20091117 Lend to a Friend (1)

Lend to a Friend

What should you do if a friend asks to borrow money from you?

American author Henry David Thoreau once said, "The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend." For many people, however, the simplicity of friendship becomes complicated when money is involved, often leaving relationships strained. So if one of your friends asks you for money, should you lend it or not?

Conversation A

Adam: The other day, Tony told me he has fallen on some hard times, so he asked if he could borrow US$1,000. I'd really like to help him out, but I know it's a little risky.

Beth: Well, loaning money to friends is no simple matter, especially when it's such a large amount. I learned that the hard way and personally believe that you should avoid it.

Adam: But he really needs the money. He made some bad investments and has accumulated some debts. On top of that, he just lost his job and is having a hard time making his mortgage payments.

Beth: I think it's great that you want to help Tony, but this seems like a bad situation. What if he can't repay you? Are you willing to lose that money forever?

Adam: To me, the most important thing is to affirm my loyalty to him even if he has made some poor financial decisions. I want to be a good friend, so I guess I'll just have to run the risk of losing some money.



strain v. 拉緊/伸張
strained adj. 緊張的/緊繃的
=> tense
eg: Sarah's relationship with her boyfriend became strained after he forgot her birthday.
eg: When the company lost their biggest client, pressure was put on their strained finances.
eg: The teacher's expression became strained when her student talked back(頂嘴).

hard time (idiom) 給他們難堪
=> encounter something difficult
eg: Many people have fallen on hard times because of the poor state of the economy.

accumulate v. 累積/堆積
=> get more and more of something over a period of time
eg: So much snow accumulated on the roads that school was canceled for the day.
eg: He has accumulated so many things from shopping at the flea market(跳蚤市場).
eg: Sherry has accumulated many storybooks during her 25 years of being on elementary school teacher.

run the risk 冒險
=> try something that may be dangerous
run the risk of something 冒某一種風險
eg: If you cheat on the test, you run the risk of getting caught and failing.
eg: You run the risk of having to wait at the restaurant if don't make a reservation.
eg: You're running the risk of getting lung cancer if you don't quit smoking.



//== 莎士比亞哈姆雷特 ==//

Neither a borrower, nor a lender be.
不要向人借錢，也不要借錢給人


//== Chat Room ==//

The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend.
=> The most I can do for my friend is just be his friend.

simply adv. 僅僅/只不過(本課課文意思)
=> just


simply adv. 完全地/非常地(加強語氣的用法)
=> absolutely
eg: I'm doing simply wonderful! 我非常地好
eg: This is simply delicious! 這真是好吃

simple <=> complex

complex (客觀的)複雜
=> contains many parts
eg: The human mind is very complex. 人類的頭腦是複雜的

complicated (主觀的)複雜
=> 個人的感覺
=> 例如你可能覺得數學習題很複雜，但是其他人並不這麼覺得。



//== DID YOU KNOW ==//

Fact: Nearly two-thirds of Canadians have loaned or borrowed more than $500 from friends or family. Not surprisingly, more than one-quarter of the people who loaned money reported that the loans were never fully repaid. Here's another statistic that should surprise no one: about one-third of those who agreed to lend money said they felt pressured to do so.