Teenagers Need Friends

刘健

“找呀找呀找朋友，找到一个好朋友，敬个礼呀握握手，你是我的好朋友……”相信大家都会唱这首歌。事实上，交好朋友也有利于青少年们的健康和成长，但青少年与父母之间依然存在着代沟，父母更应该理解他们。

Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends. They believe that their family members don't know them as well as their friends do. In large families， brothers and sisters often fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for support1.

It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends. Even when they are not with their friends， they spend a lot of time talking to each other on the phone. This communication2 is very important in children's growing up， because friends can discuss3 things. These things are difficult to talk to their family members.

However， parents often try to choose4 their children's friends for them. Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends. Have you ever thought of the following questions？

Who chooses your friends？

Do you choose your friends or do your friends choose you？

Have you got a good friend your parents don't like？

Your answers are welcome.

Exercise：

Writing （寫作）.

学校的“Teenager Hotline”每天都能收到不少同学的咨询电话。作为热线的一名自愿者，请你根据当时的记录，首先描述其中两位同学遇到的问题，然后给一位同学提出具体建议并说明原因。（100词左右）

Student： Mary

Problem： There are so many rules in my family. For example， I have to do chores after   school.

Student： Lucy

Problem： Pet dogs in my neighborhood make the ground dirty.

Student： Tom

Problem： My parents want me to be a lawyer. But I want to be a pop singer.