1 . On the first day of your Senior High you must meet many new classmates. Do you want to make friends with them? Do you know how to make friends with them? The following article will tell you how to do it.

Making friends is a skill. Like most skills, _________ improves with practice. If you want to meet people and make friends you must be _________ to take action. You must first be willing to go to places where there are people. You won’t make friends _________ at home alone. Join a club or group, for talking with those who _________ the same experience as you is easier, and _________ them in some activities.

Many people are _________when talking to strangers. After all, meeting strangers means facing _________, and it’s human nature to _________ a bit uncomfortable about the unknown.

Most of our fears about dealing with strange people _________ from doubts about ourselves. We ____________ other people are judging us, thinking us too tall or too short, too this or too that. ____________, don’t forget that they must be feeling the same way. Try to accept yourself ____________ you are, and try to put the other person at ease. You’ll ____________ feel more comfortable with each other.

Try to act self-confidently ____________ you don’t feel that way __________ you enter a room full of strangers, such as a new classroom, walk straight, look ____________ at other people and smile. If you see someone you’d like to ____________, say something. Don’t wait for the other people to ____________ a conversation.

Just meeting someone ____________ doesn’t mean that you will make friends with that person. Friendship is ____________ on mutual (相互的) liking and “give and take”. It takes time and effort to develop. And there are things that keep a new friendship from growing.

2 . I am Russian, but for the last five years, I’ve lived in Kansas. What ______ me to this country was my American husband, John. I work in a department store, where my coworkers ______ my Russian name so sweetly. Every time I hear it, I feel as though my mom is ______ me.

In my ______ country, people believe that Americans always keep big smiles on their faces even if they don’t have a real ______ to do so. The American smile, the Russians have ______, is not genuine.

Last year, John encouraged me to go see my mom ______ in Russia. My ______ even gave me a month off for the trip. I bought a plane ticket and ______ my suitcase. Then came viruses. My ______ became gray as I realized I couldn’t go see my mom. Then, my coworker, Miss Donna, put on a big American smile and said, “Well, you can ______ and see my mom!”

Oh, my Lord! Imagine, a mom for ______! I honestly don’t know whether I would ______ the same to someone in ______ of a mother’s warmth, but my ______ people sure would do it for me. We can still hug someone’s heart. Yes, believe me, the American smile is genuine.

3 . Recently an old friend reached out to me to ask about the success I’ve had in my life and how I achieved it. He has similar _______ as me: get in shape, get into music more seriously, and be fluent in _______ .

Though I haven’t _______ reached my long term goals yet in any of these 3 aspects, he’s seen that I’ve made some _______ on my journey to achieving these goals and wanted my advice.

We had a nice hour and a half _______ about this and it seemed like he was pretty _______ by the end of the chat. A week went by and he told me that he _______ a personal fitness trainer, was _______ music theory, and sent me clips of him studying French. He’s posting _______ on social media about all of the progress he’s making. He’s doing great, full of motivation and ________ !

Eventually I’ll have to let him know that progress isn’t linear (线性的) and that he’ll undoubtedly ________ some hardships in the road, feeling depressed and disappointed. But I’m letting him enjoy the “beginner gains” in the meantime and will ________ him out when that time comes.

I’m ________ that he gave me the opportunity to serve him and offer him ________ , and I’m thankful to see that he’s ________ the time and money to improve his life. He has even ________ lately on the Twitter about how excited he is with all the ________ changes in his life and expressed his thanks to me.

Even if you’re still not where you want to be, there are a lot of people out there who want what you have now and who are ________ how far you’ve come. It feels so good to realize how much progress you’ve made, be ________ of yourself, and recognize how much you can help others ________ the same.

4 . Living successful life or being on the path to success is a kind of selfish thing unless we encourage others to follow suit (效仿).

Recently an old friend ______ out to me. He asked about the success I’ve had in my life (or ______ what looks like success on social media XD) and how I achieved it. He has ______ goals as me: keep healthy, get into music more seriously, and be ______ in Japanese.

Though I haven’t ______ reached my long term goals yet in any of these three kinds, he’s seen that I’ve made some progress on my journey to achieving these goals and wanted my ______.

We had a nice hour and a half ______ on the phone about this and it seemed like he was pretty ______ by the end of the chat. A week went by and he told me that he ______ a personal fitness trainer (私人健身教练), was studying ______ theory, and sent me some videos of him studying Japanese. He’s announcing regularly on social media about all of the progress he’s making. He’s ______ and doing great!

______ I’ll have to let him know that progress isn’t ______ and that he’ll finally hit some stones in the road, but I’m letting him enjoy the “newcomer gains” in the meantime and will ______ him out when that time comes.

I’m grateful for him giving me the opportunity to ______ him and give him advice, and I also ______ what he has done to improve his life. He even ______ recently about how thankful he is with all the recent changes in his life.

______ you’re still not where you want to be, there are a lot of people out there who want what you have and who are ______ with how far you’ve come. It’s good to realize how far you’ve come, be ______ of yourself, and recognize how much you can help others achieve the same.

7 . One Friday afternoon in my first year of high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home. His name was Kyle. He seemed to be carrying all his books. Then some kids ran at him, _______ all his books out of his arms. His glasses went flying and landed in the grass. My heart _______ to him, so I jogged over and handed him his _______ . He thanked me with a big smile.

Monday morning came and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books _______ . I teased him, “Boy, you are gonna build some real _______ with this pile of books every day!” He just laughed and handed me half the books.

He turned out to be the best student of our class and had to make a _______ on the graduation day. As he stood on stage, he _______ his throat, and began: “Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it _______ those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings…but mostly your friends… I am here to tell you that being a(n) _______ to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story. ”

I just looked at my friend with ________ as he talked about the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself. He had cleaned out his locker ________ his mum wouldn’t have to do it later and carry his stuff home.

He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. “ ________ , I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the   ________ . ”

I heard the gasp (倒抽气) in the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us about his ________ moment. I saw his mum and dad looking at me with that same grateful smile. Not until then did I realize the ________ of the smile. With one small action you can change a person’s life. God puts us all in each other’s lives to influence one another in some way.

8 . It was a golden season. I could see the yellow leaves _______ on the _______ wind. In such a season, I liked walking alone in the leaves, listening to the sound of them.

Autumn is a _______ season and life is uninteresting. The free days always get me down. But one day, the sound of a violin _______ into my ears like a stream flowing in the mountains. I was so surprised that I _______ to see what it was. A young girl, standing in the wind, was lost in playing her violin.

I had _______ seen her before. The music was so attractive that I listened quietly. Lost in the music, I didn’t realize that I had been standing there for so long but my existence did not seem to _______ her.

Leaves were still falling. Every day she played the violin in the corner of the building _______ I went downstairs to watch her performance. I was the only audience. The autumn seemed no longer lonely and life became _______ . We didn’t know each other, ________ I thought we were already good friends. I believed she also liked me.

Autumn was nearly over. One day, when I was listening devotedly, the sound suddenly stopped. To my ________ , the girl came over to me.

“You must like violin,” she said.

“Yes. And you play very well. Why did you stop?” I asked.

Suddenly, a ________ expression appeared on her face and I could feel something unusual.

“I came here to see my grandmother, but now I must leave. I once played very ________ . It was your listening every day that encouraged me.” she said.

“In fact, it was your playing that gave me a ________ autumn.” I answered. “Let us be friends.”

The girl smiled and I smiled.

I never heard her play again in my life. I no longer went downstairs to listen like before. Only thick leaves were left behind. But I will always remember the fine ________ of the girl. She is like a ________ ; so short, so bright, like a shooting star giving off so much light that it makes the autumn beautiful.

There are many kinds of friends. Some are always with you, but don’t understand you. Some say only a few words to you, but are ________ you. Many people will step in your life, but only ________ friends leave footprints.

I shall always ________ the autumn and the girl with the violin. She will always bring back the ________ between us. I know she will always be my best friend.

9 . As Norwood drove through St. Petersburg, Florida, last February, the laughter and chatter from the four teenage girls inside her car quickly gave way to screams. When they were _________ an intersection (十字路), another car T-boned them, sending their car into a nearby yard, coming to a(n) _________ only when it crashed into a tree.

As smoke rose from the other car, a bystander shouted, “Get out! It’s about to _________ !” Norwood struggled out through the window, running for her _________ along with two of her friends, who also managed to free themselves.

_________, halfway down the street, she realized that her best friend, Simmons, wasn’t with them. Norwood _________ ran back to the car. She saw Simmons _________ in the back seat, unconscious. She threw open the back door with great effort and pulled Simmons out, _________ the broken glass as best she could. She dragged Simmons a few feet to _________ and laid her on the ground. She checked her pulse and her chest. No sign of life.

Had the accident happened a few weeks earlier, she might not have known what to do. But Norwood, who wants to pursue a career in __________, had earned her CPR certificate just the day before. She knew she had precious little time to practice what she’d learned.

She started pressing Simmons’s __________ with her interlocked fingers and breathing into her friend’s mouth in hopes of filling her lungs with the kiss of life. After the 30^th compression, Simmons began coughing and breathing for air. The CPR had __________!

Soon, __________ arrived and rushed Simmons to the hospital. And then she heard how her best friend had saved her life. “I wasn’t __________,” Simmons told CNN. “She will always help any way she can.”

The four teens said the accident had promoted their __________.