阅读理解
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 impact on one's earning potential 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 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 occasionally feel depressed, " 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(交友狂症). A woman even complained that the networking website Facebook's 5,000friend limit was too low
for her large reserve of social contacts.
But what does a friend mean? Should friends be regarded as a form of currency?
"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 definition(定义)of 'friend', "
said Meghan Daum, who works with The Los Angeles Times in the US.
Daum despised(鄙视)the idea that quantity trumps(胜过)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 notreallyfriends 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 friends you
don't actually know.
1. What's the main idea of the passage?
A. Making friends is important.
B. Making friends makes you earn more money.
C. Friends give you success.
D. Social skills are important.
2. Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
A. It is surprising that making more money is popular with people.
B. If you want to win in life, social skills are as important as talent and hard work.
C. The young now have friendaholism.
D. Friends do not create your wider social circles but lift your mood when you occasionally
feel depressed.
3. What's the opinion of Xu Yanchun about making friends?
A. Making friends may help you a lot in your life.
B. Making friends can get a lot of money.
C. Making friends can make you work hard.
D. Making friends can improve your ability to work.
4. What's the author's attitude?
A. Objective.
B. Subjective.
C. Neutral.
D. Optimistic.