1/4英國人仍和兒時摯友常聯繫

A quarter of Britons are still in touch with their first best friend from childhood, a new study suggested today.

One in four said they were still in contact with their closest pal from primary school, according to the friendship poll.

The survey of 1,050 adults found the average Brit only counted five of their current day acquaintances as 'close friends'.

Women were more likely to keep the same friends as they went through life, with three in 10 still close to their first best friend, compared with two out of 10 men.

But females also appeared more selective when it came to who they counted as friends, with men averaging one more close friend among their immediate circle than the fairer sex.

The study by snack maker Pom-Bear to highlight its 'Let Make Friends' campaign revealed some marked differences in friendship patterns across the country.

Four out of 10 in the North East were still close to their first best friend from school, compared with just two out of 10 people in the North West, Yorkshire and Humberside and the South West.

People living in the North West and the Midlands were found to have been the most fickle in collecting 'best friends' through their school years, with a third of respondents from each region admitting they had counted no fewer than five 'best mates' along the way.

Londoners claimed to have the largest circle of friends as adults with more than six each, compared with those in the South West who averaged less than four.

Respondents aged 18 to 34 and the over-55s claimed to have the greatest number of friends.

Roxanne Amir-Mohammadi, brand manager from Pom-Bear said: 'Even though many of us can count many more people in our wider circle of acquaintances, we are still quite choosy when it comes to defining who we consider to be our real friends.

'It also appears that the busiest years of our working lives take their toll when it comes to staying in touch with friends with people aged between 35 and 44 averaging less than four friends each.'

今日發佈的一項新研究顯示，四分之一的英國人仍然和童年時結交的第一個好友保持聯繫。

根據這項關於友誼的調查，四分之一的人稱他們仍然同小學時期最親密的夥伴保持聯繫。

這項涵蓋了1050位成人的調查還發現，英國人現在結識的熟人當中，能算作“好友”的平均爲5個。

女性更容易擁有伴隨一生的朋友。十分之三的女性仍然同她們的第一位好友關係親密，相比之下，只有十分之二的男性如此。

但是，至於將誰看作是朋友，女性似乎更爲挑剔。而男性在他們最密切的交際圈內平均比女性多一位好友。

這一研究由零食生產商Pom-Bear發起，目的是爲其“讓我們交朋友吧”這一活動宣傳造勢。該研究結果揭示了英國各地交友模式之間的顯著區別。

在英國東北部，十分之四的被調查者仍然同他們上學期間最先結交的好友保持親密的關係。相比之下，英國西北地區、約克郡、亨伯賽德郡和西南地區的被調查者中僅有十分之二的人同最初的好友保持密切聯繫。

研究發現，英國西北地區和中部地區的人上學期間在結交“摯友”方面一直都很多變。每個地區分別都有三分之一的被調查者承認自己曾經將五個以上的人看作“摯友”。

倫敦人聲稱自己的朋友圈最大，每位成年人最少有六位朋友。相比之下，西南地區的被調查者平均每人擁有還不到四個朋友。

年齡在18歲到34歲之間和55歲以上的被調查者自稱擁有朋友的數量最多。

Pom-Bear品牌經理羅克珊•阿米爾-穆罕默迪說道，“儘管我們中許多人會將熟人圈裏的很多人看作是朋友，但是，一旦提到我們將誰看作是真正的朋友，我們依然會很挑剔。”

“而且看起來，說到同朋友保持聯繫，工作生涯中最忙的那些年情況比較糟，年齡在35歲到44歲之間的人平均每人擁有還不到四位朋友。”

Vocabulary:

fickle: changing often and suddenly（易變的；無常的）

take toll: 產生負面影響