#62. What do you appreciate most in a friend?
I appreciate all three qualities in my friends. It is important to me that my friends are intelligent, because I value intellectually stimulating conversation on meaningful topics. On the other hand, a friend with a good sense of humor can entertain and understands how to ease my sorrows by making me laugh in difficult times. However, only the reliable friend, by virtue of his dependability and loyalty, is guaranteed to stand by me in difficult times, and thus reliability is the most important characteristic I look for in a friend.
In my last year of senior school my three friends and I decided that we would study together for the college entrance exam, but my smartest friend hardly ever showed. She was extremely intelligent and everybody, including our teachers, was certain that she would be admitted to one of the best universities in the country. As a result, she did not bother to study much. At our study sessions she would appear occasionally, but more often than not her visits would distract us rather than help us. We would end up talking about metaphysical concepts like the existence of god instead of studying our lessons.
My humorous friend attended most of our meetings, but usually he was unprepared and we had to spend a lot of time getting him to speed up. He made us laugh, and he joked about how much better we were learning now that we had to teach him. Maybe he was right, but his constant lack of preparation became a steady source of frustration to the other two of us.
However, my third friend and I were able to rely on each other. We overcame our common frustrations and fears by completing the tasks we set out to do. During those long evenings when the work seemed unbearable we cheered each other up and kept working hard. Meanwhile our intelligent friend was minding her own business and our humorous friend was making somebody else laugh.
62. 你最看重朋友的何种品质？
我对朋友的这三种品质都很欣赏。对我来说，聪明很重要，因为聪明可以激发我们就有意义的话题进行对话。从另一方面来说，具有良好幽默感的朋友可以使人愉悦，在我痛苦的时候可以逗我发笑、忘记痛苦。但是，只有忠诚可靠的朋友，在我困难的时候才能确保站在我身边，所以我认为朋友应具备的最重要的品质是忠诚可靠。
在我高中生活的最后一年，我和几个朋友决定一起复习，准备高考。但是，我们中最聪明的那位从没出现过。她非常聪明，每个人，就连我们的老师，都认为她会被国内最好的大学录取。结果是，她不怎么用功复习。在我们学习的时候，她只偶尔出现过几次。可是，她的每次出现几乎都打扰了我们，而不是给我们帮了什么忙。我们往往以谈论“上帝的存在”等形而上的概念结束一天的复习，而不是一直在复习功课。
我最有幽默感的朋友倒是经常和我们一起复习，可是他往往根本就不做任何准备，我们不得不花很多时间等待他赶上我们的进度。他能够使我们大笑，他开玩笑说我们学得太好了，不得不花时间教他。他的话也许是正确的。但是他经常不准备功课，使我和另外一个在一起学习的朋友感到很伤脑筋。
但是，我和第三个朋友就能够彼此信赖。我们共同完成自己设定的任务来克服挫折和恐惧。在那些漫长的难以忍受的黑夜中，我们互相鼓励对方不要放弃，坚持努力学习。而那时我们那个聪明的朋友正在忙自己的事情，幽默的朋友正在逗某个人发笑。
- intelligent ［inˈtelədʒənt］ adj. 聪明的；机智的
- ease ［i:z］ v.（使）悠闲，（使）放松
- sorrow ［ˈsa:rəu］ n. 悲哀，悲痛
- dependability ［deˌpendəˈbiliti］ n. 可信任，可靠性
- loyalty ［ˈlɔiəlti］ n. 忠诚，忠心
- college entrance exam 高考
- admit ［ədˈmit］ v. 容许；承认；接纳，录取
- metaphysical ［ˌmetəˈfizikəl］ adj. 纯粹哲学的
- constant ［ˈka:nstənt］ adj. 不变的，持续的
- rely on 依赖，依靠
- cheer up 使振奋，感到振奋