Question

What can help you make a fortune in the future? Graduating from a top 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 effect on one's earning potentia（潜在性） shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The researchers found 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 Nantou 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  feel bad," 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 Friendalholism (交友狂症). A woman even complained that the networking website Facebook's 5,000-friend limit was too low for her large number of social contacts.

But what does a friend mean? Should friends be regarded as a form of currency（货币）?

“Call me uncoil, 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 definition (定义) of ‘friend',” said Meghan Daum, who works with The Los Angeles Times in the US.

Daum dislikes the idea that quantity trumps quality in the age of friendaholism. She thought the idea of friendship, at least among the growing population of Internet social networkers, was to get as many of not-really-friends as possible. For example, a friend might be someone you might know personally but who could just as easily be the friend of a friend of some other Facebook friend you don't actually know. Although she agreed that social ties grease (润滑) the wheels of life, she also wamed, "Too bad one thing money can't buy is a real friend."

1.What will be needed if you are to achieve success according to the researchers?

A. Social skills, friends, good mood and fortune.

B. Social skills, talent, hard work and facebook.

C. Social skills, networking, potential and fortune.

D. Social skills, networking, talent and hard work.

2.What can friends do in the eyes of Xu Yanchun?

A. They can help you with your schoolwork.

B. They teach you how to make more money.

C. They introduce their friends to you.

D. They help you to get rid of sadness and cheer up.

3.We learn that Meghan Daum's attitude towards friends is somewhat _____.

A. up-to-date    B. traditional

C. confused    D. optimistic

4.What does the word "trumps" in the last paragraph mean?

A. is worse than    B. is equal to

C. is better than    D. is similar to

Answer

1.D

2.D

3.B

4.C

【解析】

本文是一篇议论文。文章主要向人们讲述了朋友在人们生活中的重要作用。你在上学时拥有越多的朋友，那么你以后就会有越多的财富。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中The researchers found that if you want to get ahead in life, social skills and networking are easily as powerful as talent and hard work..可知，如果你要根据研究人员取得成功，你需要社交技能、人脉、人才和勤奋工作。故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段中friends always help each other. They not only create wider social circles for you but lift your mood when you feel bad," said Xu. She believed that all this helps you "earn a higher salary”.可知，以徐延春看来，朋友能帮助你摆脱悲伤，振作起来。故选D。

3.推理判断题。根据第五段中“Call me uncoil, 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 definition (定义) of ‘friend',”可知，我们知道Meghan Daum对朋友的态度有点传统。故选B。

4.词义猜测题。根据最后一段中Daum dislikes the idea that quantity trumps quality in the age of friendaholism. She thought the idea of friendship, at least among the growing population of Internet social networkers, was to get as many of not-really-friends as possible. Daum不喜欢在“滥交朋友”时代，数量胜过质量。她认为，至少在越来越多的互联网社交网络工作者中，友谊的理念是尽可能多地结交朋友。由此推知划线词的意思是“好过，胜过”。故选C。