1 . Friendship makes life more enjoyable and colorful. Here are some tips for you to make friends.

Make yourself available. Put yourself out there somehow in order to meet people. If you’re still in school, sit somewhere with two other people. If you see opportunities to meet new people, take them.     1    

    2     Be open to trying new activities to meet people around you who have common interests. For example, if you love books and want to meet like-minded friends, join a book club. People who have a passion (激情) for books will end up meeting people with the same interest.

Talk to others actively.     3     You can start talking to people by simply greeting them with a “Good morning, how are you?” as you pass them by.     4    You can talk to anybody: the person sitting next to you in public, or the person in front of you in the lunch line.

Use social media wisely.     5     Social media has given us the amazing ability to connect with people on the Internet and turn them into friends. Using social media like Facebook may be a perfect way to meet people who share the same interest as you.

2 . Don’t get me wrong-I love my parents very much. I know they love me too and would do anything to help me but sometimes they can be really embarrassing. Dad wanting to pick me up from school, Mum getting overexcited when she watches me playing football for the school team.    1    . My friends all complain about theirs from time to time. It seems a few cruel parents want to see their kids suffer on purpose, but others are just trying to be cool and fit in with our friends. There’s not really much we can do about it, or is there? Here are a few tips I’ve come up with to make life just a little easier for all of us.

Choose the behaviour you find most embarrassing

    2    . And then put them in order. Is the fact that your dad sings along to the radio when your friends are over for dinner worse than the fact that he always calls your best friend by the wrong name? By deciding which ones are worse means you’ll be free to focus your energy where you need it most.

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When you’ve decided which issues you want to talk about, keep a diary of all the times your mum or dad do the things that embarrass you most. When, where and how you felt - make a note of all these things. They’ll help you put your case across.

Have a family meeting

It’s time for a little face-to-face chat.The chances are that even if your parents are aware of doing these things, they prob-ably don’t realize how embarrassing they are. Keep calm.    4    . Let them have their say — they’ll probably want to defend themselves. Of course, you’ll also have to be prepared to listen to some of the things that they don’t like about you. It’s part of the deal.

Try and be more understanding

Hopefully your parents will listen and be willing to change their ways, especially if you say you’re happy to change too. Of course, sometimes they might not. Re-member that they once had their own embarrassing parents, and the chances are many of us will be embarrassing parents ourselves one day.    5    .

3 . Communication is a problem for parents and children of all ages. If it’s hard for you to communicate with your parents, don’t worry about it. Here is some advice for you.

Don’t argue with your parents. Don’t try to talk about something with your parents when you are angry. Your parents probably won’t listen to you if you are shouting at them. Go somewhere else to cool off. Then think about what you want to say to your parents. If you think you can’t speak to them at the moment, try writing a letter to them.

Try to understand your parents. Your parents may think differently from you. Tell your parents what you think, what you care about and why. Perhaps you and your parents disagree on something. Put yourself in their shoes and you may find a better way out.

Michael’s mother didn’t agree with him about buying a motorcycle. They argued over it. But they finally came to an agreement. Michael bought the motorcycle, but only drove it on certain days.

It is also important to show your love to your parents. Try to do some small things at home, like making them a cup of tea, helping do some chores, and so on. It helps to keep your relationship closer. A good relationship with your parents can make you a better and happier person. It is worth having a try.

5 . Yesterday, my 15-year-old brother Tommy had a fight with my 12-year-old brother Kevin. Later, I heard Kevin crying (哭) in his room. I _________ outside his room and asked, “Kevin, do you want to talk?” No one spoke. I tried again. Still _________ happened.

So, I took some cards and wrote, “If you don’t, you can write your problems on them, and we can try to find some good _________ to solve them.”

An hour later I was still sitting on the floor outside his _________ with two pieces of paper in my hands. One was new and the other was from Kevin. As I _________ it, tears (眼泪) came to my eyes. It said, “Nobody in this family _________ me. Tommy thought I was too noisy and Dad wished to have another kid because I can’t study well. You’re _________ around to stay with me.”

He was right about my part. I wrote back, “Kevin, I do love you and you know that. I’m here for you and everyone loves you in this _________.” After a while, a piece of _________ appeared with “Thanks for loving me” on it.

From then on, Kevin and I have a __________ relationship. When one of us feels that the other is unhappy, we’ll smile and say “Write it on a piece of paper”.