I have quite a few long distance friendships. How do I maintains these relationships? Well, I believe friendship is very important, But I also think friendship really needs tending—like plants in the garden. It’s important to keep up to date with my friends, something that’s hard to do with long distances between us. But over the years I have managed to stay very tight with my friends, even though distances separate us. Jane lives in another city, and she’s not much for writing letters, so we talk on the phone at least once a week, usually for an hour at a time. We take turns calling each other, so I stay close to her through the phone. My phone bills are high, but I consider them just another living expense, like rent. Other friends I e-mail. I have one friend who just isn’t into writing letters. I’ve known her for a long time. We’ve always considered ourselves friends, but over time I’ve always been in and out of touch with her. But she is always on-line—e-mail is her thing. Since I’ve gotten an e-mail address, I e-mail her twice a week. Now, I’m back in good touch with her. She’ll often sit down and write me e-mail, but she just wouldn’t do it with pen and paper. E-mail’s really a great way to keep in touch with friends.

　　1.maintain 2.tending 3.date 4.phone 5.turns 6.bills 7.expenses

　　8.e-mail 10.touch