Friendship is something that everyone needs. Success is nothing without friends. You share life, happiness and sadness. A friend is someone you can depend on in a time of need and that can trust you with every secret he or she has.

   So what happens when a friendship of eight years is broken over something out of their control? Does that mean it was never a true friendship to begin with?

   My friend and I met in high school and have known each other for nearly eight years. What happened recently broke our lifelong friendship.

   This makes me think about what friendship really means. I always thought my friend and I could get through any argument, fight, or the sadness of life. We promised each other we'd always be friends, through thick and thin. We even joked about how we would sit in a circle and laugh at some jokes when we had grandchildren. We always laughed at every little thing.

   But then her grandfather passed away and suddenly our friendship was nothing. It happened so suddenly that I never found out about it until I discovered a note she had written on the interact. I was sad and hurt that she would post what I told her for other people to see. I understand that she was sad and wanted to vent (发泄) her sadness, but I wish she'd kept everything between us.

   I don't understand why she broke our friendship, and I don't think I ever will. I think friendship means we'll always forgive each other for our mistakes. I hope that finally I'll find that a true friend who will always be there for me, I there for her.

The teacher stood before his class of 30 students and hand out the final exam papers. “I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test.” he said, “And because I know you are all able to understand this material, I am ready to offer a “B” to anyone who would prefer not to take the test.”

   A number of students jumped up to thank the teacher and left the classroom. The teacher looked at the remaining students and said, “Does anyone else want to get a “B”? This is your last chance.” Two more students decided to go.

   Seven students stayed. The teacher then handed out the papers. There were only three sentences which were written on the paper：Congratulations! You have received an “A”. Keep believing in yourself.

   I never had a teacher who gave a test like that, but I think that it is a test that any teacher could and should give. Students who do not have confidence in what they have learned are “B” students at most.

   The same is true for students in real life. The “A” students are those who believe in what they are doing because they have learned from both success and failures. They have learned life’s lessons, whether from formal education or from events in their lives, and have become better people. Scientists say that by the age of eight, 80% of what we believe about ourselves has already been formed. You are a big kid now, and you realize that you have some limits. However, there is nothing you can’t do. Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the top of Mount Qomolangma said, “We do not conquer the mountain, but ourselves.”

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。

 One day, a boy found an eagle's (鹰) egg and put it in the nest (窝) of a prairie (草原) chicken. The eagle hatched (孵化) and thought he was a chicken. He grew up doing what prairie chickens do. It was a boring life.

   Day after day, the eagle grew older. One day, he and his prairie chicken friend saw a beautiful bird soaring (翱翔) in the sky, high above the mountains. "Oh, I wish I could fly like that!" said the eagle. The chicken replied, "Don't give it another thought. That's the strong eagle, and it's the king of all birds. You could never be like him because you are a chicken!" And the eagle never thought about that. He went on living like a chicken. Even when he died, he thought he was a prairie chicken.

   My friend, you too are a small eagle. So try your best to fly upon (在...之上) the sky, and don't listen to the prairie chickens!

The day she won the lottery (彩票) was the greatest day of her life. As she took the check for one million dollars, Jenny, started making plans. A new house, a new car, a vacation in the sun. And of course, she could stop working--- give her life a big change.

   Eight years later, Jenny was out of money. The money was all gone. So were her friends. The new life was over, but how could she go back to her old one?

   Winners of sudden wealth often give up their jobs, and they don’t know what to do with the time. They may find that close friends are far away and that it’s difficult to make new ones. The new house often only leads to more loneliness. What seemed to be wonderful luck turns out to be the opposite. It seems that winning a lot of money doesn’t mean happiness. Just ask Jenny. She has got a new job and new friends now, but she would probably say, “Money isn’t everything…”

One day the son came to his father.”Dad, I can’t do this anymore. Those lessons only make me tired, and the result doesn’t change. It must be not suitable for me to play football and my dream will never come true.” said the son.

The father looked at his son with loving eyes.Here is what the father said.”You know son, every person in life has a dream, a goal of his life.They are the ones that make us do what we are doing because they are what we should do. We have to fight for what we believe in. The easiest way is to quit everything and not to go until the end because the path is difficult. We want everything to be easy.But the wishes are just wishes! This is how our dream dies, and the goal becomes unreachable.

But you only need to remember one thing: never give up, and fight for it.It doesn’t matter that you have lost one battle(战役)and even dozens of battles.Life goes on! Your biggest enemies are hiding in you---laziness,fear, doubt. Be warrior(勇士)of your dream, your goal and your wishes!

The teacher stood before his class of 30 students and hand out the final exam papers. “I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test.” he said, “And because I know you are all able to understand this material, I am ready to offer a “B” to anyone who would prefer not to take the test.”

   A number of students jumped up to thank the teacher and left the classroom. The teacher looked at the remaining students and said, “Does anyone else want to get a “B”? This is your last chance.” Two more students decided to go.

   Seven students stayed. The teacher then handed out the papers. There were only three sentences which were written on the paper：Congratulations! You have received an “A”. Keep believing in yourself.

   I never had a teacher who gave a test like that, but I think that it is a test that any teacher could and should give. Students who do not have confidence in what they have learned are “B” students at most.

   The same is true for students in real life. The “A” students are those who believe in what they are doing because they have learned from both success and failures. They have learned life’s lessons, whether from formal education or from events in their lives, and have become better people. Scientists say that by the age of eight, 80% of what we believe about ourselves has already been formed. You are a big kid now, and you realize that you have some limits. However, there is nothing you can’t do. Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the top of Mount Qomolangma said, “We do not conquer the mountain, but ourselves.”

One afternoon many years ago, I sat down on a bench in a park and watched a little boy, around 2 years old, running freely on the grass when his mother watched from a short distance. The boy would fall to the grass, get up, and without looking back at his mother, run as fast as he could as if nothing had happened.

  When kids fall down, they don’t think of the fall as a failure(失败). Instead, they consider it as a learning experience. They try and try again until they succeed.

  While I was moved by the boy’s strong mind, I was also moved by the way he ran. With each attempt(尝试), he looked so confident and natural. He only wanted to run freely and to do it as well as he could. He was just being a child—just being himself—being completely in the moment. He never gave up. Each time he fell, he got himself back up again, as if he knew that falling down was simply a part of life.

He was not looking for other’s smiles, or worrying about whether someone was watching or not. He only wanted to run and to feel the experience of running fully and freely. I learned a lot from that experience, and have successfully bought that lesson with me in many parts in my life.   

根据短文内容，选择正确答案。

Living and dealing with kids can be a tough job these days, but living and dealing with parents can be even tougher.

When I was in Grade I in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Carl. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on Friday? He must be a fool." I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friend tomorrow afternoon), so I shook my head and went on. Suddenly, a crowd of kids ran toward him, knocking all his books out of his arms and making him fall down on the mess. His glasses went flying, and I saw them fall on the grass about ten feet from him. He felt low and terrible. As he touched around looking for his glasses, I ran over to him. I handed him his glasses and said, "Those guys are awful. They really should be educated to be better."

   He smiled at me and said, "Hey, thanks!" I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. Then I knew he lived near me and he had studied in a private school before. We talked all the way home, and I carried his books. I found him a pretty cool kid actually. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes. The more I got to know Carl, the better I liked him. And my friends thought the same of him.

   Over the next two years, Carl and I have been best friends. One day, he told me he had to prepare a speech for graduation (毕业). I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I hugged him and said, "Hey, big boy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with a real grateful look and said thanks.

   As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began, "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you get through those hard times. Your parents, your teachers, your sisters and brothers, maybe a coach, but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give him or her. I am going to tell you a story."

   I just looked at my friend surprisingly as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend at that time. He mentioned how he had cleaned out the lock in his heart. He looked at me again and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the silly." He continued. I heard my own breath go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Morn and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize the meaning of their smiles.

   Never underestimate the power of your behaviors. With one small action, you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.

Life is like a train ride. We get on. We ride. We get off. We get back on and ride some more. There are accidents and there are delays（延误）. At certain stops there are surprises. Some of these will change into great moments of joy, some will have bad results.

When we are born and we first get on the train, we meet people whom we think will be with us for the whole journey. Those people are our parents! Sadly, this is far from the truth. Our parents are with us as long as we completely need them. They, too, have journeys they must complete. We live on with the memories of their love, emotion, friendship, and so on.

There are others who get on the train and who become very important to us after a long time, in turn. These people are our brothers, sisters, friends and someone we know, whom we will learn to love, and take care of.

Some people consider their journey like a pleasant and happy tour. They will just go merrily along. Others will encounter many upsets, tears and losses(失落) on their journey. Others still, will stay on to offer a helping hand to anyone in need.

Some people on the train will leave a deep impression when they get off. Some will get on and get off the train so quickly, they will hardly leave a sign.

We will sometimes be upset that some passengers, whom we love, will choose to sit in another compartment（车厢）and leave us to travel on our own. Then again, there’s nothing that says we can’t seek them out anyway. But when we found them, we may not even be able to sit next to them because that seat will already be taken.

That’s okay …everyone’s journey will be filled with hopes, dreams, challenges, difficulties and goodbyes.