Read the passage carefully then answer the questions below:

There are many valuable things in life, but friendship may be one of the most important things. Life without the experience of friendship is life without living. Human interaction is a necessity to survival, but friendship is an essential to the successful well-being of anyone.

Friendship is a relationship which takes time to build. One can think building a friendship is like planting a garden. Firstly, one meets a person and plants the seed of friendship. Then the friendship builds and continues to grow stronger. It requires devotion of time and patience to achieve a true friendship. Just like a garden that needs to be taken care of and watered daily to grow. However, a garden may some day become withered and die. Thus, one has to tend to it and has the patience to bring it back to life. Friendship also has its good and bad times. There comes a time when the relationship is just not working. To keep friendship lasting, one needs to have willingness and constancy to reestablish it.

A person who builds a friendship like planting a garden can overcome the obstacles easily. Friendship and planting a garden can both be considered as “give and take ”. The more effort and persistence are put into them, the more everlasting happiness can be accomplished.

1. According to the writer, what is one of the most precious things in life?

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