Exam. Friendship

Friendship

1. Let’s talk about friendship. What role do friends play in your life?

Friendship is considered one of the central human experiences and for many people it may be as important as love. It is an essential component of many people's daily lives. It is rather difficult to describe the main features of friendship in one phrase. Friendship means devotion, faith, complete trust and unselfishness. A friend is a person who understands and supports you in times of need or crisis, shows kindness and sympathy, has similar tastes, interests and life philosophies.

Your friend is your helper, adviser and supporter. You can always trust him and share your hardships with him. Friends are absolutely disinterested and they help you without being asked to and without the expectation that you will have to repay them. A true friend can always acknowledge his fault if he is wrong and apologize. Besides, a true friend can forgive you if you have hurt his feelings or if you have given him a lot of trouble.

In Greek and Roman times, friendship was thought of as being an essential constituent of both a good society and a good life. It was supposed to nurture wisdom and happiness. Aristotle, a Greek philosopher and scientist, believed that friendship could fall into three categories: it could be based on utility, pleasure or goodness. In its latter state, Aristotle described it as being 'a single soul dwelling in two bodies'. During the time of the Roman Empire, Cicero had his own beliefs on friendship. He thought that in order to have a true friendship with someone there must be all honesty and truth. If there isn't, then this isn't a true friendship.

There are different types of friendship. For example not every friend is called your best or close friend. Your best friend is a person with whom your share strong interpersonal ties. Your soulmate is someone who is considered the ultimate, true, and eternal half of your soul. An acquaintance is a person with whom you don't share emotional ties, for example your co-worker. A person with whom you share a 'postal' relationship and communicate through letters is your pen pal. Nowadays it is very popular to make friends online. Friendship that takes place over the Internet is called Internet friendship.

Most people have friends, regardless of gender, age, education, financial position and residency. But they tend to form friendships with representatives of their own social circle and with people of their own age. There is often a gap between people with different educational level, life experience and financial standing. In other words most people understand friendship as a union of the equal. However some of us have friends who are much younger or older than we are, who are poorer or wealthier and whose level of education is much higher or lower than ours.

Some reserved and shy people find making friends rather difficult. Besides, friendship means rendering a service to your friend from time to time, telling the truth and exhibiting loyalty. It takes time and effort, but true friendship is worth of it. It is stressful to live in the world of strangers, that's why people need friends. They give us a sense of being protected, emotional comfort and moral support. Having no friends can be emotionally damaging in some cases. As the proverb says, 'A true friend is the best possession'.

2. Can you rely on your best friend? Why (not)?

Friendship is extremely important for every person because everyone needs communication and understanding. A friend is one who you spend your free time with, share your thoughts and interests, who keeps your secrets, whom you trust and who is always ready to help. I’ve got a lot of friends. Some of them are close, some are not, but all of them make my life brighter and more interesting. In my view friendship is a gift from God. I can't imagine my life without friends. As a proverb says, "Life without a friend is like death without a witness".

I have a lot of friends, but my best friend is Helen. She is energetic, active and good at sports, especially basketball. She has different interests, one of them is music. She knows everything about modern music groups and singers. Helen has a good character and a good sense of humor. One of her best traits is honesty. She never speaks badly of other people. I admire her for that.

I should say that Helen is a pretty tall girl with short dark hair and a pleasant smile. Her favourite clothes are jeans and sweaters.

Helen is very sociable. I can discuss everything with her. She always knows what mood I'm in, and what I need. My best friend is true, reliable and never lets me down. To my mind, this is what real friendship means. I am proud of having such a friend. I just hope that our friendship will last forever.

3. What questions do you usually ask when you want to get acquainted with someone?

1) What is your name?

2) Where are you from?

3) What are your hobbies?

4) Do you have many friends?

5) What is friendship for you?

4. What can you advise a teenager who has no friends?

The best way to have a friend is to be one. Be polite, helpful, attentive and friendly with people, and, I'm sure, they will appreciate this.

Frankly speaking it's not a usual case. Probably, a person with such problems needs advice on behalf of a psychologist. But if someone asks me to help, I will recommend her or him to join some kind of a club or a society to meet people with the same interests.

5. They say: “A person has just one true friend”. What do you think about this?

As you know, it's not an easy thing to find a real friend. In my opinion, a real friend is a person whom you trust and respect, who is "a friend in need" and who never lets you down. We may have much in common with a lot of people, we may share problems, gossip, jokes and hobbies with them. But there can be only one true friend who treats you with total understanding, sympathy and compassion. My best friend Helen is suvh a person. I have a lot of friends but she is the closest one.

References:

• Your English Exam Support: Подготовка к экзамену по английскому языку: пособие для учащихся учреждений общего среднего образования / [сост. Н.А. Сергиенко]. – Мозырь: Белый Ветер, 2015. – 97, [3] с.

• Английский язык: билеты для подготовки к выпускному экзамену / Л.В. Данилович. – Минск: Экоперспектива, 2015. – 67 с.

• Английский язык. Все устные темы для подготовки к выпускному экзамену и ЕГЭ. 11 класс

• Friendship: A Single Soul Dwelling in Two Bodies