When the telephone rings late at night, most women guess it must be one of only four or five people calling. A sister?Maybe.An emergency?Possibly.A mother?Probably not at that time of night. Much more probably it is a close female friend calling to tell you that she has split up with her boyfriend again or perhaps simply that a good movie has just started on TV.

At a time when families are spread far and wide and marriages often end in divorce, friendships are becoming more and more important. Erika, a 32-year-old lawyer, is strengthened by her ten-year friendship with her married friend Jane. “I was very sick one night, so I called Jane at about 3:00 a.m. to talk about it,” she says. “She was very supportive and even came over to take me to the doctor’s the next morning.”

As American TV shows like Friends, which follows the lives of a very close group of young friends, have become more popular, many of us are beginning to see the value of such friendships. TV shows like this tell us that our romantic relationships may not last, but we need to keep in touch with our close friends if we want to survive.

A TV show called Real Women is about the lives and relationships of five former school friends. In this show, family, husbands, and work are all less important than friendships. One of its actresses says the show reflects her own experience. “Friendship is about commitment. I don’t see some of my friends for ages but when we get together, it is as if time hasn’t passed.”

This is true of Erika and Jane’s friendship. With Erika’s family 200 miles away, it is Jane who keeps a spare set of keys to Erika’s apartment and waters her plants whenever she is away. “Having Jane around gives me a certain amount of freedom. It is not the kind of thing that you could ask anyone to do, but she knows I would do the same for her.” Erika feels that because she no longer sees her family every day, she now enjoys a closer relationship with her best friend. Jane, who may move to a different city soon, is worried about leaving such a support system of friends. “My friends have more to do with my life than my parents and, therefore, I don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining things to them. Friends are more up to date with what is happening.”

1.According to the passage, a late-night phone call for most women is probably from ________.

A. a friendB. a relativeC. a strangerD. a doctor

2.TV shows like Friends tell us that ________.

A. marriages with friends often end up in failure

B. families and work are as important as friends

C. close friends help us face problems in life

D. friendship fades as time goes by

3.From the passage, we can learn that Erika and Jane ________.

A. live far away from each other

B. have been friends for 32 years

C. spend a lot of time explaining things

D. trust and support each other in daily life

4.Which of the statements will the author probably agree with?

A. A near friend is more helpful than a faraway relative.

B. Both marriage and friendship demand commitment.

C. However far away we’re, parents worry about us.

D. Long distance makes the hearts closer.

My doorbell rings. On the step, I find the elderly Chinese lady, small and slight, holding the hand of a little boy. In her other hand, she holds a paper carrier bag.

I know this lady. It is not her first visit. She is the boy’s grandmother, and her daughter bought the house next door last October.

Her daughter, Nicole, speaks fluent English. But she is now in Shanghai, and her parents are here with the little boy. Nicole has obviously told her mother that I am having heart surgery soon, so her mother has decided I need more nutrients.

I know what is inside the bag—a thermos with hot soup and a stainless-steel container with rice, vegetables and either chicken, meat or shrimp, sometimes with a kind of pancake. This has become an almost-daily practice.

Communication between us is somewhat affected by the fact that she doesn’t speak English and all I can say in Chinese is hello. Once, she brought an iPad as well as the food. She pointed to the screen, which displayed a message from her daughter telling me that her mother wanted to know if the food was all right and whether it was too salty. I am not used to iPads, so she indicated I should go with her to her house. Then, she handed the iPad to her husband and almost immediately I found myself looking at Nicole in Shanghai and discussing her mother’s cooking and salt intake. Instantly, tears welled in my eyes.

“Your mother just can’t be bringing me meals like this all the time,” I insisted. “I can hardly do dishes in return.”

“Oh, no, Lucy.” Nicole said. “Mum doesn’t like western food. Don’t worry about it; she has to cook for the three of them anyway, and she wants to do it.”

The doorbell keeps ringing and there is the familiar brown paper carrier bag, handed smilingly to me.

I am now working on some more Chinese words—it’s the least I can do after such display of kindness.

“Thank you” is, of course, the first one. Somehow, it seems inadequate.

1.The elderly Chinese lady visits Lucy regularly because ________.

A. Lucy pays her to deliver food

B. Lucy likes cooking Chinese food

C. she cares about Lucy’s state of health

D. she wants to make friends with Lucy

2.Nicole’s mum took an iPad to Lucy’s home for ________.

A. displayingB. communicating

C. cookingD. chatting

3.In this passage Lucy mainly expresses her ________.

A. preference for the Chinese food

B. gratitude to the Chinese family

C. love of the advanced technology

D. affection for the Chinese language

I’m part of the Roots & Shoots program founded by Dr. Jane Goodall. The program is intended to make and promote positive changes in the world. As Dr. Goodall says, “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

In Bulgaria, where I live, homeless dogs are everywhere. Many people here turn a blind eye to them. But I cannot ignore the life of a street dog whenever I see one wandering in the street, looking for something to eat. That’s why I’m no longer a food waster. When I see wasted food, I always think of a hungry dog climbing to garbage bins, searching for food that people have thrown there. When eating in a restaurant, I’m not afraid to take leftover food to feed stray cats or dogs.

A week ago, I saw a homeless dog around the garbage bins. Immediately I knelt down, spoke to her softly and ran my hands over her. I could see that she had had puppies. I couldn’t imagine how she could have been able to care for them. Hours earlier, I’d bagged up a plate of leftover fish. As I unwrapped it, she wagged her tail and sniffed at it. She ate all the fish in no time.

It’s sad, isn’t it? I can’t understand why many of us waste so much and think little of it. These homeless animals have taught me that food is precious. Even when I don’t have leftovers with me, I’ll take the time to get something from the grocery store to feed them.

I know my power is small, so I hope that next time you see wasted food, do turn it into worthy food. You have the power to save a life!

1.The author uses what Dr. Goodall says to show ________.

A. how we can develop our business

B. why it is important to be great

C. why the program is popular globally

D. how we can change the world positively

2.What can be concluded from the text?

A. There are few homeless dogs where the author lives.

B. The author takes homeless dogs home and raises them.

C. Seeing homeless dogs makes the author never waste food.

D. People throw food into garbage bins to feed homeless dogs.

3.The author took the leftover fish with him to ________.

A. eat it when he was hungry

B. feed a homeless dog he met

C. look for more homeless animals

D. set an example to those who throw away food

4.The author wrote the text to ask us to ________.

A. value our food

B. treat dogs as our friends

C. save wasted food for homeless dogs

D. raise homeless dogs and cats

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