雅思口语经典话题之：friends

雅思口语中friends是同学们最为常见的一个思路，在每个部分中都曾有涉及过这个话题的问题。不论是描述一个你的好朋友还是描述你认识的好朋友做的某件事，口语中总是绕不开这个话题。下面就为大家分析下最近又出现在雅思口语中的friends，看话题回归如何说。

1. Do you think friends are important?

2. Do you prefer to have one or two close friends or a wide circle of friends?

3. What do you think is the difference between a “close friend” and a “best friend”?

4. How can one distinguish between a close friend and an acquaintance?

1. Do you think friends are important?

　　解题思路：

　　朋友这个大话题的论述在人物题的话题卡中出现频率也是不低的，所以第三部分中对于朋友相关的问题也是比较普遍的。

　　对于这道题的回答是朋友当然非常重要。没有朋友大多数时间(much of the time )我们都会很孤独，虽然有的时候一个人也是很自在的(it’s nice to be left alone)， 这里对于nice 替换可以有brilliant, fantastic等一类的词语。 但是无人交谈(have no one to talk to)也是很可怕的。有了朋友我们可以有相同的爱好(similar interests)，聊聊我们的人生，分享自己的经历(share experiences)。朋友应该是被紧紧抓住的(Friends should be held close)，因为他们是我们能拥有的最有价值的东西(the most valuable things)。一个真正的朋友就是在你最需要他们的时候总在你身边。一帮好朋友就和家人一样。

　　这道题在回答的时候需要注意的是把朋友作为一个大范围来进行论述或举例，最好不要讲个例，比如说：I，myself这样的概念或范围引入题目的回答中。因为毕竟第三部分的题目范围不会太小，除非考官问到你个人的具体内容。

　　参考答案：

Of course friends are important! Without friends we would be lonely much of the time, and although sometimes it’s nice to be left alone, it would be horrible to have no one to talk to. With friends we can enjoy similar interests, talk about our lives and share experiences. Friends should be held close, because they’re some of the most valuable things we can have. A true friend will always be there for you when you need them most. A strong group of friends is as good as, if not better than, a family.

2. Do you prefer to have one or two close friends or a wide circle of friends?

　　解题思路：

　　这道题虽然是第三部分的题目，但是问的个人的观点，所以可以表明个人的观点及态度。

　　我有广泛的兴趣爱好(a wide range of interests)，所以我认为有很多朋友挺好的，因为我总可以找到我想要交谈的人。但是说实话，有一两个密友会更好，因为这些朋友是可以当回事儿的。亲近的朋友不顾任何困难都会在你身边，这里我们可以用through thick and thin 表达不顾任何困难的意思，与熟人或认识的人(acquaintance)相比，你可以跟他们说更私人的事情(personal issues)。这么多年有过很多，很多朋友，但是大多数都已失去了联系。只有少数几个人一直是我朋友，我认为这才是真正友谊的标志(the mark of true friendship)。

　　这道题需要注意的是在题目中首先要明白a wide circle of friends的意思，表示大量的，很多的朋友，然后以自己的想法和态度对于有一两个密友(one or two close friends)和很多的朋友(a wide circle of friends)这个比较宽泛的概念进行论述。因为题目问到个人，所以可以出现表示个人的词语，观点及例子。

　　参考答案：

I have a wide range of interests, so I think it’s good to have a wide circle of friends because that way I’m always able to find someone who I can talk to about something. To be honest though, it’s much better to have one or two close friends because those are the friends that count. Close friends will always stick by you through thick and thin, and you can talk about more personal issues than you can with mere acquaintances. I’ve had many, many friends over the years but I’ve lost touch with most of them. Only a few have been my friends the whole time, and I think that’s the mark of true friendship.

3. What do you think is the difference between a “close friend” and a “best friend”?

　　解题思路：

　　这道问题其实比较难回答，因为大家很少考虑过“close friend” 和 “best friend”的区别。有一些人把重要的意义(great significance) 贴到了“best friend”的名号上。就个人而言，我认为没有一个单个的人可以被当作是“最好的”或者比其他人好的朋友。由于其他的朋友们没有能被冠以这样的名号，有的时候就会让他们感觉到自己在你面前低位很低(feel inferior)。最好的朋友这个想法是好的，这就意味着这个人你要绝对信任(absolutely trust)，已经了解了很长时间并且要相处的很好。这样一段特殊的关系对双方都意味的很多。

　　这道题在回答时首先要理清自己的思路，到底要以什么方式去阐述“close friend” 和 “best friend”的区别。对于答题的切入点要明确，比如：怎样的朋友算是“best friend”，需要具备什么样的条件及素质等等。另外，对于所具备的条件和素质的内容，如果在没有充分准备时间的情况下，选择自己会说的能成为好朋友的内容即可，如： trust, know well, kindness等等。

　　参考答案：

Some people attach great significance to the title of “best friend”. Personally, I don’t think it’s possible to single one person out as the “best” and better than other friends. Sometimes it makes your other friends feel inferior because they are not given this title. The idea of a best friend is a good one though: it means someone who you absolutely trust, have known for a long time and get along with very well. It’s a special relationship that means a lot to both people.

4. How can one distinguish between a close friend and an acquaintance?

　　解题思路：

　　对于“a close friend”和“ an acquaintance”之间的区别还是相对比较容易被区分的。一个熟人(acquaintance)可能是一些你喜欢与其待在一起(enjoy spending time with)或者可能和你有一些相同爱好的人，但是你们并没有足够的了解对方而成为真正的好朋友。熟人经常是我们在学校和工作时大家一起相处了较长时间的人们，你也可能比较喜欢他们，喜欢与他们在一起，但是确没有更多的超越这些的关系。密友是你可能认识了很长时间并且很了解的人。密友是你能够告诉他自己的想法及感受的人，但是这些想法和感受可能无法与熟人去分享。

　　这道题不算太难，但需要在论述的时候对于密友和熟人的界限划定清晰，可以通过我们对不同分类的朋友所做的不同的事情把密友和熟人区分的比较明确。另外，此题也应该以大范围的方式进行论述，最好不要涉及I的个人表达，可以用someone, you, a close friend, and acquaintances 这样宽泛的表达来表述。

　　参考答案：

It’s easy tell the difference. An acquaintance may be someone you enjoy spending time with and probably has similar interests to you, but you don’t know enough about each other to really be good friends. Acquaintances are often made at school or work where people spend a lot of time with each other, and you probably like them and enjoy being with them but don’t have much of a relationship beyond that. A close friend is someone who you’ve maybe known for a long time and know very well. A close friend is someone you can talk to about your thoughts and feelings, but you probably wouldn’t do that with an acquaintance.

源果英语欢迎大家来报名学习嘉兴雅思，也欢迎不同年龄层的朋友，所谓活到老学到老！