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Lesson 12

Friends

“All of us are angels with one wing, and the only way we can fly is to hold each

other”. I think this sentence pretty much summarizes man’s innate loneliness and
his need for friendship. We all need friends. A friend is somebody who sticks with

you in the good times and in the bad. A proverb says,” a friend in need is a friend

in deed”. He doesn’t abandon you in times of trouble and he defends you against
strangers even when you are wrong. You feel kinship with a friend, as if you have

known each other all your life, even when you met him just a few days ago. In-
deed, you may stay with someone for a lifetime and he or she is a stranger, but

you can be with this friend for just a few moments and it would seem as if you knew him all your life.
He makes you comfortable; you can spill all the good and bad in you and you don’t end up feeling

empty or judged. He always has an open ear, an open heart and an open mind so you don’t ever
feel afraid. Some people have a word for this kind of friend, “a soul mate”. He knows your moods

and knows exactly waht to to make you smile. He reads you like a book, so you need not to say in a
word. He senses and feels, more than asks and discovers. When all you want is to talk and spill your

heart out, he could listen to you for hours. Even when he doesn¡¯t talk at all, you know he listens and

cares. He offers advice only when needed, and boosts you up when you feel low. When you need
a shoulder to cry on, he’s there right by your side. When you are in trouble, he is just a phone call

away, night or day. He will risk life or a limb to save you, and he wouldn’t expect you to pay him back.
He can even be closer to you than your spouse or a blood relative. But a friend is hard to find. He is

like a diamond, buried under tons of rock. But when mined and polished, he or she becomes a thing
of great beauty. Priceless. Eternal.

Comprehension

1. According to the article, what is a friend?
2. A friend can be closer to you than whom?

Questions

1. Do you have a friend? Do you have a best friend?

Vocabulary & Expressions

Summarize: to make a summary of; state or express in a concise form.
Innate: inherent in the essential character of something
Proverb: a short popular saying, usually of unknown and ancient origin, that
expresses effectively some commonplace truth or useful thought
Kinship: the state or fact of being of kin; family relationship.
Boost: To stir up enthusiasm for; promote vigorously
Sticks with you: stays with you
Spill your heart out: let go of emotions; freely express.

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