Understanding ideas

CLICK FOR A FRIEND?

一键交友？

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.

如果搬到一个新的城镇意味着与朋友失去联系，你会作何感想？如果唯有通过写信和漫长的等待才能得知远方朋友的消息，你会怎样？直到不久之前，现实情况还都是这样的。然而，得益于技术的进步，我们结交朋友和与朋友沟通的方式发生了很大的变化。

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.

如今，我们可以一边环游世界，一边仍与我们希望与之维持友谊的人们保持联系。通过社交媒体工具，我们能了解朋友所做之事、维持彼此间的友谊。而这一切只要有无线网络即可实现。

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.

数字时代还可以帮我们找到志趣相投的人——例如收集汽车模型或演奏不寻常的乐器。不管我们的爱好是什么，我们都能在网上结识同好，哪怕他们生活在世界的另一端。

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

然而，在网上跟别人“交朋友”时，这是否意味着他们真的是你的朋友呢？

It depends. 

这要视情况而定。

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

如果人们在网上交换的个人信息是真实的，那么答案为“是的”，这种友谊是真实而有意义的。但我们需要谨记，我们在社交媒体上看到的，往往不是一个人的全部真面目。

On social media sites, people tend to post 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.

在社交网站上，人们倾向于只发布正面的信息，塑造自己快乐和友好的形象。然而，微笑的照片会掩盖真正的问题。记住这句话：在互联网上，没人知道你是一条狗。(网上展示的)年轻人形象的背后可能是个老人，而女性形象的背后可能是个男人，我们分享个人信息的对象甚至可能是罪犯。

But this doesn’t mean that we should throw the baby out 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.

但是，这并不意味着我们应该因噎废食、弃沙抛金。尽管技术改变了我们交朋友的方式，但友谊的意义和我们对友谊的渴望依然不变。正如亚里士多德所说的：没有人会选择没有朋友的生活，哪怕他拥有其他所有财富。

Developing ideas

After Twenty Years

二十年后

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.

短篇小说《二十年后》设定在纽约的一个寒冷而黑暗的夜晚。大部分人已经下班回家，城市的这个角落静悄悄的。一名正在该地区巡逻的警察看到一名男子站在商店外面。他走进男子，发现他的脸上有一道伤疤。他们开始聊天，男子开始讲述他的故事。

“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.”

“二十年前的今晚，”男子说，“我和吉米·威尔斯——我最好的朋友，也是这世界上最好的小伙子——在这儿的‘大乔’布雷迪餐厅吃饭。我们俩都是在纽约长大的，就像亲兄弟一样。那时我十八，吉米二十。第二天一早我就要去西部赚大钱了。可你不可能把吉米拖出纽约，他觉得地球上只有(纽约)这么一个地方。反正，那天晚上我们约定，不管日后各自的情况如何，也不管距离多远，我们都会在二十年的此地、此日、此时再次见面。我们当时觉得，不管要做什么，二十年的时间足够自己找到出路、赚到钱。”

“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？”

“这事倒挺新鲜，”警察说。“但在我看来，你们这两次见面间隔时间太久了。分手以后你没有你朋友的消息吗？” 

“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.”

 “嗯，不是的。我们也有过一段书信来往，”男子说。“但过了一两年便断了联系。你知道，西部很大，我不停地四处奔波、忙东忙西。但我相信，只要吉米还活着，他肯定会来赴约的，因为他一直是世界上最真诚、最可靠的老伙计。他绝对不会忘记我们的约定。今晚，我从千里之外赶来站在这扇门前，只要我的老朋友出现，这一切就都是值得的。”

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