“No man is an island” is a well-known line from John Donne’s Devotion. It was written more than three hundred years ago. Even now people still agree with him. No one can live a completely lonely life. Without other people, life will become empty and sad. We all need to have friends.
For some of us, although 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:
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.
Go out of your way to be nice.
Find some time to do special things for other people. Making some soup for a sick neighbour may seem like a little thing to you, but it will make your neighbor feel a lot better.
Remember names.
They say that the sweetest music to a person’s ears is the sound of his or her own name.
Be open-minded.
Try to understand other people’s ways and ideas and learn something from them.
Listen patiently.
When someone is talking to you, look at him or her, listen carefully and say something when necessary.
56. The underlined sentence “No one can live a completely lonely life.” means “_____”.
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.
57. The best title for the passage should be _______________.
A. How to Make Friends B. A Famous Book
C. Friendship First D. John Donne and Dale Carnegie
58. Some of us find it not easy to make friends because _____________.
A. we are afraid of making bad friends
B. we are shy to take the first action
C. we feel sure that we already have enough friends
D. we feel worried that we won’t be able to keep our friends
59. We can learn from the 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
60. Which of the following is not talked about in Carnegie’s book?
A. Say “Excuse me” before you ask.
B. Don’t visit your neighbors too often.
C. Think more about others.
D. People enjoy hearing their own names.