I was so sad that __________________________________________________________________________

Looking forward to your early reply.

Your friend,

Li Hua

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

If I have learned anything in my 16 years, it is that communication is very important, both when you disagree and when you get along. With any relationship, you need to let other person know how you are feeling. If you are not able to communicate, you drift apart. When you are mad at your parents, or anyone else, not talking to them doesn’t solve anything.

Communication begins with the concerns of another. It means that you can’t just come home from school, go up to your room and ignore everyone. Even if you just say “Hi” and see how their day was for five minutes, it is better than nothing.

If you looked up the word “communication” in a dictionary. It would say “the exchange of ideas, the conveyance (表达)of information, means of communication such as a letter or a message”. To keep a good relationship, you must keep communication strong. Let people know how you feel, even if it's Just by writing a note.

When dealing with parents, you always have to make them feel good about how they are doing as a parent. If you are trying to make them see something as you see it, tell them that you’ll listen to what they have to say, but ask them politely to listen to you. Yelling or walking away only makes the situation worse.

This is an example: one night, Sophie went to a street party with her friends. She knew she had to be home by midnight after the fireworks, but she didn’t feel she could just ask to go home. That would be rude. After all, they had been nice enough to take her along with them. Needless to say, she was late getting home. Her parents were mad at first, but when Sophie explained why she was late, they weren’t as mad and let the incident go. Communication is the key factor here. If Sophie’s parents had not been willing to listen, Sophie would have been in a lot of trouble.

Communication isn’t a one-way deal: it goes both ways. Just remember: if you get into a situation like Sophie’s, tell the other person how you feel-listening is the key factor to communication.

   Hundreds of people have formed impressions of you through that little device (装置) on your desk. And they’ve never actually ____ you. Everything they know about you ____ through this device, sometimes from hundreds of miles away. ____ they feel they can know you ____ from the sound of your voice. That’s how powerful the ____ is.

Powerful, yes, but not always ____. For years I dealt with my travel agent only by phone. Rani, my faceless agent whom I’d never met ____, got me rock-bottom prices on airfares, cars, and hotels. But her cold voice really ____ me. I sometimes wished to ____ another agent.

Rushing out ____ I called out over my shoulder, ＂By the way, what’s your name?＂ ＂I’m Rani,＂ she said.  I turned around and saw a ____ woman with a big smile on her face waving to wish me a safe trip. I was ____! Why had I thought she was cold? Rani was, well, so ____.

Sitting back in the car on the way to the airport, I figured it all out. Rani’s ____ — her warm smile, her nods, her ‘I’m here for you’ ____ — were all silent signals that didn’t travel through wires.

   Nowadays it is necessary to be reasonable and flexible enough to avoid conflicts as much as possible and live in peace with others. 【小题1】 If you have done all your best to avoid conflicts but you are still arguing, then read these effective tips on how to avoid conflicts.

1. Don’t get in the center of the conflict.

Sometimes people can get in the center of conflicts because they want to help. Frankly speaking, it is very risky, because it can make you the main figure of the conflict. 【小题2】 You should focus on your own life issues.

2. Be kind.

【小题3】 Life is full of conflicts and disagreements, and that’s why you should find more conservative ways of dealing with them. For example, kindness can lessen the conflict.

3. Try to be a peacekeeper.

Peacekeepers tend to cooperate with people without bad emotions which usually lead to arguments and even conflicts. “【小题4】” This saying is the life motto of a natural born peacekeeper. Don’t worry if you are not a natural born peacekeeper. You can gain this skill during life.

4. Walk off.

When the conflict is gathering pace and you can’t manage to keep yourself, you should choose to handle the situation in another way. By all means, try to keep yourself away from stress. 【小题5】 You should get away from the situation for a while.