“No man is an island” is a well-known line from John Donne’s Devotion, written more than three hundred years ago. Even now people still agree with him.
No one can live a completely isolated life. Without other people, life became empty and sad. We all need friends.
For some of us, though making friends is not difficult, feeling shy, we may not want to make the first move. It is also difficult at times to keep the friends we already have.
There are many books about friendship, but Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, written in 1936, is the most famous. This “how to” book about getting along with other people became a best-seller. It was later put into 28 languages.
Dale Carnegie’s advice seems to be simple, but can his advice help you? Do you need to change the way you act? Here is the list of advice from his book.
1. Be friendly and polite. Always greet with a smile. Begin with “excuse me” or “would you please”, when you want to ask somebody. Remember to say “thank you” and try to be as helpful as you can.
2. Go out of your way to be nice. Find some time to do special things for other people. Making some soup for a sick neighbor may seem like a little thing to you, but it will make your neighbor feel a lot better.
3. Remember names. They say that the sweetest music to a person’s ears is the sound of his or her own name.
4. Be open-minded. Try to understand other people’s ways and ideas and learn something from them.
5. Listen patiently. When someone is talking to you, look at him or her, listen carefully and say something when necessary.
小題1:The underlined sentence “No one can live a completely isolated life” means “______” in this passage.
| A．No one can live a hard life |
| B．No one can live without difficulty |
| C．No one can live alone |
| D．No one can live on an island |
小題2:Some of us feel it not easy to make friends because ________.
| A．we are afraid to make bad friends |
| B．we are too shy to take the first action |
| C．we feel worried that we won’t be able to keep our friends |
| D．we feel sure that we already have enough friends |
小題3:We can learn from this passage that ________.
| A．John Donne learned something from Dale Carnegie |
| B．friends are always friends |
| C．few people bought Carnegie’s book |
| D．the writer of this passage agrees with John Donne and Dale Carnegie |
小題4:Which of the following is NOT mentioned in Carnegie’s book?
| A．Say “excuse me” before you ask. |
| B．Don’t visit your neighbor too often. |
| C．Think more about others. |
| D．People enjoy hearing their own names. |
小題5:The best possible title for this passage should be “________”.
| A．How to Make Friends |
| B．A Famous Book |
| C．About Friendship |
| D．John Donne and Dale Carnegie |
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