1. Do you like to write a letter or email? 

I really like writing letters to other people, especially on special occasions. I remember writing many letters, like birthday letters, or farewell ones to any of my friends or relatives who had to go somewhere far away from me. My friends and relatives always feel happy when they receive a letter from me; they say that it makes them feel important and cherished.

2. Do you think emails are useful?

Emails are really useful and important to me. I can use emails to contact people who are staying far away from me, and this really comes in handy as I have lots of foreign friends. Moreover, I can receive notifications of special deals or interesting information through emails by subscribing to any online channels that appeal to me.

3. What sorts of letters (or emails) do you think are the most difficult to write?

Formal emails, like the ones you send to recruiters, to your boss, to your professor and so on, are very difficult to write. You have to choose the right tone for the emails so that they do not appear too casual or too serious, and you have to pay attention to the format of the emails too.

4. Do you prefer to write letters or emails? Why?

It depends. For special occasions, like on someone’s birthday, I prefer writing letters to congratulate them as handwritten letters can show my sincerity. However, if I need to write something formal, say to a recruiter to apply for a certain position, email is my first choice. It’s instant, easy to format and I can attach different files with it so it is very convenient too.

5. Do you think email might one day replace handwritten letters?

I don’t think so. Handwritten letters still carry in themselves special meanings, one of which is that they can show a writer’s sentiment. I always think that it feels different when you look at someone’s handwriting, like you can actually sense their feelings when they wrote the letter. So handwritten letters are irreplaceable, at least to me.

Vocabulary

1. Cherished [adj] (bringing the pleasure of love or caring about someone or something that is

important to you): cảm giác được yêu thương

E.g. Her most cherished possession is a 1926 letter from F. Scott Fitzgerald.

2. Tone [noun] (the general mood or main qualities of something): tông

E.g. I didn't like the jokey tone of the article - I thought it was inappropriate.

3. Sincerity [noun] (honesty): sự chân thành 

E.g. So when I sat down to write my public letter of apology, it dripped with venomous sincerity.

4. Sentiment [noun] (tender feeling or emotion): tình cảm

E.g. That song is full of patriotic sentiment. It moved me deeply.

5. Come in handy [expression] (to be useful): có ích

E.g. I’ll keep these bottles - they might come in handy.

19. Friends

1. Do you have many close friends?

I have only one friend I would confide in. I’m quite picky and more importantly, I have a somewhat irrational fear that none of my friends really like me and that I'm just a guy they can barely tolerate and it is hard for me to live in harmony with them.

2. Do you think friendship is important?

There is no doubt that friendships play a vital role in our life. They make our lives interesting and wonderful. They help us develop a sense of sharing whether they are tangible things or just inspirational or motivational words of wisdom.

3. Which do you prefer to spend time with: a friend or spend time alone?

It depends. Normally, I'm more of a loner and generally spend more time in solitude than with friends. But when I’m in a bad mood, lonileness makes me feel isolated from the whole world. These days, I will hang out with my friends so that sad and unhappy thoughts cannot come into my mind.

4. What kind of people do you like to have as friend?

I find myself attracted to people who are honest and who know how to behave with others. I always avoid making friends with people who have a superiority complex.

5. Do you like face-to-face conversations with people?

Actually I like to talk with cyber friends more than having real-world conversations. I think others observe me a lot, they judge me and hence I become very self conscious and shy away from speaking face to face.

6. Are most of your friends from school or from outside school?

Most of my friends are from high school. People who I met at work or from clubs have less in common with me, whereas at Uni we all shared interests in the same things and subjects. 

7. How often do you meet with your friends?

When I was younger, I used to meet my friends almost everyday. Even friends outside of school were a part of my daily social interactions. But now, as a 23 year old working professional, I barely meet anyone during weekdays. I meet my closest friends only on some weekends. These meetups are sporadic too.

8. What do you and your friends do together?

My closest friends and I have a mutual interest which is we always have a thirst for clothes shopping, so whenever we have time, we will go shopping together until we break the bank. Sometimes when we are out of money, just window shopping is enough.

9. How do people in your country meet others and make friends?

I don't think it particularly matters what country you're from. In every country, you can make friends just by sitting next to someone a few times during class, then a friendship logically happens. Otherwise, you can make cyber friends through social networks like Facebook or Twitter.

10. Do adults and children make friends in the same way?

Adults use self disclosure to develop trust and loyalty among friends. This is quite complicated in practice while children usually use common interests and goals as the basis of their friendships. More importantly, kids have a whale of time with whoever, but adults have to use their time for work and taking care of their family.

11. Do you think it is possible to become real friends with people you meet on the internet?

Of course it is possible to establish real friendships with someone online. What you need in a friendship is truthfullness, reliability, empathy, respect and loyalty. If you're getting all that from your online friends then you can consider them as genuine friends