Friendship and Love Problems

PART 1

Friends for life

I. Tina and Will met when they were both studying at the same university. Three years later, a student magazine contacted them and asked them to take part in a survey to find out how many people had stayed friends.

Look at the photographs of Tina and Will. Do you think the following statements are true or false?

a) Tina and Will had similar interests when they were at university.

b) They chose similar careers when they finished their studies.

c) They have similar lifestyles now.

II. Read what they both say about their friendship and find out if you were right.

(Tina) I first met Will when I was looking for someone to share the house I was renting. I put an advertisement in the local student newspaper and he was one of the people who answered it. When we met, we hit it off straightaway and I told him he could move in. Living with Will was fun. We soon found out that we had a lot in common and quickly became close friends. We always had really good discussions about everything that was important to us at the time: politics, the environment, literature and other less important things like cooking. We also liked the same music and that's important when you're sharing a house. We fell out a couple of times about the housework. Will thinks I'm untidy but I think life's too short to worry about things like that.

When we graduated three years ago, we went our separate ways and since then our lives have been very different. I went back to my home town and got a job as a production assistant for art exhibitions. I like my job because I'm helping young people to get involved in the arts. I'm living with my parents because I'm not earning very much. Will thinks I'm crazy because money is very important to him now, but I get a lot of personal satisfaction from my job. He's earning a lot of money, but he doesn't have time to spend with his family and his friends. I don't see him very often now. When he comes down for the weekend we have a laugh, but our lifestyles are so different now that we don't have very much to talk about.

(Will) Tina and I got on very well together at university. When we first met, we clicked straightaway and we ended up sharing a house for nearly three years. We had the same attitude to the important things in life and the only thing we argued about was the housework. I'm a Virgo so I'm very tidy whereas Tina is the opposite. I don't think she ever found out where we kept the vacuum cleaner!

When I left university, I moved to London and got a job in a finance company. I have to work long hours and I don't really enjoy what I'm doing but I earn a very good salary. I'm very ambitious and I want to get to the top of my profession. I enjoy spending money on CDs, clothes, a nice car and going out to good restaurants. Tina's working really hard as well, but she's not earning much. I don't understand why she's doing it. I think she's having a holiday – it seems very idealistic to me. Anyway, it means that our lifestyles are very different now so we've drifted apart. We haven't fallen out or anything. We still talk on the phone and when I go down to visit her, we have a laugh. I know she'll always be there for me.

(Adapted from The Independent)

That was then This is now

Together at University Tina now Will now

III. Tina and Will use several expressions to talk about their friendship. Complete as many of these expressions as you can from memory. Compare them with a partner. Then look at the article again to check.

a) Two expressions that mean 'we liked one another immediately'. We clicked... We hit it...

b) An expression that means 'we had similar interests'. We had a lot...

c) An expression that means 'we enjoyed one another's company'. We got on... An expression that means 'we got to know one another very well'. We became close....

d) An expression that means 'we argued'. We fell...

e) Two expressions that mean 'we became more distant from one another'. We went our separate… We drifted...

f) An expression that means 'I know I can count on her when I need a friend'. She'll always be...