Part 5: Friendship/ Tình bạn
Situation 1: Don’t forget to drop me a line/ Đừng quên viết thư cho tớ
Ryan finds a new job in New York and is about to (sắp) move there. He doesn’t want his friendship with Adriana to drift apart (chia cách). He wants to keep in touch (giữ liên lạc)
| Adriana: | I heard you’re moving to New York |
| Ryan: | Yes. I’ve got an offer (được giao việc) in upstate New York. |
| Adriana: | Oh, that’s great! But I’m going to miss you. |
| Ryan: | Me, too. Let’s keep in touch. |
| Adriana: | Yeah. Don’t forget to drop me a line (viết thư cho ai) when you settle down (ổn định). |
| Ryan: | Trust me. I won’t. I’ll keep you posted. |
| Adriana: | You have my address? |
| Ryan: | Well, I have your e-mail address. |
| Adriana: | All right! I look forward to (mong) hearing from you soon. Good luck! |
Situation 2: It’s hard to keep up contact (giữ liên lạc)
After so many years, Frank is still in touch with most of his friends from high school, while Sarah has lost contact with most of her buddies
| Frank: | I just received a letter from one of my old high school buddies (mấy đứa bạn thân). |
| Sarah: | That’s nice! |
| Frank: | Well, actually I haven’t heard from him in ages (lâu rồi). |
| Sarah: | To be frank with you (thành thật mà nói), I’ve been out of touch with (mất liên lạc với) most of my old friends. Only one or two still keep me posted about what they are doing. |
| Frank: | I know. It’s really hard to maintain contact when people move around so much. |
| Sarah: | That’s right. People just drift apart! But you’re lucky to be back in touch with your buddy again. |
Situation 3: You should have a heart-to-heart chat (trò chuyện từ lòng đến lòng/ tâm tình)
Storyline: Martha doesn’t like her roommate because she always makes loud noises. Roger suggests that Martha should have a heart-to-heart talk with her roommate, but Martha….
| Roger: | So, how is your new roommate? |
| Martha: | She really turns me off (làm ai chán). |
| Roger: | What happened? |
| Martha: | She’s always making loud noises at midnight and when I remind her, she always makes rude remarks (nhận xét cách thô lỗ). |
| Roger: | Why don’t you have a heart to heart chat with her? |
| Martha: | I tried, but it didn’t work (nó chẳng ích gì). |
| Roger: | But how many times did you try? |
| Martha: | At least three times. I guess I’m going to complain to the manager. I hope she can be evicted (bị đuổi). |
Situation 4: Honesty is the best policy/ Chân thành là thượng sách
Storyline: Jon thinks that his roommate is taking advantage of (lợi dụng) him. Terri suggests that Jon have a talk with his roommate to get things straight (giải quyết rõ ràng)
| Terri: | How are things going with you and your roommate? |
| Jon: | Not very well. We’re supposed to share the groceries, but I end up feeding him three meals a day. My grocery bill is huge, you know. I really can’t afford it any longer. |
| Terri: | I know how you feel. I used to have a roommate like that. He never offered to reimburse me for (trả tiền lại cho ai) anything. |
| Jon: | I’m really fed up with (bực mình với) his freeloading (tính ăn chực), but I just don’t know how to tell him that he should come up with (bỏ tiền trả) half the grocery bill, because sometimes he treats (đãi ai ăn) me to a meal in a restaurant. |
| Terri: | Well, honesty is the best policy. Maybe you just want to have a heart-to-heart, friend-to-friend talk with him. If he refuses to mend his ways (thay đổi cách), then ask him to move out. You can’t let him wear out his welcome (ở chơi lâu đến khiến người ta phát chán). |