steps-sometimes two men or two women,sometimes two couple,sometimes three people-and find that they walk or play a game or tell stories or sever on a tiresome and exacting committee with the same easy anticipation of what each will do day by day or in some critical situation. Americans who have made English friends comment that,even years later,"you can take up just where you left off."Meeting after a long interval,friends are like a couple who begin to dance again when the orchestra strikes up after a pause.English friendships are formed outside the family nor are they,as in France,separated from the family.And a break in English friendship comes nor necessarily as a result of some irreconcilable difference of viewpoint of feeling but instead as a result of misjudgment,where one friend seriously misjudges how the other will think or feel or act.So that suddenly they are out of step. What,then,is friendship?Looking at these different styles,including our town,each of which is related to a whole way of life,are there common elements?There is the recognition that friendship,in contrast with kinship,invokes freedom of choice.A Friend is someone who choose and is chosen.Related to this is the sense each friend gives the other of being a special individual, on whatever grounds this recognition is based.And between friends there is inevitably a kind of equality of give-and-take.These similarities make the bridge between societies possible,and the American's characteristic openness to different styles of relationship makes it possible for him to find new friends abroad with whom he feels at home. 1.Why is it comparatively easy to make friends in the United States? 2.Do people from different countries usually have different expectations about what constitutes friendship and how it comes into being? 3.How is friendship in American different from friendship in West Europe? 4.In what country does friendship have much to do with one's family?And in what country does it not? 5.What is friendship like when it is compartmentalized? 6.What are friendships usually base on in English? 7. Do you think friendship shares some common elements in different cultures?If you do,what are they? 8.What do you think is the typical Chinese concept of friendship?Is it similar to or different from any of the Western friendships?steps-sometimes two men or two women, sometimes two couple, sometimes three people-and find that they walk or play a game or tell stories or sever on a tiresome and exacting committee with the same easy anticipation of what each will do day by day or in some critical situation. Americans who have made English friends comment that, even years later, “you can take up just where you left off.” Meeting after a long interval, friends are like a couple who begin to dance again when the orchestra strikes up after a pause. English friendships are formed outside the family nor are they, as in France, separated from the family. And a break in English friendship comes nor necessarily as a result of some irreconcilable difference of viewpoint of feeling but instead as a result of misjudgment, where one friend seriously misjudges how the other will think or feel or act. So that suddenly they are out of step. What, then, is friendship? Looking at these different styles, including our town, each of which is related to a whole way of life, are there common elements? There is the recognition that friendship, in contrast with kinship, invokes freedom of choice. A Friend is someone who choose and is chosen. Related to this is the sense each friend gives the other of being a special individual, on whatever grounds this recognition is based. And between friends there is inevitably a kind of equality of give-and-take. These similarities make the bridge between societies possible, and the American’s characteristic openness to different styles of relationship makes it possible for him to find new friends abroad with whom he feels at home. 1. Why is it comparatively easy to make friends in the United States? 2. Do people from different countries usually have different expectations about what constitutes friendship and how it comes into being? 3. How is friendship in American different from friendship in West Europe? 4. In what country does friendship have much to do with one’s family? And in what country does it not? 5. What is friendship like when it is compartmentalized? 6. What are friendships usually base on in English? 7. Do you think friendship shares some common elements in different cultures? If you do, what are they? 8. What do you think is the typical Chinese concept of friendship? Is it similar to or different from any of the Western friendships?