1 . How to Recognize a True Friend

Sometimes it can be hard to recognize a true friend. Hopefully this article will help you recognize which friends are the keepers.

Be able to trust your friends. You should be able to trust true friends and they should return this trust. Do your friends tell you secrets that no one else knows? Ask you for advice?    1     However, if your friends hide things from you and act secretly, then this is a sign that they may not trust you.

    2     Think about it. How comfortable are your friends when they are around you? Are they being themselves around you? Are they acting fake or perhaps hiding something? True friendships can take a while to develop, but if your friends are true they should feel comfortable around you, and vice versa ( You with them)

Think about loyalty(忠诚).     3     If you are in need of a helping hand, your true friends should be there to offer it to you. True friends don’t try to get one another into trouble. A true friend will always be loyal to you and will not reveal secrets.

Think about nicknames. A lot of true friends love to give each other nicknames！ If your friend is giving you nicknames, then this is a great sign. Think of the nickname your friend has given you, does it suit you well?     4    

Look at how you fight. Nearly all best friends fight.     5     True friends will find their way through a fight, no matter what the size is. True friends will remain “faithful” to each other even during a fight. They will not tell each others’ secrets, and they still care about each other.

A．Consider comfort.

B．Choose your friends carefully.

C．True friends are always there for one another.

D．Both are sure signs that your friend trusts you.

E．If so, this shows your friend must know you quite well.

F．So if you and your friend have a little argument, don’t worry!

G．An inside joke shows that you share a special connection with your friend.

2 . I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as mother sat doing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she said again, “is for Elizabeth.”
I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter.
They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was “too emotional(易动感情的)”. But she lived “on the surface”.
As years passed and I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive me.
I posted the letter and waited for her answer, none came.
My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace. It seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.
Now the present of her desk told me that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work though she’d never been able to. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside — a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded(折叠) and refolded many times.
Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose, Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.
1. The writer began to love her mother’s desk _______.

A．after Mother died	B．before she became a writer
C．when she was a child	D．when mother gave it to her

2. The passage shows that _______.

A．Mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter

B．Mother was too serious about everything her daughter had done

C．Mother cared much about her daughter in words

D．Mother wrote to her daughter in careful words.

3. The world “gulf” in the passage means _______.

A．deep understanding between the old and the young.

B．different ideas between the mother and the daughter.

C．free talks between mother and daughter.

D．part of the sea going far in land.

4. What did Mother do with her daughter’s letter asking for forgiveness?

A．She had never received the letter.

B．For years, she often talked about the letter.

C．She didn’t forgive her daughter at all in all her life.

D．She read the letter again and again till she died.

5. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．My letter to Mother	B．Mother and Children
C．My Mother’s Desk	D．Talks between Mother and me.