3 . I first met Paul Newman in 1968, when George Roy Hill, the director of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid introduced us in New York City. When the studio didn’t want me for the film — it wanted somebody as _________ as Paul — he _________ me. I don’t know how many people would have done that; they would have _________ their agents or the studio powers.

The friendship that _________ the experience of making that film and The Sting four years later had its _________ in the fact that although there was an age difference, we both came from a tradition of _________ and live TV. We _________ craft (技艺) and focused on _________ the characters we were going to play. Both of us had the _________ and virtues that are __________ of American actors: humorous, aggressive, and making fun of each other-but always with an underlying __________. Those were also at the core (核心) of our relationship off the screen. We shared the __________ that if you’re fortunate enough to have success, you should __________ something back — he with his Newman’s Own food for kids in need, and me with Sundance. Paul and I didn’t see each other all that regularly, but sharing that brought us together. We supported each other financially and by showing up at __________.

I last saw him a few months ago. He’d been in and out of the hospital. He and I both knew what the deal was, and we didn’t talk about it. Ours was a relationship that didn’t need a lot of__________.

A Precious Present

Wrinkles of confusion spread across Angela’s forehead as she unwrapped the gift from her best friend, Susan.

“I…I thought you could use it for something.” Susan’s stammered explanation did nothing to help us understand why a twelve-by-eighteen-inchold blue carpet was being presented as a birthday gift.

My heart went out to our daughter. Starting out at a new school during her freshmanyear had been a difficult adjustment. Until she met Susan, Angela had experienced little success making new friends.

The murmured “thanks” was barely heard as Angela tried hard not to allow her disappointment to show. She laid the piece of carpet on the kitchen counter, and the two girls headed outside to play with the family dogs.

The next morning, I carried a garbage bag outside. My heart sank as I lifted the lid of the garbage can and saw Susan’s carpet lying there. Hesitating only a moment, I picked it up. After giving it a light brushing, I brought it into the house and put it away in the hall closet.

“Susan invited us to go over to her house after school tomorrow and she’d like us to meet her foster mom(养母).” Several days later Angela announced as, she arrived home. Although her voice carried a so-what attitude, I sensed she was pleased by the invitation.

The following day we drove to the destination along the winding country road.

A kind-looking woman greeted us as we approached the small farmhouse.

On the way home Angela pleaded me to drive faster.

Boys like to be considered to be brave, but what kind of things can be considered to be brave? It is not a question that can be answered by words, but by the actual deed. A boy with the name Henry gave us a good example. Ronny and Henry were two friends in the same class. They always played together and went home together. One day as Ronny and Henry were going home after school, they saw some people fighting in the street corner. Ronny said excitedly, “Some people are fighting! Let’s go and have a look!” But Henry refused, “It’s none of our business. We’d better go home and don’t get close to them. Also our parents are expecting to have dinner with us together at home and I don’t want them to worry about me.”

“You are a coward, and afraid to go,” said Ronny, and off he ran to the spot with some other boys. Henry had to go home alone and didn't think about it anymore.

But Ronny thought Henry was a coward and told all the boys that. They laughed at him a great deal. From then on, they looked down upon Henry and didn’t want to play with him.

Henry was sad but he wasn’t angry with Ronny for his rude behavior, because he had learned that true courage was shown most in bearing misunderstanding when it was not deserved, and that he ought to be afraid of nothing but doing wrong. Thus, he just ignored the other boys’ laughter and continued to stick to his thought and go to school and study as well. However, Ronny didn’t invite Henry to go home with him anymore. Instead, he had his new friends who also thought Henry was a coward. Every day after school, they didn't go home directly but went to the river or somewhere to play games and had lots of fun.

I used to frequently visit an old age home    1    (manage) by the little sisters of the poor in our city Hyderabad. A. P., India. There I met a gentleman by the name of Kurien in his late    2    (eighty). He served the Indian army and retired. He has one son who is well educated and also married.

Mr. Kurien felt down with the life in his house    3    decided to move into this old age home here in Hyderabad. We both began to share a lot of thoughts whenever we met and slowly it was a    4    (day) affair that I used to spend some time with him discussing what he was doing in the army, camp fun etc. ,    5    he used to share with lots of joy.

I used to carry with me some snacks which we both used to sit under a tree and eat. I saw him really very happy in my    6    (present). One day he told me with tears in his eyes “I really found a very good friend in you. I feel like    7    (live) some more years to spend happy time with you.

As we departed, I told him, “Do not worry. We will have enough time together in the future. ” I had an official meeting and could not go to the old age home the next day. The day after when I reached the home, his room    8    (lock). I enquired and found that he was no more. He died    9    very night we both met last.

I really miss him. I have not given him anything worthwhile except    10    I used to listen to his words and share his thoughts.

10 . Friday was "Chatty Bus day", an experiment aimed at getting people to talk to each other on public transport. This is not an idea that would appeal to those who commute in the rush hour, because there is a smaller distance within which it's just as uncomfortable to talk. Elbow(肘) room is a precondition for sociability. It is no coincidence that the first truly personal music player, the Sony Walkman, was invented in Japan where the commuter trains are literally crowded with people.

We will also not talk to strangers who are physically too far away, of course. No one wants to shout their small talk. Only on country buses or similar unhurried and uncrowded forms of public transport can people reach out to their neighbors, confident that they are doing so from a position of strength and autonomy.

For all these drawbacks, the idea of talking to strangers is still a good one, and the promotion of sociability is good for society. Although it does seem to be a general rule that people are friendlier the fewer there are of them and more hostile and indifferent as cities get more crowded, there are still considerable cultural variations. And there is evidence that friendlier places are also healthier, and their inhabitants happier.

It is true that the apparent loneliness of many people on public transport is a false impression.

Many will be caught up with conversations with distant friends on their phones; some will be talking to the people in books. Some may be in willed solitude with their headphones. But there are always people who would be interested in an unexpected conversation with a stranger. This need not go on for too long.

It is not large and possibly life-changing conversations that are what most people in loneliness miss most. What they really need is not deep thought but superficiality. The kind of conversation that you could have with anyone reminds you that you yourself might be anyone. It is a release from the prison of the self, which is where lonely people serve their sentences, uncertain whether they ever can be paroled(假释). Friendship may be too rare a gift to hope for, but sometimes the kindest thing to say is also the simplest: "Don't be a stranger"-and sometimes that's also enough.