How to Make Friends
Friendship is a very important human relationship and everyone needs good friends. Good friendship has many benefits. It offers companionship, improves self-worth and promotes good health. There are times in our lives such as when we have recently moved into a new town, or changed our jobs or schools. Such changes often leaves us without a friend. Making new friends comes easy for some people. But for many of us the process is difficult and requires courage. Below are some helpful suggestions on how to make and keep friends.
Associate with others.
The first step to making friends is associating with other people. You can go to public places to meet new people. Besides, you will need to make yourself known by becoming an active member of such places.
Start a conversation.
Starting a conversation is the second most important step in making new friends. Do not wait to be spoken to. You can always start the conversation. Being able to make small talk is a very useful skill in relating with other people.
Do things together.
Choosing friends with common interests is important in building friendship as these interests would always bring you and your friend together. Hanging out will always be a pleasant experience.
Let it grow.
It is a good thing to stay in touch. However, try not to press your new friend with calls, messages or visits as this would likely wear him or her out and finally you may lose your friend. So you will need to give your friend time to react to you. The best friendships are the ones that grow naturally.
Enjoy your friendship.
The best way to enjoy your friendship is to allow your friends to be themselves. Try not to find fault with your friends. Try not to change them from who they are to what you want them to be. Become the kind of friend you will want your friend to be to you.
How to Make Friends
It’s ______ for us to have a good friend.
Many of us have ___ in making and keeping friends.
Below are some suggestions.
I．Associate with others.
Go to public places to meet new persons.
Be active to make people know you.
II．Start a conversation.
Speak to other people actively by making small talk.
III．Do things together.
Choose friends who have __ with you
Have an aimless___with your friends for pleasure.
IV．Let it grow.
Avoid pressing your new friend with calls, messages or visits all the time.
Give time to your friend to adapt to you.
V．Enjoy your friendship.
Try not to find _ with your friends.
Let your friends be themselves
Strive to improve yourself.
A 33-year-old financial analyst in California recently quit his job to devote himself to an unpaid job teaching math on the Internet, and his lessons are reaching almost 100，000 people a month. Sal-man Khan's voice is heard every day on the net—by tens of thousands of students around the world who are hungry for help in learning math. He has posted 1，200 lessons on YouTube—lessons that appear on an electronic blackboard, which range from basic addition to advanced mathematics for science and finance. And they are free.
Khan lives in Silicon Valley, with his wife, a doctor, and their new baby. He got the idea for his “Khan Academy" four years ago, when he taught a young cousin how to convert (转换）kilograms to grams. With Khan's help, the cousin got good at math, and Khan began a new career.
Now, Khan records his lessons himself, but he never goes on camera. “It feels like my voice in their head. You're looking at it and it feels like someone's over your shoulder talking in your ear, as opposed to someone at the blackboard, which is distant from you，” he said.
When Springfield High School in Palo Alto, California invited Khan to speak in person—he immediately connected to the students there.
The idea of short lessons that can be played over and over again attracted high school senior Bridget Meaney. She says she had trouble with math in the seventh grade. “I think the teachers are good, but they can't teach at a speed that's perfect for everyone，” she said. “I like the idea of learning something in class but then going back and pressing pause or rewind (倒回）and actually getting a deeper understanding of it. ”
Originally, Khan kept his lessons short because of YouTube restrictions (限制）. Now, he thinks short is better. “Education researchers now tell me that 10 minutes is how long someone can have a high level of concentration. And anything beyond that and your brain switches off，"he said.
For Khan, teaching math, science, and finance is just the beginning. He says he's ready to expand his YouTube site to include other subjects as well. What gave Khan the idea of teaching math online?
| A．His success in helping his cousin learn math. |
| B．His discovery that many students found learning math difficult. |
| C．A suggestion made to him at a local high school. |
| D．His interest in Internet teaching. |
Why does Khan never go on camera?
| A．He's too shy to show his face on camera. |
| B．It's restricted by YouTube for education videos. |
| C．He wants to keep distant from the viewers. |
| D．He wants to create a more relaxed learning atmosphere. |
Why does Bridget Meaney like Khan's lessons?
| A．Khan teaches seventh grade math better than her teacher. |
| B．The lessons can be watched repeatedly until fully understood. |
| C．She can perfectly follow the pace of Khan's teaching. |
| D．She cannot concentrate when learning in class. |
From the passage, we know that __________.
| A．Khan travels to many schools to promote his lessons |
| B．Khan plans to include more subjects in the future |
| C．Khan gives live math lessons every day for free |
| D．Khan set up the Khan Academy with his wife |
Most people have a general list before a job interview—updating a resume (简历)，ironing a professional suit, rehearsing an explanation for those two years spent after college. However, if tidying up the Facebook profile isn't on that list, maybe it should be.
According to a new study conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder. com45 percent of employers questioned are using social networks to screen people looking for jobs this year—more than double from a year earlier, when a similar survey found that just 22 percent of employers were researc-hing potential hires on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Linkedln.
The study, which questioned 2，667 managers and human resource workers, found that 35 percent of employers decided not to offer a job to a candidate based on the content uncovered on a social net-working site.
The report showed that Facebook was the most popular online destination for employers to do their online sleuthing(侦查），followed by Linkedln and MySpace. In addition，7 percent followed job applicants on Twitter. More than half of the employers who participated in the survey said that provocative(挑衅的）photos were the biggest factor contributing to a decision not to hire a potential employee, while 44 percent of employers aimed at references to drinking and drug use as red flags. Other warning signs included bad-mouthing of previous employers and colleagues and poor online communication skills.
While most of these may seem like obvious blocks, what consists of alarming behavior to a particular employer? Would photographs of a trip to the beach be considered inappropriate? To be on the safe side, it's probably wise to use the new privacy settings offered by Facebook to keep everything but the most innocuous(无害的）content away from the public eye. Your general list before a job interview should include all the following EXCEPT __________.
| A．a written form of your education and previous jobs |
| B．preparing appropriate clothes |
| C．tidying up your information on social net-works |
| D．rehearsing what the employer would say to you |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Social networks are not important in job hunting. |
| B．Online information about job hunters is not reliable. |
| C．We should be careful while sending photos to social networks. |
| D．Facebook is not so popular as it used to be. |
Why should the job seekers use the new privacy settings offered by Facebook?
| A．Because they can keep everything from being seen by others. |
| B．Because they can keep the employers from seeing the inappropriate content. |
| C．Because they can only allow a particular employer to see their data online. |
| D．Because they can allow their friends to see their trips to the beach. |
The passage is mainly intended for __________.
| A．employers |
| B．employees |
| C．people work for Facebook |
| D．job applicants |
America is becoming a nation of book lovers— notebooks, netbooks and smartbooks; that is, if you believe the computer manufactures.
Notebooks
Notebooks, the senior citizens of mobile computing, are slimmed-down laptops. A notebook is an extremely lightweight PC, typically weighing less than 6 pounds and often compact enough to fit easily into a briefcase(公文包）. Aside from portability (轻便）and size, the biggest difference between a notebook computer and a desktop PC is the display screen. In terms of computing power, modern notebook computers are nearly equal to PCs.
Netbooks
The weight of a notebook can cause a lot of wear and tear on the shoulders, which is one reason why mobile workers joined the netbooks land rush. Also called mini notebooks, ultra portables or sub- notebooks, these small, light and inexpensive lap-top computers are used for general computing and for access to web-based applications.
When first introduced, netbooks featured smaller screens and keyboards, often had reduced specification and computing power, and lacked key features, such as optical drives (光驱）. They've since grown in size and features, often confusing the distinction between a netbook and notebook computer.
A netbook's display typically ranges from 7 to 10 inches. It weighs less than 3 pounds, and sup-ports a keyboard that is reduced in size. Netbooks have built-in WiFi, Ethernet, USB ports and slots (扁口）for flash memory cards. To keep them small and compact, netbooks do not have a CD or
DVD drive, and many use solid-state flash drives in-stead of hard drives for storage. Flash drives have no moving parts so they're less likely to break, and are smaller than regular hard drives, which saves space and weight.
Smartbooks
Smartbooks are the newest book on the block. Smartbooks combine the features of both a smart- phone and a netbook computer in a device that's mobile like a phone, yet comes in a laptop-style body with a screen that's 5 to 10 inches in size. Other features include long battery life，3G connectivity and GPS capability. And it has long battery life，8 to 12 hours.
Smartbooks are for the group who like multimedia and social networking, and have real-time information flow. What do we know about a notebook?
| A．It can serve as a briefcase. |
| B．It may cause pain in your shoulders. |
| C．It has as big a display screen as PCs. |
| D．It can deal with calculation as well as PCs. |
A netbook does NOT have __________
| A．a hard drive |
| B．a USB slot |
| C．a flash drive |
| D．a keyboard |
Which of the following is a smart book?
The purpose of writing this passage is to __________
| A．prove how Americans love books now |
| B．advertise several new kinds of books |
| C．introduce some mobile computing devices |
| D．explain the development of computers |
Some young Cambodians are learning a new sport—skateboarding. The country's first skateboard park is located on the grounds of a local charity group at the edge of Phnom Penh, the capital.
Sports like Khmer boxing and soccer are wildly popular in Cambodia. But Chea, who has been skating for 6 months, says skateboarding has already become his favorite sport.
The skateboarders are learning tricks like launching a jump or flying through the air on their narrow wooden boards.
A non-governmental organization called Skateistan Cambodia organizes weekly programs at the park. Skateistan started its work in Afghanistan years ago. Rory Burke is working with the group which expanded to Cambodia last year.
Rory Burke points out, "Yeah, it's definitely not a typical Cambodian pastime(休闲活动). And I think the idea of* why skateboarding'exists because it's not been done before here. We want to use skateboarding as something saying, ‘Hey, this is something new and different.' And that kind of itself becomes a little bit of hook. People see it and they think and they say, 'Wow, what is that?' and they want to get involved. "
Skateistan partners with local groups work with young people. The park is on the grounds of the group known as PSE, where children attend school and learn a trade. There are almost one hundred and twenty participants. They all come from troubled lives.
Seventeen-year-old Sang Rotha is a student at PSE. "Sometimes I don’t do well in subjects like math, "he sayst" I feel bad when I find it hard to keep up with my lessons. So that is why I skateboard to improve my bad feelings. "
He says he began skateboarding more than a year ago. Before he started training, it seemed very easy. But it was very difficult to learn tricks, and he got hurt a lot from falling off.
Rory Burke says learning to deal with the difficulties is part of the lesson for these young skateboarders. According to the passage, PSE is a group ________ .
| A．that works with Cambodian students |
| B．for young Cambodians to learn a trade |
| C．for young Cambodians in troubled lives |
| D．for young Cambodians taking skateboarding |
What is said about skateboarding in the passage?
| A．It is easy for young Cambodians to learn. |
| B．It is a good sport to help regain good feelings. |
| C．It originated in Afghanistan years ago. |
| D．It is as popular as Khmer boxing in Cambodia. |
The underlined part" a little bit of hook" in Paragraph 5 probably means ________ .
| A．something strange | B．something new |
| C．something different | D．something attractive |
It can be inferred from the passage that skateboarding is becoming ________ .
| A．a sport liked by most young Cambodians |
| B．an increasingly popular sport in Cambodia |
| C．a sport used to better young Cambodians’ life |
| D．a good way to train young Cambodians' learning skills |
Australia is famous for its beautiful beaches. And Australian people love swimming and going to the beach. But it wasn't always that way.
Different Climate, Different Habits
When Europeans first invaded (侵略）Australia, the only people here who were good at swimming were the Aboriginal people. The Europeans came from climates where it was too cold to swim. However the warm climate of Australia soon changed their attitude to swimming. At first, only men swam. They swam without any clothes on— there were no women to see them.
Cover up!
By the 1880s and 1890s visiting the beach was very fashionable. People wore everyday street clothes—much more than people wear at the beach today.
In those days people believed they should cover their most body so it would not be seen by the opposite sex. Special bathing costumes (服装） were designed for women. This costumes used a lot of cloth and were very heavy when wet, making it difficult to swim.
Laws Made and Laws Changed
The government decided to stop men swimming naked. It passed a law which forbade bathing between 6 am and 7 am. But in 1903，the laws changed; people could swim in the daytime, but they had to wear neck-to-knee costumes.
The Shrinking Costume
As time passed, swimming costumes became smaller and more convenient.
At first men and women were covered from neck to knee. Then arms became bare. Then more of the legs were uncovered. Each new change was regarded by many as shocking and rude and people wrote letters to the newspapers complaining about the new costume. Nowadays some people go to special "nude beaches" to swim naked.
However, most people cover their bodies more than they did ten years ago—not because they think bare skin is shocking—but to protect their skin from the harmful rays of the sun. Which of the following statements about the climate of Australia is TRUE?
| A．It made European settlers think differently about swimming. |
| B．It changed European settlers' swimming costume. |
| C．It made European settlers feel much hotter. |
| D．It made European settlers have to swim naked. |
What should swimmers do during the late 19th century?
| A．They should hide when they meet a person of the opposite sex. |
| B．They should cover their body to avoid being seen by the opposite sex. |
| C．They should wear many heavy clothes on beaches. |
| D．They should wear special wet costumes designed for them. |
What does the underlined sentence mean?
| A．People were surprised by each new change and criticized it. |
| B．People were amazed by each new change and praised it. |
| C．Only newspapers were in favor of each new change. |
| D．Only newspapers thought poorly of each new change. |
What can we conclude from the last paragraph?
| A．People worry about getting skin cancer from too much sun. |
| B．People protected their swimming costumes from too much sun. |
| C．People are greatly shocked by the nude beaches. |
| D．People think it rude to swim with the smaller costumes. |