Unit 4 Friends forever

U4 Section A

Click for a Friend?

How would you feel if moving to a new town meant losing track of your friends? What if the only way of getting news from faraway friends was writing letters that took ages to be delivered? This was how things worked not very long ago. Thanks to advances in technology, how we make friends and communicate with them has changed significantly.

Nowadays, we can move around the world and still stay in touch with the people that we want to remain friends with. Social media tools let us see what our friends are up to and maintain friendships. All you need is a wi-fi connection.

The digital age also enables us to find people who share our interests, such as collecting model cars or playing an unusual instrument. Whatever our hobbies, the Internet can connect us with others who also enjoy doing them, even if they live on the other side of the world.

But when you “friend” people online, does this mean that they really are your friends?

It depends.

If people always exchange true personal information online, then yes, these friendships can be real an meaningful. But we need to keep in mink that what we see on social media is often not the whole truth about a person.

On social media sites, people tend to psst only positive updates that make them appear happy and friendly. But smiling photos can hide real problems. Remember the saying : on the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog. A young person could be old; a woman could be a man; we could even be sharing our information with criminals.

But this doesn’t mean that we should throw the baby our with the bathwater. Although technology has changed the way we acquire friends, the meaning of friendship and our longing for friends remain the same. As Aristotle said, no one would choose to live without friends, even if he had all other goods.

U4 Section C

After Twenty Years

The short story “After Twenty Years” is set in New York on a cold, dark night. Most people have left work to go home, and this part of the city is now quiet. A policeman who is checking the area sees a man outside a shop. He goes up to the man and finds he has a scar on his face. They have a chat and the man starts to tell his story.

“Twenty years ago tonight,” said the man, “I dined here at ‘Big Joe’ Brady’s with Jimmy Wells, my best chum, and the finest chap in the world. He and I were raised here in New York, just like two brothers, together. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning I was to start for the West to make my fortune. You couldn’t have dragged Jimmy out of New York; he thought it was the only place on earth. Well, we agreed that night that we would meet here again exactly twenty years from that date and time, no matter what our conditions might be or from what distance we might have to come. We figured that in twenty years each of us ought to have our destiny worked out and our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be.”

“It sounds pretty interesting,” said the policeman. “Rather a long time between meets, though, it seems to me. Haven’t you heard from your friend since you left?”

“Well, yes, for a time we corresponded, ” said the other. “But after a year or two we lost track of each other. You see, the West is a pretty big proposition, and I kept hustling around over it pretty lively. But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he’s alive, for he always was the truest, staunchest old chap in the world. He’ll never forget. I came a thousand miles to stand in this door tonight, and it’s worth it if my old partner turns up.”

(Excerpts from “After Twenty Years” by O.Henry)

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