Lesson 8

FRIENDS

 Read aloud this conversation:

Kate: What ever happened to Janet?

Suzy: Janet who? Oh! Janet! I don’t know. I haven’t thought
about her for a long time.
Kate: But you used to be so close.
Suzy: I thought so too. But when she split up with her husband
she had a tough time getting along with anyone. I tried to
be a good friend for her when I thought she needed me,
but I guess we just saw things differently.
Kate: Why? What happened?
Suzy: Well, I kept trying to get her to talk about her problem
and get it out of her system, but she just clammed up. I
tried everything!
Kate: Maybe you shouldn’t have tried so hard and just let her
talk about what she was comfortable with.

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 New words:

split up (v) splɪt ʌp : chia tay
tough (adj) tʌf : khó khăn
get along (v) ɡet əˈlɔːŋ : hoà hợp
get it out of one’s system : thoát khỏi sự phiền muộn
clam up (v) klæm ʌp : ngồi im thin thít

 Note: Useful expressions of estimation:

I suspect… To my mind,…
I imagine… I’m pretty sure…
In my estimation,… I have reason to believe…

 Read aloud this passage:

How many friends do you have? Which do you think is better,

having many friends or just a few very close ones? Do you think
your friends would stay with you if you were in trouble?

You know people say, “A friend can’t be known in prosperity.”

A lot of those who say this claim that their conclusion is based on
personal experience of losing a supposed friend when they were
in a difficult situation.

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 However, others can point to unexpected support during a
serious crisis from someone whom they did not expect to be a
good friend. So I guess the question of friendship can cut both
ways: in some cases it is mere lip service and in others it is genuine
commitment.

 New words:

prosperity (n) prɑːˈsperəti : sự giàu có
supposed (adj) səˈpoʊzd : được xem là
crisis (n) ˈkraɪsɪs : khủng hoảng
cut both ways kʌt boʊθ weɪ : vừa có thuận lợi vừa có bất lợi
lip service ˈlɪp sɜːrvɪs : trên danh nghĩa
genuine (adj) ˈdʒenjuɪn : thật sự
commitment (n) kəˈmɪtmənt : sự cam kết

  Discussion:
1. Why do people need to make friends?
2. How did you meet your best friend?
3. What usually causes trouble between friends?
4. What is the most important thing in maintaining a
harmonious friendship?
5. What is the difference between having male and female
friends?
6. What is the difference among the friends you made in
elementary, middle, high school and university?

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