Making friends as you age 隨著年齡增長如何結交新朋友

有的人覺得，人過瞭 20 歲就會更容易和老朋友們失去聯系，而且在工作中交朋友比在學校裡要困難得多。但不論年齡幾何，友誼 “friendship” 都對我們的身心健康十分重要。那麼，我們該如何隨著年齡的增長結交新朋友呢？本文探討在生活中結交新朋友的各種方法。

詞匯：friends 朋友

At school you’re surrounded by people your own age. Of course you spend a lot of time with them, and so some of the best friendships are forged at school. But later in life, it’s easy to lose touch – you work full-time, maybe start a family, and your old friends might be scattered across the country or even the world. A 2016 study in Finland found that after the age of 25, the number of friends someone has falls very quickly, and this number continues to decrease throughout a person’s life. So when you’re in your mid-to-late 20s, how can you make new friends?

Radhika Sanghani, a AYYBLOG journalist, tasked herself with making new friends by saying ‘yes’ to any invitations that came her way. If a colleague asked her for lunch, she didn’t shy away from it, and she soon made some of the closest friends she’d ever had. “We all message several times a week often leaving rambling voice notes; we host dinners at each other’s houses; and we’ve all cried on each other at least once (the true mark of friendship)” she wrote in a 2018 article.

The website Talk Twenties recommends joining a local class or group, like taking up running or joining a choir. Having something in common gives you something to talk about with your new acquaintances, which will hopefully then translate into meaningful relationships. When you don’t have mutual interests with someone, it can be difficult to get past the small talk stage, where conversation can quickly fizzle out, and a class can help avoid this.

Nowadays, there are also apps for meeting new people, like Bumble BFF or Meetup. Dr Robert Puff who writes for Psychology Today says solid friendships are essential for two main reasons. One is to help make life more enjoyable, and two is for support in difficult times – to make hardships more tolerable!

As we grow up, we can feel like we’re not in control of what’s happening around us, but we can control our social life, so enrich your life with fulfilling friendships.

詞匯表

forge 締造，形成
lose touch 失去聯系
scattered 分散的
invitation 邀請
shy away 畏縮，回避
closest 最親近的
voice note 語音消息
host 舉辦，組織
in common 共同的，同樣的
acquaintance 認識的人，熟人
meaningful 重要的，有意義的
mutual 共有的，彼此的
small talk 閑聊，寒暄
fizzle out 以失敗告終
BFF (Best Friends Forever) 永遠的最好的朋友
solid friendship 牢固的友誼
social life 社交生活
enrich 使…豐富或充實

測驗與練習

1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。

1. What did a 2016 Finnish study find?

2. What did Radhika Sanghani task herself with doing?

3. What examples of classes or groups are given?

4. True or False? Small talk can cause conversation to fizzle out.

5. What two reasons does Dr Puff give for having friends?

2. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. I really _______ from dancing at parties. I feel so awkward.

forge shy away fizzle out enrich

2. That girl works at the bakery. We’re not close at all, she’s just _______.

small talk an acquaintance an invitation a BFF

3. The _______ friend I ever had moved to Australia. I was devastated.

meaningful closest scattered mutual

4. My friend Nick and I _______ so much in common. We could talk all day.

have live take give

5. I love my _______ life! I’m out with friends every night.

solid social voice in common

答案

1. What did a 2016 Finnish study find?

It found that after the age of 25, the number of friends someone has falls very quickly, and this number continues to decrease throughout a person’s life.

2. What did Radhika Sanghani task herself with doing?

She tasked herself with making new friends by saying ‘yes’ to any invitations that came her way.

3. What examples of classes or groups are given?

Taking up running or joining a choir.

4. True or False? Small talk can cause conversation to fizzle out.

True. When talking, it can be difficult to get past the small talk stage, where conversation can quickly fizzle out.

5. What two reasons does Dr Puff give for having friends?

One is to help make life more enjoyable, and two is for support in difficult times – to make hardships more tolerable.

2. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. I really shy away from dancing at parties. I feel so awkward.

2. That girl works at the bakery. We’re not close at all, she’s just an acquaintance.

3. The closest friend I ever had moved to Australia. I was devastated.