1．I once believed that a friend is a friend"all the way"．Now I have changed my ideas about friendships．
1．Friends of convenience．They can be the people who live next door or the mothers of our children's closest friends．Friends of convenience（便利） are convenient indeed．They'll help us when we need it．They'll look after our cats when we go on holiday．But we don't ever get too close or tell too much．We keep our public face and emotional distance，which means that we'll talk about being overweight but not about being sad or disappointed．However，people still feel these friendships valuable to them．
2．Special-interest friends．These friendships aren't deeply personal or emotional．Their value lies in some shared interest，so we may have an office friend，a tennis friend，or even a shopping friend．
3．Historical friends．We all have a friend who knew us when…maybe we were back in the second grade of primary school，when our family lived in that two-room flat downtown．He or she was the first，the only friend we told our secrets to．
The years have gone by，and we have gone different ways．We have little in common now，but we're still a personal part of each other's past．We know how we looked before our teeth were straightened，and our getting together reminds us of an earlier part of ourselves，which is important and never lost．
4．Cross-generational friends．These are friendships that form across generations（代）．I have in my own life a precious（珍貴的） friend，a woman of 65，who is wise，who listens well，and who represents not only an ideal mother to me but also the person I'd like to be when I grow up．
Best friends，I believe，totally love，support and trust each other．
| Types of friends | Description of friends |
| Friends of convenience | They can be the （62）neighboursor the mothers of our children's closest friends．They can （63）help us when we are in need．Though we don't talk about emotional topics，this doesn't mean that there isn't any （64）value to be found in these friendships． |
| Special-interest friends | We usually （65）share some interests with our special-interest friends，so we may have an （66）office friend，a tennis friend，or even a shopping friend． |
| （67）Historical friends | This kind of friendship was usually formed when we were children，so we know how we（68）looked before our teeth were straightened．Although we have little in common now，our getting together can（69）remind us of each other's happy old days． |
| Cross-generational friends | Cross-generational friends usually aren't from the （70）same
generation．A friend like this may （71）represent an ideal mother or the person I want to be when I grow up． |
