Would you like to make some more new friends? (I)

28 Aug 2009

Even though Hong Kong is quite a small place compared with some of our Asian neighbours, we sometimes feel the need to get out there and make some new friends. When you move to a new neighborhood, change your job, come to the end of a relationship or decide to leave your parents' home to strike out on your own, you may begin to get lonely and feel the need to meet some new people. Or you might simply feel as though you're stuck in a rut and want to give your social life a bit of a boost.
與其他亞洲地區相比，香港雖然只是彈丸之地，但我們總需要出外結識一些新朋友。當你去到一個新的社區，換了新的工作，結束一段關係或決定離開家人的護蔭，實行自己的計畫時，你可能會因為寂寞而需要結識一些新朋友，又可能因為生活乏味，而急切需要擴闊生活圈子。

Making new friends sounds like a great idea in principle because you can never have too many friends and meeting new people is really easy, right? Well, not always, especially if you're not much of a social butterfly or you're the shy type. But there are easy ways to hook up with some new acquaintances if you stick to a few simple rules.
原則上，結識新朋友是一件令人興奮的事，沒有人會嫌朋友太多，而且結識新朋友是一件容易的事，對嗎？其實有時候，認識新朋友也有一定的難度，尤其若你並非善於交際，又或你是屬於害羞的一群。然而，只要你掌握以下幾項技巧，便不難建立一份深厚的友誼。

Get over your shyness. 克服害羞
Force yourself to go up and say hello to strangers at parties, meetings and gatherings. After a short while, you'll get used to it and it will become second nature to you. Making the first move makes it easier for other people too and often they will be relieved that someone else has set the ball rolling.
鼓勵自己於派對、會議或聚會中主動向陌生人打招呼。一段日子以後，這種結交新朋友的社交技巧便會成為習慣。當你主動接近其他人時，他們感覺會更加輕鬆，令他們意識到有人先作主動打開話題。

Forget TV and computers for a while. 暫時忘記電視及電腦的存在
There's little chance that you'll meet too many interesting new people sitting home watching TV or surfing the net. Get out more. You don't have to be out late every night. Start by joining a group of some kind that meets once a week.
若你只懂留在家中看電視或上網，便很難結識更多有趣的新朋友。多點出外逛逛，卻又不用晚晚夜歸，可以先從參加一些每周一次的聚會開始。

Wall Street Institute 英語學院創立於1972 年，是現時全球最具規模的國際英語專科教育機構，分校超過400間，橫跨5大洲28個國家，憑藉37年的經驗，已成功協助全球超過200萬人成功提升英語水平。Wall Street Institute 的香港分校成立於 2000年，至今在港已開設了5間分校，及1所專為公司及機構提供英語培訓服務的企業英語培訓中心。(www.wallstreet.edu.hk)