Your friend,

Xiao Li

3 . Five years ago, I got an email from a well-known professor in my field in March. He invited me to________ for a position in his lab. Things went well and all I needed to do was finish up my thesis (毕业论文) and I decided to ________ it in the following months.

One night, my mother came up to my room, asking softly, “Have you ________ your thesis yet?” “Not yet, Mom,” I ________ , even too busy to look up at her. Then she mentioned that she had some ________ symptoms (症状) in her body that had never been seen before. She wanted to say something more, but my academic (学业的)________ made me hardly take her words to heart.

However, two months later, the doctor announced my mother might ________for less than a year ________cancer (癌症). It was then that I was ________that things became more serious than I had imagined. Before it was too late, I was________to stop my thesis and be there with my mother for her rest life. ________ , my mother failed in the battle and passed away at the end of the year. The next July, I finished my scientific thesis and got the________from the lab.

When looking back today, I feel ________for losing precious time with my mother. The ________ of my mother gave me a new way to think about life: If your loved ones need you, be there for them. Sometimes, just being a listening ear to them can really ________.

My great-grandmother Eileen is ambitious (有雄心的), determined, loyal, strong and a bit of legend (传奇) in her own lifetime, which now reaches 92 years. I should add that we’re not allowed to call her Gran, because she says it makes her feel old.

That summer, I lost my job and felt hopeless. One day. I paid a visit to her. On my arrival, seeing my low spirits, she asked me whether I had prepared to get a new start. I just kept silent. Without any more words, she picked up a box which she placed on the coffee table, saying “You do know what you’re doing with these things, don’t you?”

It was a new phone. Her current mobile was pretty ancient.

“Yes.” I said.

“Good. That’s why I ask you. You young people know more about such things than us oldies. You can take it home and get it all set up,” she went on. “Then, when you bring it back, show me how to use my new phone, such as getting on the Internet, sending e-mails and so on.” She smiled so sweetly. Setting up the phone would be easy, but teaching her how to use it might be challenging.

The following day I headed back to my great-grandmother’s with the phone. “Here’s your phone. It’s all ready to use.”

For the next hour, I was busy setting up her passcode (密码) and fingerprint recognition, which she said was like something out of James Bond.

When I finally got her to swipe (滑动屏幕), she didn’t put the right amount of pressure on and the menu slipped away. After what seemed like hours, she threw the phone across the room and it landed on the sofa. “Take it easy!” she howled. “I want my old phone back!”

I picked up the phone and was about to leave to give her time to cool down when I realized I didn’t want to go home when she was angry.

6 . When we’re in trouble, we always ask our parents for help. But would you like them to hear the conversations you have with your friends on the school playground? Social networking sites have become extensions(延伸) of the school hallways, so would you add your parents as “friends” and allow them to view your online activities and conversations with friends?

In the past the generation gap included a technology gap, where children were up to date with the latest technology and parents were left behind, content to continue their day-to-day lives as they always had because they didn’t need to know more about technology. However, many parents are beginning to realize just how important social networks are in their lives. This realization has given many parents the motivation(动机) to educate themselves about social networking sites. These days many people are attracted to social networking sites because they can choose who they have around them, there’s also a amount of control over privacy(隐私) that we don’t get in real life. Sometimes we feel that privacy is violated(违背) when we must accept a “friend” request from family members.

It’s a difficult choice whether or not to allow parents to become a part of our online lives. Sometimes we don’t want to “refuse” their request because that might hurt their feelings or make them feel you have something to hide. But if you do accept, then you will feel yourself being watched and no longer feel free to communicate the way you did before.

A survey suggested parents shouldn’t take it personally if their children overlook(忽略) their requests. When a teenager overlooks a parent’s friend request, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he is hiding something, but it means that he wants to be independent.

Perhaps talking with parents and explaining would help soften the blow if you choose not to add them to your friend list.

Yours,

Li Hua

10 . There was once a boy called Mario who loved to have lots of friends at school. However, he wasn’t sure whether or not his schoolmates were his real friends, so he asked his grandpa for help. The old man told him, “I just have what you exactly need, and it’s in the attic (阁楼). Wait here a minute.” Grandpa left, soon returning as though carrying something in his hand, but Mario could see nothing there. “Take it. It’s a very special chair. It’s rather tricky to sit on because it’s invisible (无形的), but if you take it to school and you try to sit on it. you’ll be able to tell who your real friends are.” Grandpa said.

Mario was curious to know whether it was true or not, so he took the strange invisible chair and set off for school. At break time he asked everyone to form a circle, and he put himself in the middle, with his chair. “Nobody move! You’re about to see something amazing.”

Then Mario tried to sit on the chair. But he missed and fell down onto his back. Everyone had a pretty good laugh. Mario wouldn’t be beaten. He kept trying to sit on the magic chair, and kept falling to the ground…until, suddenly, he tried again and didn’t fall. This time he sat, hovering (悬浮) in mid-air…

Looking around, Mario saw George, Lucas and Diana—three of his best friends, holding him up, so he wouldn’t fall down. Meanwhile, many others he had thought of as friends had done nothing but make fun of him, enjoying his every fall.

Leaving with his three friends, he explained to them how his grandfather had so cleverly thought of a way to show him that true friends are those who care for us, and not just any acquaintance (熟人) who happens to be passing by. Even less would a friend be someone who takes joy in our misfortunes.