B2 – Upper Intermediate
Real friends are those you can depend on whatever happens. Even when times get rough, they will be there to give you a helping hand, lend you their ears, or just be a shoulder for you to cry on.
However, it seems that for men, it is not that easy to make friends and keep their relationships with their best mates stand the test of time.
Listen to the audio and read the transcript about how big a challenge it is for men to make friends and maintain their friendships.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2023/ep-230914
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does ”drift away” mean? “So why do we sometimes find it hard to make friends, or that the friends we used to have seemed to have somehow drifted away?” Use this phrase in a sentence.
- What does “double-edged sword” mean? “No, it’s a real double-edged sword being the face of a book called ‘Billy No-Mates’ I’ve gotta say… but I think.. so loneliness doesn’t look like me.” Use this idiom in a sentence.
- What does “third space” mean, “Max thinks the answer is getting out and meeting people in ‘third spaces’, which are separate from either home or work.”? Use this idiom in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- Explain your views on this, “Men find it difficult to make friends.“.
- What do you think are reasons men find it harder to maintain strong friendships, especially as they get older?
- What are ways you maintain your relationship with your close friends solid?
- Why is having close friends important?
- What are the downsides of having too many friends?
4 replies on “Making Male Friends”
Making Male Friends
Explain your views on this, “Men find it difficult to make friends.“.
I think is not a good idea generalizing in all kinds of people because always is possible to find different thoughts and ways of living in both genders.
I think felling in the topics that segregate different behaviors depending on the gender belonging to is a mistake
What do you think are reasons men find it harder to maintain strong friendships, especially as they get older?
Maybe they become lazy for the effort that requires to maintain a relationship with a friend. Or maybe they have enough with their partner and children, and they don’t need the colleagues than used when they were younger to achieve a partner in the disco or a pub. The familiar life wins over the party life.
What are ways you maintain your relationship with your close friends solid?
For me the very important prove of a strong and close relationship with a friend is the fact to follow being fluent after a lot of time without news of each other.
You can take the phone one day after one year and speaking in a natural and fluent way, as the contact you would had only a week before without speaking with.
Why is having close friends important?
In my case I only have two close friends and it is completely enough for me.
I’m very lazy with the idea to add a lot of close friends because the compromise of efforts and time that it requires from my own is very high.
What are the downsides of having too many friends?
From my point of view, we can apply the same to our familiar relationships, one downside very important for me is the fact to have to see too much frequently your close friends and your family.
I need breaks because I don’t like the situation to have lunch all the weekends with the family or the possibility to have to meet your friends a lot of times a month.
In Spain we describe this situation with the sentence:
The few is funny, the much is boring.
Good to read about your thoughts on this topic.
See how you can revise this sentence:
Until your next entries!
1.
I think its not common to make new friend in middle age, this is because probably don´t have to time spend with new person. These persons are married, or have childrem or have their schedule lock by their routines. It´s difficult to give time to new person and have trust with him.
2.
Over the years you share your time with other friends, you spend time, you share your experiences and those shared experiences are what make this friendship grow and when they grow up they no longer have that time to share.
3.
We go the football stadium together, we suppport our team. In match days, we share time before and after the match. With other friends I go out to restaurants multiples times a year.
4.
Having close friends is important, and not everybody can be in your circule of close friends. In my opinion, these friends must have shared multiple experiences and I must absolutely trust them.
5.
Having too many friends force you to stay in multiple events and you have to neglect other important things. Everyone deserves to be treated well but you can´t be everyone´s best friend.
Great job being consistent with your writing practice.
Here is a sentence you can revise:
Keep going with your writing practice in order to progress more and more.