Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 42.
This is a topic that's close to my heart, but I didn't really know the answer to the question until about a year ago. First, let me tell you something - you will have around 350 friends in your lifetime, but only six of them will be your true friends. I was quite surprised when I read about this fact in a magazine survey the other day. I mean, if I look down the list of contacts on my mobile, most of the names in the list are friends' names. It's the same on anyone's phone. However, it made me stop and ask myself who would I contact if I wanted a shoulder to cry on or if I had a genuine emergency? There were actually only a few people on the list that I'd phone in a moment of crisis, and I suppose it's those people that I regard as my true friends.
One person I'd definitely phone is Rob. I still remember when we first met last year. I was sauntering past the sports hall in the local leisure centre when I got a glimpse of a teenage boy in a wheelchair playing basketball. I stopped and watched for a while. He was about the same age as me, but I didn't think we'd have anything in common. After all, he was in a wheelchair. How wrong I was! A few days later, I was lifting weights next to the same boy in the gym, and we started chatting. We got on really well, and I suddenly realized that Rob's wheelchair didn't make him different from me at all. He was a typical teenager like me, and he was interested in doing the same sort of things as me. We've been really good friends ever since.
The most important thing I learnt that day is never to judge someone by what they look like. People often treat Rob differently because of his wheelchair, but they shouldn't. They should take time to find out about the real person. One of the things I admire most about Rob is his unselfish nature. He's very good at listening, and he doesn't ask too many questions. People like that are very generous, especially these days when everyone is on the go and often people can't think beyond their own obligations and personal concerns. I'm sometimes quite selfish, so Rob is a really good example for me. True friends are the people who are always there for you. They won't mind if you interrupt them in the middle of something important. They won't mind if you call them in the middle of the night because you need someone to talk to. Try it yourself next time. Otherwise, you won't know who your true friends are!
(Adapted from Aim High by Tim Falla and Paul A Davies)
