Nick is a student. He has four friends. They are Ben, Eric, Peter and Andy. But they are all very different. Nick is confident and kind. He is also a good listener. All of his friends like to talk to him about their problems. This is his best quality. Ben is the quietest friend of them. He is not energetic and active like Eric, or outgoing like Peter. But he is so patient and fair. When they have an argument, Ben is always there to listen to everyone and make sure that everybody stays friends. Andy is very clever and hard-working. He does the best in exams at school. It is really kind of Andy to help Peter with his homework when he is having trouble. They get along well with each other like brothers.

1.What do you think of Ben?

2. What is Nick’s best quality?

3.What is Peter like ?

4. What is it kind of Andy to do ?

5.Who is always there to make sure that everyone stays friends when they have an argument?

信息归纳

请阅读下面一篇有关生活中的困难的文章，根据所提供的信息，完成下列表格。

Life is full of difficulties, from birth to death. When we face with problems, we often feel, “I am the only one having such problems.” Or, we exaggerate (放大) our problems and regard them as most painful. But if we look around us, we find other people may be in much worse conditions.

Life is not always full of smiles and flowers. Every person has his own difficulties no matter who and where he is. So it's very important to have a correct attitude in your life. Only with the correct attitude can you face up all of your difficulties and finally overcome (战胜) them. First, you have to believe in yourself. That's the secret of success. Second, don't blame others when you have difficulties, because it can neither help you avoid difficulties nor help you solve them. And the most important thing is that don't run away or give up. Use your ability to clear the difficulties that appear in your life. Third, remember how you overcome the difficulty because it may help you avoid similar trouble next time. Just take it easy, enjoy the life even it's full of difficulties.

Information Card

Mom:    Daniel, I need to talk to you about your behavior. Dad and I realize there is probably an explanation for why the house is so dirty, but you shouldn’t have run out of the room and closed the door so hard like that.
Daniel:     Mom, I’m sorry, but I was so angry! You want me to act like an adult but you and dad treat me like a child. Why didn’t you just ask me what had happened?
Mom:    Well, I know that grown-ups are supposed to make good decisions but sometimes we make mistakes. We were angry too. None of us stopped to think and we should have. Can you explain to me now why the house was a mess and what you did with the money we left?
Daniel: Spot was sick, Mom. Eric and I didn’t want to call you and dad on your vacation, so I used the money you left and some of my own to take him to the vet. We stayed there and waited for him all day. That is why we didn’t have time to clean the house.
【小题1】 Who is Spot?

John is 14 years old. He is a student of Grade Eight. He was a very active and happy boy two years ago. But everything changed after he started to play computer games. He never plays basketball or football with his friends any more. And when he sits in the classroom, he can’t listen to the teachers. He sleeps in class. And he spends less and less time in studying. So he gets bad marks in tests. But he is very different after school is over. He stays in the net bar until it is closed. Ah, he loses himself in（沉迷于）computer games. His parents can do nothing to stop him. Every morning in the school, when we see that he is so tired after a night’s “busy working”, we really feel sad. He is too tired!
【小题1】John was ______two years ago.