A
When the telephone rings late at night，most women guess it must be one of only four or five people calling.A sister? Maybe.An emergency? Possibly.A mother? Probably not at that time of night.Much more probably it is a close female friend calling to tell you that she is heartbroken because she has split up with her boyfriend again or perhaps simply that a good movie has just started on TV.
At a time when families are spread far and wide and marriages often end in divorce，friendships are becoming more and more important.Erika，a 32yearold lawyer，is strengthened by her tenyear friendship with her married friend Jane.“I was very sick one night，so I called Jane at about 3：00 a．m.to talk about it，” she says.“She was very supportive and even came over to take me to the doctor's.”
As American TV shows like Friends have become more popular，many of us are beginning to see the value of such friendships.TV shows like this tell us that our romantic relationships may not last，but we need to keep in touch with our close friends if we want to survive.
With Erika's family 200 miles away，it is Jane who keeps a spare set of keys to Erika's apartment and waters her plants whenever she is away.“Having Jane around gives me a certain amount of freedom.It is not the kind of thing that you could ask anyone to do，but she knows I would do the same for her.” Jane，who may move to a different city soon，is worried about leaving such a support system of friends.“My friends have more to do with my life than my parents and，therefore，I don't have to spend a lot of time explaining things to them.Friends are more up to date with what is happening.”
【语篇解读】 本文是一篇议论文。以Erika与Jane的友谊和美剧Friends为例，讲述并论证友情十分重要的观点。
1．A latenight phone call for most women is probably from ．
A．a relative B．a friend
C．a doctor D．a stranger
B [细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句可知，深夜给女性打电话的可能是一个朋友，故B项正确。]
2．What does the underlined phrase “split up” in Paragraph 1 mean?
A．Shown up. B．Picked up.
C．Broken up. D．Taken up.
C [词义猜测题。根据第一段最后一句中的“Much more probably it is a close female friend calling to tell you that she is heartbroken because she has split up with her boyfriend again”可知，更有可能的是，一位亲密的女性朋友打电话告诉你，她很伤心，因为她又和男友分手了，split up与break up意思相近，表示 “分手”，故C项正确。]
3．According to the passage，we can learn that Erika ．
A．is Jane's male friend
B．treasures Jane's friendship
C．has been married for 10 years
D．lives far away form Jane
B [推理判断题。根据最后一段的“My friends have more to do with my life than my parents and，therefore，I don't have to spend a lot of time explaining things to them.”可知，Erika认为她的朋友比父母更多地参与她的生活，因此，她不需要花很多时间来向她们解释事情；据此可以判断，Erika很珍惜与Jane的友谊，故B项正确。]
4．Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A．Friendship Counts
B．Friendship Demands Freedom
C．Friendship Needs Understanding
D．Friendship Strengthens Romance
A [标题归纳题。通读全文可知，本文以Erika与Jane的友谊和美剧Friends为例，讲述并论证友情十分重要的观点；故A项最能体现主题，适合作文章的标题。]
