英语沙龙：Old Friends,Good Friends

More than 30 years ago, when I took my first job in New York City,

I found myself working with a number of young women.

Some I got to know just in passing, but others gradually became my friends.

Today, six of these women remain an important part of my life.

They are more than simply friends, more even than close friends.

They are old friends, as indispensable as sunshine and more dear to me than ever.

These people share a long-standing history with me.

In fact, old friends are a lot like promises.

They put reliability¹ into the uncertainty² of life

and establish a reassuring³ link between the past, present,and future.

The attachment⁴ between friends who have known each other for many years is bound to be complex.

On occasion we are exceedingly close, and at other times one or both of us invariably step back.

Ebb⁵ and flow. Thick and thin.

How smoothly⁶ and gently we negotiate these hills and valleys

has everything to do with how well the friendship ages.

Sometimes events intervene in a way that requires us to rework the term of a relationship.

A friend starts a second career, let’s say, and suddenly has less free time.

Another remarries,adding someone new to the equation.

Talk honestly and listen to each other to find out if the other’s needs are being met.

Renegotiating pays full tribute to life’s inevitable⁷ changes

and says that we deem our friendships worthy⁸ of preserving.

Old friends are familiar with the layers of our lives.

They have been there in the gloom and the glory.

Even so, there’s always room to know more about another person.

Of course, self-disclosure can make even old friends more vulnerable, so go slowly:

Confiding⁹ can open new doors, but only if we knock first.

Time is the prime commodity between old friends

—by this I mean the time spent doing things together.

Whether it’s face to face over a cup of coffee,

side by side while jogging, ear to ear over the phone, or via email and letters.

1 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

2 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

3 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

4 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

5 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。

6 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

7 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

8 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

9 confiding   

adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• The girl is of a confiding nature. 这女孩具有轻信别人的性格。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Celia, though confiding her opinion only to Andrew, disagreed. 西莉亚却不这么看，尽管她只向安德鲁吐露过。 来自辞典例句