We all know that the friendship is a good thing. But do you know that friends have a great influence on your happiness and quality of life？Good friends provide comfort and joy，and even improve your health. 【小题1】 Many of us struggle to meet new friends and develop good connections. Even when we're willing to put in time and effort，we don't always know how to go about it.

Why are friends important？

Our society often places stress on romantic relationships. We think that if we can just find that right person，we'll be happy. But research shows that friends are more important to psychological（心理的）well-being than our love and family relationships. 【小题2】 Studies show that a lack of social connections can be as damaging as smoking，or as drinking too much. The quality of our friendships is even tied to longevity（长寿）.

【小题3】

Technology has changed the meaning of friendships in recent years. With the click of a button，we can add a friend or make a new connection. 【小题4】

Technology can provide social opportunities by helping you reconnect with old friends，start new relationships with people around the world who share similar interests，and keep relationships with friends who don't live nearby. However，online friends can't hug you when you're upset，or celebrate a happy event with you after work.

【小题5】 So make it the most important thing to stay in touch in the real world，not just online. You'll get a lot more out of an in-person conversation than you will over text.

   Once again, Myra sat alone on the bus. Even after two weeks at her _______ school, Myra had not made any friends. A t the break time between classes, she played alone. In her _______ class, she drew alone. In the lunchroom, she ate _______.And on the bus ride home, she sat alone.

Myra could not _______why no one wanted to be her friend. Other kids joked and laughed with each other._______. none of them joked and laughed with her. Just thinking about it made her _______ hurt.

One day, _______Myra sat alone on the way to school, she looked at the seat _______her. She saw a girl sitting all by herself. The girl looked _______, too.

Myra wondered if she should say ________. But what if the girl didn't want to be her friend？Maybe she already had a lot of friends. What if the girl ________her？What if she laughed at her？Myra stared at the floor of the bus. Finally, she took a deep ________and smiled at the girl. The girl smiled ________.Myra said, "Hi, I'm Myra. Do you want to sit next to me？"

The girl's smile ________ "I'm Nadia. Yes, 'd like to sit next to you." At the next stop, Nadia ________ into the seat next to Myra. They joked and laughed the whole way to school. At ________Myra and Nadia played together. In the lunchroom, they ate together.

And on the ________ride home, they sat together.

When it was time for Myra to get off the bus, she ________ to her new friend, "Bye, Nadia！I'll see you tomorrow！"Nadia smiled, "Goodbye, Myra. I'll ________ a seat for you."

A big smile spread across Myra's face. She had made a friend. A friend who was going to save her a seat tomorrow. She could ________wait.

   I am a social worker. I wanted to tell everyone about my very dear friend who passed away a few months ago. I met him many years ago while doing my internship（实习期的工作）in the county prison. He was _____ a program he had designed to help prisoners with drug and alcohol problems. He was always _____ new ways to bring hope and help to these men and their _____. One of his favorite _____ was the Toy Drive he would run every Christmas for the children of the prisoners. He did this for twenty years _____ his sudden death. As the Christmas _____ ，I decided that this tradition had to be _____，for the children as well as in _____ of my friend.

But the file where he kept the names of the people who had helped him over the years had gone _____. I had to start anew（重新）and with very little ______ ！I started making phone calls，explaining the project and my ____ . I prayed every night that the event would，______，be worthy of my friend. To my great ______，individuals，organizations and businesses began to come on board and，______，I had enough toys to give to all the children of the prisoners with some left over for the local community ______！

When Christmas Eve finally arrived，I felt very happy，thinking I had done all I could do and reflecting（认真思考）on what a（n）______ it had been for me. I was bagging up the remaining toys ______ if there was anyone left who might like them. Then my phone rang.

It was my daughter. She ______ to explain about a woman she knew in Kentucky who had five children，one seriously ill，no husband，no heating in the home，no toys！Ohh—how could we not help her？

My daughter and I drove all night，from New York to Kentucky，and those children woke up in a nice warm house with plenty of ______！My friend's ______ of kindness lived on that year，reaching all the way to Kentucky！

Yours，

Li Hua