long. Friends influence your development, maturity (成熟) and sense of responsibility (责任). A familiar expression is “You can tell a lot about a person by     3    (know) who his friends are.” Friendship     4    (base) on common interests. If you like sports, most of your friends     5    (be) likely to be athletic (竞技的). If you enjoy reading and shopping, most of your friends do     6     same.

Some people call you their friends for the wrong reasons. These people are not really friends. They are superficial (表面的) only “friends” on the outside, not the inside where it counts. Superficial friends only want to be your friends if is to their advantage. True friends are there if you are rich or poor.     7     is easy to have many so-called “friends” if you are rich. By his time you should be able to separate our fiends into the real or the “phoney”.

True fiends are most special. They are also difficult     8    (find). You can consider yourself very     9    (fortune) if you have one true friend. This friend is eager to help you whenever necessary. He or she knows you would do the same for them. A true friend is someone you can talk to about any subject or problem. You and your true friend have good understanding of each other. True friends give you a great deal of     10    (encourage), take your side, and build up your confidence.

After eating a diet of bread, hamburgers and spaghetti for three     1     (month), I began to miss Chinese food. Luckily, in     2     informational city like New York, I have little difficulty     3     (find) a Chinese restaurant. However, the Chinese food, which the locals consider as their favorite, is not exactly the Chinese food I enjoy in Beijing I can always find such so-called “Chinese food” as honey chicken on the menu,     4     I actually have never even heard of it before.

One day, I went to a Chinese restaurant     5     my local friends. After the meal, each of us     6     (give) a dumpling-shaped cookie. Once I bit into it, I realized something not quite right. I found a piece of paper with a message that read, “This fortune’s no good, try another.” At first I     7     (think) it must be a trick of the restaurant. When I told this to my friends, they burst out     8     (laugh) and asked, “Are you really from China?”

But it doesn’t mean there is no place in New York where I can satisfy my stomach. I always head to China Town when I     9     (extreme) miss the food of my homeland.     10     (follow) the hot and spicy smell, I can always find the most Chinese food that excites me in the city.

3 . Summer Courses 2022

San Diego Seaside College is offering one and two-week English summer courses for high school students from all over the world who want to improve their English. Classes are offered at five levels, from basic to advanced. Students will be tested when they arrive and placed in the level appropriate to their language ability. Each class has a maximum of 14 students.

Tuition Fees (学费)

One-week Course (July 26–August 1): $310

Two-week Course (July 26–August 8): $620

The full payment must be received before the beginning of the courses.

Accommodations (食宿)

We provide housing, including breakfast & dinner, 7 days a week.

Single room: $250 per week

Twin room: $160 per person, per week

You should reserve your accommodations before May 15 and all the accommodation fees must be paid in full before June 15.

How to Apply

Fill out an application form and send it to us at esc@sdc.edu.

Come to our college this summer and make yourself shine at English.

5 . It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.

The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries (食品杂货), saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.

I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.

People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity (人性) as a whole. And it has influenced us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.

8 . It had been a long business trip. We had already had multiple flight delays, so I was pleased when we ________ boarded the plane on schedule. The flight attendants shut the door,     ________the passengers, and soon after, I heard the sound of the engines firing, which seemed quite ________ to me.

It is common in Atlanta that we had to wait a bit on the ________ for our turn. And then finally we started moving slowly. ________, when we did so for about 10 minutes, suddenly the plane stopped. An announcement came that we’d have a delay, and we’d be in a holding pattern (等待航线) for a little while.

That “little while”________90 minutes at last. It was almost 40 degrees and we were________in the small plane with almost no air conditioning. It seemed like a(n)     ________! So when the plane took off in the end, all the passengers couldn’t help cheering.

Waiting is not something that comes easily to me. I’m more like the sports car with the engine ________ waiting at the crossing. The moment the traffic light turns greens, I will rush out urgently.

But now, as I’ve reached my advanced age, I’ve ________ something: When I have to stay in a “holding pattern”, it will be wise to accept that with ________ and a good attitude.

Sometimes those “holding patterns” are for my   ________. They teach me something connect with someone, or make me wait until things are ________. Sometimes those “holding patterns” seem very long and ________ just like the one on the hot airplane but I should trust everything will be OK. I should know what I can do is just have ________ with the difficult time.

9 . How to Meet New People

Everybody knows that first impressions are important. If you want to know how to meet people, just follow these steps.

●Live in the moment.

To meet new people, the first thing you have to do is to enjoy the present moment of the new conversation. Let go of your expectations and fears.     1    

When you meet a new person, don’t ask yourself, “How do I look?” or “How do I sound?” Instead, ask, “What would this person like to talk about?” “What matters to this person?”

●     2    

If you keep up your confidence, people feel that you’re a person who is worth talking to. You should be confident before you walk into a room with new people in it and build your confidence as the conversation goes along. Just smile, talk about the things that you love, and show everyone that you love who you are, where you are, and what you do.

    3     Stand tall, maintain eye contact, and don’t fidget with your hands or look at the floor. When you introduce yourself, speak clearly and loudly enough to be heard.

●Be positive.

    4    You should smile from time to time. Talk about the things you love, the things that make you happy, and your interests to keep people engaged.

Don’t talk about your long-standing hatred for a certain person.     5     The occasional “That’s so true!” or “I know exactly what you mean!” will be far more positive.