[00:-2.00]Friendship can bring people closer together and help them understand each other.
[00:-3.00]Friendship comes in all shopes,colours,and sizes.
[00:-4.00]Only when all contribute their firewood can they build up strong fire.
[00:-5.00]-Chinese Proverb
[00:-6.00]Section 1 New words and Ideas
[00:-7.00]I've got new friends!
[00:-8.00]September 28,2004 Dear Jenny,
[00:-9.00]We have been talking to each other mostly through e-mail.
[00:10.00]This time,i choose to write a letter instead,
[00:11.00]as I feel like writing English with a pen.
[00:12.00]When I write with a pen,it seems easier for me to express my thoughts and feeling.
[00:13.00]It is almost a month since school started.I really like being in high school.
[00:14.00]It's exciting.There are so many new things to do and so many new frineds to meet.
[00:15.00]Hight school students in China live a busy but colourful life.
[00:16.00]We are under lots of pressure.
[00:17.00]We have to work hard for the National College Entrance Examinations,
[00:18.00]which will take place in less three years.
[00:19.00]The examinations will be extremely competitive.
[00:20.00]Now I have a great group of friends.
[00:21.00]We take all of our classes together in the same classroom.
[00:22.00]It's good to have friends to study with because we can help each other.
[00:23.00]I'm pretty good at English,so many guys ask me for help in English class.
[00:24.00]I dont' mind.After school we usually go to play sports for a little while.
[00:25.00]Sometimes we take a walk down by th river or visit some bookstores.
[00:26.00]We have to be back for evening class at 7:30.
[00:27.00]Amoug this group,there is one guy named Dazhi,whom I like most.
[00:28.00]I met him on the sports ground one afternoon.He was sitting alone,deep in thought.
[00:29.00]I went up him and introduced myself.
[00:30.00]I learned from our talk that he is from the countryside
[00:31.00]some two hundred kilometres away from Shijiazhuang.
[00:32.00]Dazhi's fascinating life has been very different from mine.
[00:33.00]As time goes on,I find we have many similar interests and hobbies.
[00:34.00]I think I can learn a lot from him.
[00:35.00]Being friends means learning from each other.Don't you thing so?
[00:36.00]I have invited Dazhi to come to my hom for dinner this Sunday.
[00:37.00]I think we will have a good time together.
[00:38.00]We will have lots of things to share with each other.
[00:39.00]I am quite happy with this growing friendship.
[00:40.00]It has opened a door to many new experiences.
[00:41.00]I must go back to class now. Bye,your friend,Li Ming
[00:42.00]October 7,2004 Dear Li Ming,
[00:43.00]Thank you very much for your letter.
[00:44.00]Yes.I agree with you that writing with a pen is sometimes
[00:45.00]a better way to express our thoughts and feelings.
[00:46.00]When I type on the computer I feel like I am doing homework,
[00:47.00]but when I write,I feel more creative.
[00:48.00]Writing to my friends is something I do for pleasure,
[00:49.00]not because I have to do it.
[00:50.00]Like you,I really enjoy being in high school.
[00:51.00]Indeed,there are so many new friends to meet and so many new thing to do.
[00:52.00]My best friend is named Pat.She attends the same school,
[00:53.00]but we are not having all the classes together.
[00:54.00]We have our gym class together every day in the third block.
[00:55.00]I like having Pat at my school.
[00:56.00]We eat lunch together in the cafeteria every day.
[00:57.00]We talk and laugh a lot.I would hate to eat lunch alone.
[00:58.00]Yesterday,we eat with two other girls who are in Pat's science class.
[00:59.00]They were very nice.We started talking and I was surprised to find out
[-1:00.00]that one of them has a cousin who lives near my house.
[-1:-1.00]Mabybe we will get together at her cousin's house one day.
[-1:-2.00]I like meeting new friends.
[-1:-3.00]Pat and I want to try out for the basketball team this year.
[-1:-4.00]Playing sports is a lot of fun and a good way to meet friends,too. [-1:-5.00]Last year,my friend Kera and I palyed on a team together.
[-1:-6.00]Every time I has a bad game,she was always there to encourage me
[-1:-7.00]and meke me feel better.
[-1:-8.00]She would tell me to forget about the mistakes and focus on the rest of the game.
[-1:-9.00]Sometimes she would make a joke
[-1:10.00]and then we would laugh and continue playing the game.
[-1:11.00]It always feels good to have friends
[-1:12.00]to share the good times as well as the bad times.
[-1:13.00]Sometimes we took a bus to other cities for the weekend for games.
[-1:14.00]I really liked those!I hope we can go on trips with this team,too.
[-1:15.00]This Friday,Pat is having a party ar her house[-1:16.00]These will be six girls there,including me,and we will have a sleep-over.
[-1:17.00]I can hardly wait!Sleep-over parties are the best!
[-1:18.00]We listen to music and talk and talk and talk all night long.
[-1:19.00]I think the most important thing for me is to have good friends to talk to.
[-1:20.00]I like to talk to them everything
[-1:21.00]-everyday things,funny things,difficult things,and important things.
[-1:22.00]We event ell each other secrets.Friends are special.
[-1:23.00]With best wishes,Your friend,Jenny
[-1:24.00]Section 2 Meaning through practice
[-1:25.00]C.Bild you listening skills
[-1:26.00]1.Listen to the passage of Tom talking about
[-1:27.00]making friends in his new school in Canada.
[-1:28.00]Then decide if the answer is true or false.
[-1:29.00]In brackets,write"T"for"true and "F" for false.
[-1:30.00]2.Listen to Sherry talking friendship,and then fill in the blanks.
[-1:31.00]Section 4 Reading for meaning
[-1:32.00]On friends and friendship
[-1:33.00]Friendship can bring people closer together and help them understand each other.
[-1:34.00]Everyone can have a frined:African,American,Asian,English,or French...
[-1:35.00]Friendship comes in al shapes,colours,and sizes.
[-1:36.00]It shouldn't matter what you look like.
[-1:37.00]Just be yourself,be a friend,and stay a friend!-Shiree
[-1:38.00]The better part of one's consists of his friendships.-Abraham Lincoln
[-1:39.00]A friend is a gift you give yourself.-Robert Louis Stevenson
[-1:40.00]A cheerful friend is like a sunny day sreading brightness all around.-John Lubcock
[-1:41.00]A friend in need is a friend indeed.-Latin Proverb
[-1:42.00]Every person is a new door to a different world.-Anonymous
[-1:43.00]A good frined is hard to find,harder to lose,and impossible to forget.-Anonymous
[-1:44.00]The secret to friendship si being a good listener.-Ancient Proverb
[-1:45.00]Everyone hears what you say.Friends listen to what you say.
[-1:46.00]Best friends listen to what you dont' say.-Anonymous
[-1:47.00]Money might make you wealthy,but friends make you rich.-Anonymous
[-1:48.00]The only unsinkable ship is Friendship.-Ancient Proverb
[-1:49.00]Reading for sharing Friendship stories
[-1:50.00]Here are few excerpts from journal entries
[-1:51.00]written by some North American high school students.
[-1:52.00]Thanks to their generosity.
[-1:53.00]We have this wonderful opportunity to share their true stories of friendship.
[-1:54.00]A teenage girl walked into school one day.
[-1:55.00]She was dressed as usual in her blue jeans and a light pink shirt.
[-1:56.00]However,it was her face that gave her away.
[-1:57.00]It was normally full of smiles,but that day she looked sad.
[-1:58.00]Her friends noticed it and asked her,"Are you all right?What's wrong?"
[-1:59.00]She tried to convince them that there was nothing worong.
[-2:00.00]But her friends knew her too well..
[-2:-1.00]Finally she told her frineds that she had failed her English test,
[-2:-2.00]and that her parents would be amd at her.
[-2:-3.00]Her friends understood and calmed her down.
[-2:-4.00]They eventually made her realize that she should tell her parents right away.
[-2:-5.00]So she did.Her parents were not as angry as she had originally though they would be.
[-2:-6.00]She was grateful that her friends were there for her.
[-2:-7.00]She was thankful that her friedds knew her so well.-D.L. [-2:-8.00]I once had a best friend.We did everything together.
[-2:-9.00]We had all our classes together.She taught me many things,
[-2:10.00]and I hope I taught her some things as well.
[-2:11.00]We were inseparable.Then it happened.She got a boyfriend.
[-2:12.00]Our friendship slowly changed.We didn't talk any more.
[-2:13.00]We didn't do anything together any longer.
[-2:14.00]This event made me stronger as individual.
[-2:15.00]I met new people.I did my own things..
[-2:16.00]Although it was painful to lose such a close friend,
[-2:17.00]it built me up into the individual person I am today.
[-2:18.00]Now this best friend and I ate becoming better friends than we were before.-H.H
[-2:19.00]The Power of Friendship
[-2:20.00]Dogs and elephants,just like lions and tigers,nor cats and mice,
[-2:21.00]traditionally have been"natural enemies".
[-2:22.00]Dogs bark at elephants because they are afraid of the large animals.
[-2:23.00]Elephants get annoyed at the barking dogs and chase them.
[-2:24.00]It has been like that forever.
[-2:25.00]Once upon a time,there was a well-fed royal bull elephant.
[-2:26.00]Living nearby was a poorly-fed stray dog.
[-2:27.00]The dog was attracted by the smell of the rich sweet rice
[-2:28.00]being fed to the royal elephant.
[-2:29.00]He began to eat the rice that fell from the elephants mouth[-2:30.00]While enjoying his food,the mighty elephant didn't notice the tiny,shy,stray dog.
[-2:31.00]Feeding on the pieces of food dropped from the elephant's mouth,
[-2:32.00]the once underfed dog gradually grew bigger and stronger,
[-2:33.00]and became very handsome.
[-2:34.00]The good-natured elephant began to enjoy the dog's company.
[-2:35.00]The dog grew used to being around the elephant.
[-2:36.00]He lost his fear and no longer barked at him.
[-2:37.00]Before long,neither would eat without the other.
[-2:38.00]When they played,the dog would grab the elephant's heavy trunk,
[-2:39.00]and the elephant would swing him forward and backward,
[-2:40.00]from side to side,up and down,and even in circles!
[-2:41.00]So it was that they became"best friends,"and never wanted to be separated.
[-2:42.00]Then one day,a man from a remote village,
[-2:43.00]who was visiting the city,passed by the elephant shed.
[-2:44.00]He saw the beautiful dog and bought him from the mahout.
[-2:45.00]He took the dog back to his home village,
[-2:46.00]without anyone knowing where that was.
[-2:47.00]Soon,the royal bull elephant became very said.
[-2:48.00]since he missed his best friend the dog.
[-2:49.00]He didn't want to do anything,not even eat or drink or bathe.
[-2:50.00]So the mahout had to report this to king,
[-2:51.00]although he said nothing about selling the friendly dog.
[-2:52.00]It just so happened that the king had an intelligent minister
[-2:53.00]who was known for his understanding of animals.
[-2:54.00]He ordered the minister to go and find the reason for the elephant's condition.
[-2:55.00]The wise minister saw once that the royal bull elephant was sad.
[-2:56.00]He thought,"This once happy elephant does not appear to be sick in any way.
[-2:57.00]But I have seen this condition before,in men and animals alike.'
[-2:58.00]Then he said to the guards,"I find no sickness.
[-2:59.00]He seems to be grief-stricken due to the loss of a friend.
[-3:00.00]Do you know if this elephant had a close friendship with anyone?"
[-3:-1.00]They told him about the friendship between the royal elephant and the stray dog.
[-3:-2.00]The minister returned to the king and said.
[-3:-3.00]"Your majesty,I am happy to say your elephant is not sick.
[-3:-4.00]As strange as it may sound,he became best friends with a stray dog!
[-3:-5.00]Since the dog has been taken away,
[-3:-6.00]the elephant and does not feel like eating or drinking or bathing."
[-3:-7.00]"Friendship is one of life's most wonderful things.
[-3:-8.00]My minister,how can we bring back my elephant's friend and make him happy again?"
[-3:-9.00]"My lord,"replied the minister,"I suggest you make an official announcement.
[-3:10.00]Whoever has the dog that used to live to the royal elephant shed,will be fined[-3:11.00]This was done.When the villager heard of it,he released the dog from his house.
[-3:12.00]The dog ran as far as he could,straight back to his best friend,
[-3:13.00]the royal bull elephant.
[-3:14.00]The elephant was so overjoyed that he picked up his friend with his trunk
[-3:15.00]and sat him on top of his head.
[-3:16.00]The happy dog wagged his tail while the elephant danced with delight.
[-3:17.00]They both lived happily ever after.