My daughter is a single parent. She works hard to_____ for herself and her three young sons. She carefully controlled how much money they spent and_____ to plan for the little luxuries（奢侈品）. When her eldest son，David，wanted a_____ so that he could do an after-school newspaper delivery job，she_____ and soon，he was the proud_____ of a good second-hand bike.

One afternoon，my_____ asked David to go to a local shop. He rode his bicycle，but foolishly left it outside the shop_____ locking it up. When David came out of the shop，it was_____. He walked home in_____ and then，together with his frustrated mother，went to the local police station to report the______ .

Imagine their______ when they arrived at the station：David’s bike was in a car’s boot（行李箱）.The_____ told them how he’d seen a group of kids______ the bike once my grandson went inside the shop.

The driver—in his late teens himself-called out to them to“leave that bike______”. Despite this，one member of the group______ on the bicycle and rode it away while the others followed. Not to be ______，the teen got in his car，drove after them and______ that they give the stolen bike back.

He was______ to be able to return it to my grandson together with a lecture about the bad result of______ to use the bike lock. ______，in all the excitement，he slipped away，without even giving them his name or telephone number.

   How can I forget the day？On 14 July 1974 I travelled in an overcrowded bus to an unheard town called Shendurni. The next day，I was to join the department of a junior college there. _______ about my new job，but anxious and fearful too，I was out of my ________ zone. Around 7 p.m.it started pouring with rain. Wondering about my new career in an unknown land，I had _________ in my seat. I woke up with a（n）_______ to the sound of the conductor announcing（宣告）the name of my bus stop. I looked out. It was pitch-dark. Ah，a power cut. _________ was unusual during heavy rains. "Conductor Sahab，can I get some _________ for myself here？I'm new to the place，"I heard myself ask _______."Arme bhai，get off my bus and let us go. We _______ to reach the next station on time. Get yourself a place to stay. "he shouted back. In increasing panic，I felt a ______ tap on my shoulder. As I looked back，a warm smile ________ me. "I'm Sawant，from the next town. The bus _______ there for the night and returns tomorrow morning. You can spend the night at my place，and join work tomorrow. "I thanked him from my heart and accepted his ________ .He and his wife took great _________ to make my stay comfortable. I was ________ with warm water for a bath，followed by a hot _________ and a comfortable bed. I was up early the next morning and Mr Sawant came to __________ me off. I could nol see his face clearly，as it was ________ dark. I made it ________ the college in time and taught there for almost 11 years. I still ________ him，even asking my new friends and students to help find the kind soul. But Mr Sawant remained ________ .Perhaps I had got his name wrong. My only regret was that I could not thank him again.

   What can help you make a fortune in the future？Graduating from atop university might not be enough. A new study from the University of Essex in Britain has shown that the more friends you have in school，the more money you'll earn later.

The idea that popularity could have a serious influence on one's earning potential（潜力）shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The researchers noted that if you want to get ahead in life，social skills and networking are easily as powerful as talent and hard work.

"If a person has lots of friends，it means that he or she has the ability to get along with others in all kinds of different situations，"said Xu Yanchun，17，from a high school in Shenzhen，who totally agreed with the recent finding." Also，friends always help each other. They not only create wider social circles for you but lift your mood when you are occasionally in low spirits，"said Xu. She believed that all this helps you "earn a higher salary".

Maybe that's why some people think the younger generations are in the age of Friendaholism. A woman even complained that the networking website Facebook's 5，000-friend limit was too low for her large reserve（储备）of social contacts.

But what does a friend mean？Should friends be regarded as a form of money？

"Call me uncool，but I think of a friend as an actual person with whom I have an actual history and whom I enjoy actually seeing. It seems，however，that this is no longer the meaning of a friend，"said Meghan Daum，who works with the Los Angeles Times in the US.

Daum disliked the idea that quantity trumps quality in the age of Friendaholism. Although she agreed that social ties grease（给……加润滑油）the wheels of life，she also warned，"Too bad one thing money can't buy is a real friend."

What to Do when Someone Doesn’t Like You

When someone tells me, “I don’t care if people like me,” they are showing me the emotional wall they use to block the hurt of rejection.

As humans are social animals, all of us care if people like us. Based on the need for social connections, your reactions to rejection and negative judgment can range from minor hurt to breakouts of depression. 【小题1】

The first step to handle a negative situation is to recognize your reaction. Ask yourself, “What am I feeling?”. 【小题2】 Any betrayal (背叛) or embarrassment in your heart? Identify what feeling has shown up in your body, so you can choose what to do next.

【小题3】 When you sense yourself being shut out or feel defensive, ask yourself what the person actually means to do to you. Does he truly mean to offend you, or make fun of you? Your brain works very hard to keep you safe, so it will judge a situation threatening if there is any possibility of social harm.

When our brains sense a possible threat, we react as if we were personally attacked. Take a breath to relieve (减轻) the stress. 【小题4】

Finally, if you believe the person doesn’t like you, ask yourself if this matters. 【小题5】 If not, what can you do to release your need to be liked by this person? And, what can you do to stay neutral and not return the dislike? The more you can come to accept others as who they are, the more you can move forward with your goals regardless of whether someone likes you or not.