Text “My Friend”

The richest people in the world are not those with the most money, but those with close friends. Sincere friendship is truly a priceless gift. Our deepest need is friendship.

We all need friendship – no matter how self-sufficient, wealthy or successful we may be. We are incomplete without it. Through friendship there comes hope when we are discouraged; comfort when we are hurt; counsel when we need it. A book of Wisdom says: “Two are better than one; if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up.

I

I am not a very sociable person yet there are people whom I can call friends. One of them is Igor. He is fifteen. He left school last year and now he is a student of the college. Igor is a future mechanic (manager, book-keeper, and programmer). Igor is a first year student. He does not have much free time but if he has he likes to spend it in a good company. Igor and his friends like to listen to good music, dance, watch new films and discuss them and do other interesting things. We often go to the cinema, cafes, concerts and shows. Igor is a good friend. He is always ready to help everybody who needs. My friend knows a lot of interesting facts about music, famous people and history. He is fond of driving. Now his car is not very new and beautiful but he hopes to buy another one in future. I am happy to have such a good friend as Igor.

II

Olga is my best friend too; we go to college together. We have been friends for 5 years already, since she came to our school. She did well at school and was always ready to help her friends to cope with difficult tasks.

Olga loves being with crowds of people and makes friends easily. She loves going to the parties, and there she immediately becomes the centre of attention. Olga is good at games, but never takes them seriously, so when we play tennis, I always win because she doesn’t care if she wins or loses.

Olga is very witty and amusing and she always cheers me up when I am depressed because she has got a wonderful sense of humour. I think her only fault is that she is restless and gets bored easily. She is an intelligent and hard-working person, but she doesn’t get good marks at college because she doesn’t study enough. I admire her because she is so bright and energetic, but I think it is a good thing that both her boyfriend and I are calm and tolerant, and when she is impatient with us we just laugh, and then she laughs, too.

Vocabulary

sincere – щирий

a priceless gift – безцінний подарунок

self-sufficient – незалежний, самовпевнений

discouraged – розчарований

a counsel – порада

immediately – відразу

amusing – забавний, смішний

witty – дотепний

to cheer up – підбадьорювати

depressed – пригнічений

sense of humour – почуття гумору

restless – неспокійний, невгамовний

to get bored – нудьгувати, надоїдати

to admire – захоплюватися

tolerant – терпимий

impatient – нетерплячий

Exercise 1

Answer the questions

1. Who are friends?

2. What is friendship?

3. Why do we need friendship?

4. What does the book of Wisdom say?

5. Do you have real friends?

6. What can you tell about Igor?

7. How does he spend his free time?

8. What’s his hobby?

9. How long are you friends with Olga?

10. Was she always ready to help her friends to cope with difficult homework?

11. Does she make friends easily?

12. Olga is good at games, isn’t she?

13. What character has Olga?

14. Is friendship the person’s deepest need? Why?

15. Have you got many friends?

16. Who is your best friend?

17. When did you make friends?

18. How old is he/she?

19. What does he/she look like?

20. Where does he/she study?

21. What year student is he?

22. What is his future profession?

23. What are the main features of his character?

24. Can you rely on your friend in everything?

25. Do you often spend time together?

26. What is your friend’s hobby?

Exercise 2

Find English equivalents in the text

Найбагатші люди, близькі друзі, щира дружба, безцінний подарунок, найглибша потреба, багаті та успішні, бути неповним, надія та порада, книга Мудрості, допомогти підвестися, комунікабельна особа, закінчив школу, студент коледжу, першокурсник, майбутній бухгалтер (менеджер, програміст, перевізник), проводити у гарній компанії, дивитися та обговорювати нові фільми, готовий допомогти, захоплюється керуванням, добре навчатися у школі, справлятися із складним домашнім завданням. Натовпи людей, легко знайомитися, бути у центрі уваги, не ставитися серйозно, чудове почуття гумору, працелюбна та енергійна, недостатньо працює.

Exercise 3

Translate the following proverbs and sayings

1. A friend in need is a friend indeed. 2. When a friend asks, there is no tomorrow. 3. A man is judged by his foes as well as by his friends. 4. Friends are thieves of time. 5. To have a friend, be a friend. 6. True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable. 7. When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it. 8. God defend me from my friends; from my enemies I can defend myself. 9. The best mirror is an old friend.

Exercise 4

Read and say who of your friends it may be

I

She is attractive. She’s got lovely long hair but the trouble is she knows it as well. She really thinks she’s the greatest. She always thinks she’s the best at everything. She can’t stand criticism of herself.

II

She is a dreadful person. She’s got lots of money but she hates spending it. She is not very tall – about 156cm and she’s rather thin. I suppose she has blonde hair, but she isn’t at all attractive. That face! Oh, god! She’s awful!

III

He is a man of 40, not good-looking and not yet ugly. His hair is reddish, cut very short, his eyes are small, blue or grey. He is just a good, dull, honest, plain man? A pretty bore. One can admire his qualities, but avoid his company.

IV

He’s always complaining about everything around. It gets on my nerves. And he hasn’t got any sense of humour at all. If you spend more than five minutes with him you just want to sleep.

Exercise 5

Translate the sentences into English

1. Я маю багато хороших друзів. 2. Ми потоваришували з Миколою у школі. 3. Хто твій друг за фахом? – Він майбутній менеджер. 4. Ці студенти мають гарне почуття гумору, вони завжди веселі та задоволені життям. 5. Дружба допомагає їм краще пізнати один одного. 6. У них багато спільного. 7. Вона завжди вислухає ваші проблеми та допоможе, якщо зможе. 8. Він завжди товариський та усміхнений. 9. Вона ніколи не скаржиться на погоду та інші речі. 10. Бути з нею дуже приємно та легко.