Sir William Osler has a few words for you: “In the Life of a young man, the most essential thing for happiness is the gift of friendship.” Truer words were never spoken. For what more could you ask than comradeship during the peaks and valleys of life? To whom else but a close, valuable friend can you show off your successes and complain about your failures or losses?

What is a “good friend”? How is he best described? Well, it has been my observation that although many will cry with you, few can sincerely rejoice (欣喜) with you. Therefore, in my opinion, a good friend is one who can enjoy your successes without envy; one who can say, “That was wonderful! You can do it again, even better if you want!” and mean it. Nothing taxes a friendship more than the success of one and not the other. Even the closest of friendships often cannot resist such pressure and fail. No wonder many minor friendships go down day by day for the same reason.

A person of good character and sound moral, of honor and humor, of courage and belief is a friend to be sought and treasured — for there are few. Too often we hear, “If you can count your good friends on more than one hand, consider yourself blessed.”

What makes a friendship last? Well, I don’t know all the answers, but one of my observations is that most good friends usually have similar tastes. They generally like and dislike many of the same things. There also usually seems to exist a similarity of personality types — especially in the fundamental values of life such as honesty, sincerity, loyalty, and dependability. More often than not, birds of a feather do fly together. I don’t think it matters a lot whether one prefers jazz or hockey to another’s Mozart or ballet. Much other matters far more: relying, sharing, giving, getting, enjoying; a sympathetic ear always there; criticism when it can help; praise — even if only because it would help. With not many people on this earth will you find this much in common. When you find one, hang on to him, for a good friend found is a rare treasure.

1.The function of Paragraph 1 is to introduce ______.

A. a famous saying 

B. the topic for discussion

C. a famous person 

D. two different attitudes

2.What is the meaning of the underlined sentence in Paragraph two?

A. People don’t have to pay taxes to develop friendship with others.

B. Success of one person can promote his friendship with others.

C. Friendship can be affected by the difference in success between friends.

D. Nothing can affect friendship because it has gone through the peaks and valleys of life.

3.What is the main idea of Paragraph three ?

A. One is lucky to have many friends.

B. A friend should have a good character.

C. We should count our friends on more than one hand.

D. A true friend should be treasured because there are few.

4. According to the passage, which of the following plays the LEAST important role in a long-lasting friendship?

A. Hobbies.      B. Tastes.         C. Personality. D. Sympathy.

Sir William Osler has a few words for you: “In the Life of a young man, the most essential thing for happiness is the gift of friendship.” Truer words were never spoken. For what more could you ask than comradeship during the peaks and valleys of life? To whom else but a close, valuable friend can you show off your successes and complain about your failures or losses?

What is a “good friend”? How is he best described? Well, it has been my observation that although many will cry with you, few can sincerely rejoice (欣喜) with you. Therefore, in my opinion, a good friend is one who can enjoy your successes without envy; one who can say, “That was wonderful! You can do it again, even better if you want!” and mean it. Nothing taxes a friendship more than the success of one and not the other. Even the closest of friendships often cannot resist such pressure and fail. No wonder many minor friendships go down day by day for the same reason.

A person of good character and sound moral, of honor and humor, of courage and belief is a friend to be sought and treasured — for there are few. Too often we hear, “If you can count your good friends on more than one hand, consider yourself blessed.”

What makes a friendship last? Well, I don’t know all the answers, but one of my observations is that most good friends usually have similar tastes. They generally like and dislike many of the same things. There also usually seems to exist a similarity of personality types — especially in the fundamental values of life such as honesty, sincerity, loyalty, and dependability. More often than not, birds of a feather do fly together. I don’t think it matters a lot whether one prefers jazz or hockey to another’s Mozart or ballet. Much other matters far more: relying, sharing, giving, getting, enjoying; a sympathetic ear always there; criticism when it can help; praise — even if only because it would help. With not many people on this earth will you find this much in common. When you find one, hang on to him, for a good friend found is a rare treasure.

The function of Paragraph 1 is to introduce ______.

A. a famous saying 

B. the topic for discussion

C. a famous person 

D. two different attitudes

What is the meaning of the underlined sentence in Paragraph two?

A. People don’t have to pay taxes to develop friendship with others.

B. Success of one person can promote his friendship with others.

C. Friendship can be affected by the difference in success between friends.

D. Nothing can affect friendship because it has gone through the peaks and valleys of life.

What is the main idea of Paragraph three ?

A. One is lucky to have many friends.

B. A friend should have a good character.

C. We should count our friends on more than one hand.

D. A true friend should be treasured because there are few.

According to the passage, which of the following plays the LEAST important role in a long-lasting friendship?

A. Hobbies.    B. Tastes. C. Personality.       D. Sympathy.

It's every student's dream to do well in the national college entrance examination and enter a good university. In the eyes of students and parents, a good university should have a high ranking, and the employment rate of its graduates should be high. But be careful! The employment rate they tell you might not always be true.

Recently, people created a Chinese phrase "bei jiuye", which has become popular on the Internet almost overnight across China. The word "bei" has a grammatical use in Chinese: it has a function similar to the passive voice in English. But now people often use it to express their doubts about something. Here, the phrase "bei jiuye" has the literal meaning of "to be hired", but people understand that it really means "to be hired without one's knowledge" or "be hired for jobs that may not exist at all".

The story of "bei jiuye" goes like this. Zhao Dongdong, a graduate of a university in Shanxi province, was surprised to find that he got a job from a company he never applied to, which he wasn't even sure was a real place. On his last day of graduation ceremonies, he was surprised to come across the employment contract.

"God! At that time, I had not landed a job yet, but they gave me an employment contract! I wondered who on earth signed the contract with the company." When Zhao made a phone call to the company to check it out, no one answered.

He was not the only one in his college who was "hired" for a job that did not exist. One of his classmates signed a contract with a company called Xi'an Beilin Industrial Corporation, which could not be found on the Internet either. In the end, it turned out that the college had faked the contract to make it seem like the employment rate for new graduates was higher than that. By doing this, the college could build up a "good" reputation that could help it attract new students.

"Bei jiuye" is just one of many hot "bei" words on the Internet. See some of them in "Bonus". The use of "bei" is a satirical (讽刺的) way for the public to express its helplessness and criticize abuses of power, some people say. People also use "bei" words to bring attention to social problems, hoping they will be noticed by authorities.

The tragic death of celebrity Wang Bei has made people aware of the risks of cosmetic surgery, which is becoming increasingly popular．

       A survey on the reaction to Wang's death, conducted by Tencent, which runs China's most popular instant-messaging service, received more than 600,000 responses, as of press time Monday．Forty-one percent of respondents expressed sorrow over her death, saying, "It's a pity she died at such a young age．" Some 31 percent said she should have been more cautious and less vain, while 10 percent were enraged at the hospital that conducted the surgery．The remaining 18 percent were indifferent．

       A common thread of online discussion is why someone considered beautiful was so dissatisfied with her looks．Some netizens said Wang was a victim of society's unrealistic ideal of beauty: double eyelids, an aquiline nose and the pointed chin typical of Western celebrities．Others said her death underscores the limits to which people will go to achieve fame and fortune．Young people, see cosmetic surgery as the key to wealth and love．

       "They want to improve their appearance to find better opportunities at work and in marriage," says Ding Xiaobang, a plastic surgeon with the Peking Union Medical College Hospital．"We're living in a highly competitive society．People regard appearance as a weapon and a means of empowerment…Most of them tell me, 'I don't care how much I spend, just make me look beautiful'．" In the past decade, Ding says he Has seen a growing number of patients, like Wang Bei, who are young and naturally good-looking．The surgeon attributes this trend to people becoming richer, the standards of beauty changing, competition and frustration．

       "Some are frustrated with life and use surgery as a way to try and recover," lie says．

       The surge in demand for plastic surgery has resulted in a rise in the number of unauthorized business establishments and surgeons conducting such procedures．

       Meanwhile, experts say, young and beautiful people who still seek plastic surgery need to address their self-awareness issues and be more accepting．

       “They’ve built their identity around the admiration of others and fail to establish a system to assess themselves," says Zhu Wenbo, a psychologist with Blue Bay Psychological Consulting Center in Chengdu．"People's opinions always change, so this is not a reliable way to evaluate oneself．"

Most people are       toward the death of Wang Bei according to the survey.

       A．sympathetic     B．indifferent       C．enraged    D．not mentioned

Why is there such a trend of having medical cosmetic surgery according to Ding Xiaobang?

       A．People become richer.

       B．The standard the beauty always changes.

       C．People suffer fierce competition and frustration now and then.

       D．All of the above.

What kind of people is regarded as a beauty nowadays?

       A．a person with single eyelid, an aquiline nose and a  pointed chin

       B．a person with double eyelids, an aquiline nose and a pointed chin

       C．a person with double eyelids, a snub nose and a pointed chin

       D．a person with double eyelids, a snub nose and a chubby chin

The purpose of the text is to           .

       A．inform us that cosmetic surgery becomes popular.

       B．emphasize that young people should re-evaluate themselves rationally.

       C．raise concerns about the risk of medical cosmetology industry.

       D．state that people’s standard of beauty always changes.

Chinese girl looking for language exchanger
Posted Feb 10, 2010 16:25     by Sophia    
Tag: Seeking Language partners    Guangzhou     Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Chinese
I am a Chinese girl in my 20’s, can speak and write in English, but I’d like to make some improvement. People always look for making it better, right?
Meanwhile, I also like to meet more friends if we really have some topics to share.
And if you are in Guangzhou or visit here, I am more than willing to show you around in my spare time.
Reply to happycora@hotmail.com or call 15015704625
Tianhe nice apartment for share
Posted Feb 24, 2010 16:47     by Vivian  
Tag: Seeking roommates     Guangzhou  Tianhe District     Up to 2000 RMB
I have a room available for rent in a shared apartment in Central Tianhe district.
The room has a big window with a nice view. The apartment itself is on the 22th floor of a new secure building on Tianhe Bei Lu, about 10 minutes walk from metro stations on lines 1 and 3, as well as buses and other transportation methods very close.
If you are interested, please feel free to phone me (Vivian) on 13145751201 (message preferred), or email me on vivian_liu2003@hotmail.com.
Business Interpreter/Guide
Posted Feb 26, 2010 08:46     by Sony   
Tag: Business Services    Guangzhou  Baiyun District    
Dear Foreign Friends, I am a professional interpreter, now looking for a Freelance interpreter job urgently. Please read my CV at below：
Name: Sony Song
Gender: Male
Age: 22 years old
Education: Studied English in Da Shan Foreign Language College
Birth: 9th Oct 1987, Luohe city, Henan province, China.
Ability: Speak fluent English, know Guangzhou city very well, can also guide you to Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Shunde, Macao, Hongkong, etc.
Contact Detail: E-mail/MSN: sonysong4@hotmail.com; cell phone: 15112015812
Looking for flat
Posted Mar 11, 2010 14:03     by Lucy    
Tag: Apartments wanted     Guangzhou         
Hello,
This is Lucy coming from Peru and looking for a short term flat, from 15th April until 4th May 2010. If somebody can give some information, send me pictures, price and address.
Email: lucitamaron@hotmail.com; cell phone: 13800013900
Thanks a lot in advance!
【小题1】 If foreigner wants to learn some Chinese and make friends; he / she can call _________.