Say you meet with difficulty, what’s the first thing you do? Call your best friend and ask for help? It turns out that doing this may be better for you than you think. Researchers find that friendship has a big influence on your health, well-being and business.

One study from scientists recently found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22% less likely to die during a 10-year period than those with fewer friends. Other researchers discovered that having a strong social network could improve brain health as we age.

Even more interesting, feeling close to your friends may give you a different view on things. Researchers gathered 34 college students out side and asked them to estimate the steepness(估计陡峭程度) of a hill after climbing it. Those standing with friends gave lower estimates, and the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared.

What is the reason that friends can make obstacles seem less difficult? “People with stronger friendship networks feel that there is someone they can turn to,” said Karen A. Roberto, director of the center of the hospital at Virginia Tech. “Friendship is a valued resource (宝贵的资源).”

It is truly the fact. Friends make your life better. They provide support in hard times. They inspire you to make changes in your life, encourage you to set goals and cheer you on every step of the way until you reach them.

Want to find out more about the power of friendship? Read “Be a Better Friend”, “Make New Friends” and “Keep the Old”.

1. According to the author, if you’ve lost your job you should        .

A. turn to your best friend      B. ask for advice from your teacher

C. face it bravely by yourself    D. ask your parents for help

2. We can learn from the study in Paragraph 2 that        .

A. people with a lot of friends can stay away from illnesses

B. people with many friends may enjoy a longer life

C. 22% of the people who have fewer friends have a short life

D. those who have fewer friends may die 10 years earlier.

3. The underlined word “obstacles” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to some thing___________

A. that you are hoping to achieve by a plan

B. that happens to you when you are working

C. that makes it difficult for us to achieve something

D. that you have been trying to do

4. The fifth paragraph was written to tell us that        .

A. we should make many friends  B. true friendship lives long

C. friend ship has changed us     D. friendship should be valued

Honesty may well be the policy, but it often deserts us when no one is watching, psychologists report today. Experiments with an honesty box to collect payments for hot drinks show that people are better at paying up when under the gaze(注视) of a pair of eyes. The surprise was that the eyes were not real, but photographed.

Researchers at Newcastle University set up the experiment in secret. They attached a poster to a cupboard of mugs above an-honesty box alongside a kettle, with tea, coffee and milk. Over 10 weeks, they alternated each week between images of eyes and pictures of flowers.

Dr. Bateson, a behavioral biologist and leader of the study, said that even though the eyes were not real they still seemed to make people behave more honestly. They effect may arise from behavioral characteristics that developed as early humans formed social groups that increased their chances of survival. Individuals had to co-operate for the good of the group, rather than act selfishly.

"If nobody is watching us it is in our interests to behave selfishly. But when we think we're being watched we should behave better, so people see us as co-operative and behave the same way towards us, "Dr. Bateson said.

"We thought we'd get a slight effect with eyes, but it was quite striking how much difference they made. Even at a subconscious(潜意识的) level, it seems people respond to eyes, and that might be because eyes send a strong biological signal we have evolved(进化) to respond to."

The finding, which researchers believe sheds light on our evolutionary past, could be turned to practical use. The psychologists say images of eyes could promote ticket sales on public transport and improve monitor systems to prevent antisocial behavior.

1. This passage is mainly about _______________.

A. the policy of honesty            B. an honesty box to collect money

C. evolution on honesty               D. an experiment on honesty

2. The reason for doing the experiment secretly is that the researchers _____________.

A. wanted to get a comparatively more exact result

B. had known they wanted to do something illegally

C. meant to get the co-operation of their colleagues

D. intended to sell the hot drinks at a higher price

3. People behave honestly under watchful gaze of eyes because _____________.

A. they want to leave a good impression   B. they fear to be laughed at by others

C. they've got the nature through evolution D. they take the photo for a real pair of eyes

4. Images of a pair of eyes can be applied to all except _____.

A. tickets sales on public transport          B. cold drink sales in public places

C. places with “No spitting!” signs          D. Christmas decorations in one’s home

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