What I Want Most in a Friend

What I Want Most in a Friend

Hannah Kuan（管涵雅）

What do you want most in a friend—someone who is intelligent, or someone who has a sense of humor, or someone, who is reliable? Which one of these characteristics is most important to you?

Compared with an intelligent friend and a humorous friend, a reliable friend is the one I consider the most important. An intelligent person may know lots of things; a friend who has a sense of humor may have the ability to make me laugh, but they might not help me if I am in trouble. A reliable friend, on the other hand, can always support and take care of me. For example, if I face a problem and then go to ask these three types of friends for help, I probably will find out that the smart one tells me what I should do logically, yet he is not willing to help me out. As for the humorous friend, knowing my situation, he probably will make up a funny joke of it and laugh out; however, he won’t really give me a hand. At this moment, a friend who I can rely on is what I need most. He will always bring me a sense of safety, and stay with me to come up with a solution for me. Therefore, speaking of choosing a friend, I don’t really care if he is good at telling jokes or if he is clever. What I care the most is that if I can always depend on him.


The Effects of Cell Phone on Modern Life


Yvonne Huang（黃淑雲）

With the rapid development of technology, people can easily do what they could not do before. The popularity of cell phones is one of the most obvious examples. Ancient people could not even imagine the invention of telephones, let along portable ones! Cell phones do bring various functions which cannot only connect people around the world but also offer entertainments. In the mean time, they also bring some side effects or diseases to human bodies.

The main function of cell phones is to contact people far away instantly, (mostly when people are outside the houses and have no telephones nearby.) This makes great difference for human beings, and the invention of cell phones surely is a milestone in the history of communication system. Cell phones were not so commonly used when they were just invented. They were too expensive and luxurious for most people to afford. Since more and more companies are producing cell phones, the prices have been going down. Studies have shown (and we can see in our daily life) that in Taiwan, almost everyone has one cell phone, and some even have more than one! People can use cell pones anywhere, anytime. The magical device has changed the human being’s life and communication.

The styles and functions of cell phones tend to follow the new fashion so that people would like to buy them not only for the basic function. The cell phones are combined to be a multiple media player. They can serve as a camera, an mp3 player, a dictionary or even a game station. A few years ago, people started to surf the Internet through cell phones, which was another progress in communication. Therefore, people rely more on high technology, especially cell phones. They can talk to their friends while walking on the street, play the games while waiting for the bus, and even throw away their alarm clocks because cell phones can serve the purpose, too! However, they have some invisible side-effects which will do harm to the health.

While many people are too dependent on mobile phones, they are not aware of the danger they may encounter. During a conversation through a cell phone, it will produce some harmful waves and destroy the brain cell little by little. If one person keeps on chatting on cell phone for a very long time, he/she might easily get fatal disease such as brain tumor. Thus, some scientists and doctors suggest people reduce the time they use cell phones. Another debatable issue is the pollution mobile phones do to the natural environment. Like other technological equipment, they can become a pollutant to the nature after being thrown away. People usually just see what they want to see, and overlook the damage they have done to the world they are living in.

So, next time when purchasing a new cell phone, people should balance the interest between themselves and the environment, and consider if they really need a new one.


The Happiest Moment in My Life


Carrie Li（李怡慧）

Although it has been three years since I graduated from high school, I still can’t forget my eighteen-year-old birthday party, which was celebrated by my good friends.

I still remember vividly that on my birthday I went to school as usual, unwilling to let my classmates know it was my birthday because the midterm exam was coming. However, I still expected I could get some presents from my best friends. The day went by just like the previous ones—no cakes, no gifts, and of course, no cards. I was a little disappointed because nobody remembered my birthday. When I came back to the classroom after a class break, I saw “Happy Birthday, my dear friend!” all over the black board. I was so touched and couldn’t utter a single word. It was really the happiest moment I had ever had.

When I came to my senses, my friends were singing the birthday songs for me. My eyes were filled with tears, and for about five minutes I just stood there and didn’t know what to do. We talked, laughed, and took a lot of pictures. I also got many presents such as piggy banks, stuffed toys, and chocolates. At that moment, I thought I was the happiest person in the world because I had so many good friends around me to share my happiness and sorrow. Before I blew out the candles, I made three wishes. First, I hoped all of us could go to an ideal university. Second, I hoped my friends could always stay healthy. Third, I didn’t say it in public because it was a secret. Then, we shared the cake together and had a lot of fun.

Even now whenever I think of my eighteenth birthday party, my heart is full of joy and I can’t help laughing. The memories of that day have melted into my mind, together with those smiles of my good friends. They will always stay there as long as I live. That day is really a memorable day!