Everyone needs friends. We all like to feel close to someone. It is nice to have a friend to talk，laugh and do things with. Surely，there are times when we need to be alone. We don’t always want people around. But we would feel lonely if we never had a friend.

No two people are the same. Sometimes friends don’t get along well，which doesn’t mean that they no longer like each other. Most of the time they will go on being friends. Sometimes friends move away，then we feel very sad. We miss them much，but we can call them and write to them. Maybe we would never see them again，and we can make new friends. It is surprising to find out how much we like new people when we get to know them. Families sometimes name their children after a close friend. Many places are named after men and women，if they are friendly to people in a town. Some libraries are named this way. So are some schools. We think of these people when we go to these places.

There’s more good news for people who have friends. They live longer than those people who don’t. Why? It could be that they are happier. Being happy helps you stay well. Or it could be just knowing that someone cares. If someone cares about you，you take better care of yourself.

People with similar body odours(气味) are more likely to “click” and become instant friends, according to several experiments. When we first meet other people, we sometimes experience an “immediate strong click that makes us feel as if we have already been good friends for years”, says Inbal Ravreby at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

She wondered if this may have something to do with body odour, because previous research has found that we subconsciously sniff each other on meeting —for example, by lifting our hand to our nose after shaking someone’s hand. Ravreby and her colleagues recruited 20 pairs of same-sex, non-romantic friends — half female and half male — who said they clicked straight away on first meeting.

An electronic nose — a device that senses the chemical components of odours—was used to sniff T-shirts that had been worn by each of the participants. The nose found that body odour was more similar between the friend pairs than between random pairs that were formed by mixing up the participants. A group of 25 independent adults who sniffed the participants’ T-shirt s also reported that the friend pairs smelled more alike than random pairs did.

Next, Ravreby and her colleagues employed 17 people who had never met previously and used the electronic nose to analyse their body odours. Each individual then took turns playing a non-verbal game with other participants of the same sex. The results were consistent with the earlier experiments: the pairs that smelled more like each other were more likely to report feeling as if they clicked during this game.

The findings make sense because the research shows that we tend to become friends with people who are like us, for example, in terms of age, ethnicity, education, religion, physical appearance, personality and values, says Ravreby. Other animals also use smell to help decide who is friend or enemy, such as dogs that sniff each other’s body when they meet in a park, she says.

How to Cheer up Your Friend

The following tips will make your friend cheer up. Try one or more of the suggestions below, and hopefully your friend will be happy again in no time.

【小题1】.   If your friend is angry about a situation at work, help her see the positive side of things. Hear out her problem before reacting (回应). But try to help her asking questions such as, “What things can you do to make the situation better?” or “What’s been happening at work lately that’s been good?”

Send her a card or postcard. Not many people get handwritten notes any more. It’s so rare (稀少的), in fact, that it’s certain to put a smile on her face. Drop a note in the mail to her.【小题2】

Build up her sellf-esteem (自尊). Everyone needs to hear they are smart, strong, and beautiful sometimes. 【小题3】, as they can help her build confidence and self-esteem. Try to make your praise unique to the person, so she knows you truly mean what you say.

Try out new things together. True happiness is in part about the adventure. It may mean you may need to step outside of what’s comfortable and try something new. 【小题4】If you want your friends to be happy, encourage them to try new things with you.

Bring her one of her favorite treats.【小题5】. Maybe she can’t live without an afternoon coffee,or maybe she has a special love for black forest cake. Surprise her by bringing one of them to her when you know she’s having a rough day.