High 1 · Reading series
Lesson 12 · The Friend Who Changed Clubs
Audio track 12
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
Riku and I had practiced basketball together since middle school. When he told me he was joining the photography club in high school, I said, “That's great,” but I felt a quiet distance opening between us.
Our afternoons no longer matched. I stayed in the gym while he walked around town with a camera. At first, I stopped sending him small messages because I thought he would be too busy. Then he sent me a photograph of the empty court at sunset. “This place looks different when nobody is playing,” he wrote.
We began meeting on the train once a week. He showed me what he had photographed; I told him about a new play we were practicing. We did not understand every detail of each other's activities, but we asked questions.
I had confused a shared schedule with a friendship. The schedule had changed. The friendship still needed time and attention, but it did not require us to choose the same path.
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
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Riku and I had practiced basketball together since middle school.
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When he told me he was joining the photography club in high school, I said, “That's great,” but I felt a quiet distance opening between us.
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Our afternoons no longer matched.
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I stayed in the gym while he walked around town with a camera.
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At first, I stopped sending him small messages because I thought he would be too busy.
-
Then he sent me a photograph of the empty court at sunset.
-
“This place looks different when nobody is playing,” he wrote.
-
We began meeting on the train once a week.
-
He showed me what he had photographed; I told him about a new play we were practicing.
-
We did not understand every detail of each other's activities, but we asked questions.
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I had confused a shared schedule with a friendship.
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The schedule had changed.
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The friendship still needed time and attention, but it did not require us to choose the same path.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
从初中起，我和陆一直一起练篮球。听他说高中要加入摄影社时，我嘴上说‘真好’，心里却觉得我们之间悄悄拉开了距离。
下午的时间不再重合。我留在体育馆，他拿着相机在镇上走。起初，我不再给他发零碎消息，觉得他会很忙。后来，他发来一张日落时空球场的照片，写道：‘没人在这里打球时，它看起来很不一样。’
我们开始每周在火车上见一次面。他给我看拍的照片，我讲球队正在练的新战术。虽然我们未必懂对方活动的每个细节，还是会彼此提问。
我曾把共同的时间表误当成友谊本身。时间表变了；友谊依然需要时间和关注，却不要求我们选同一条路。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- since middle school
- 从初中起；两人曾长期一起练球。
- join a club
- 加入社团；陆转去摄影社。
- distance
- 距离；主人公感到关系变远。
- match
- 相吻合；下午日程不再重合。
- at first
- 起初；主人公先停止发消息。
- photograph
- 照片；空球场成为新的话题。
- once a week
- 每周一次；两人在车上相见。
- detail
- 细节；双方不必完全懂彼此的活动。
- confuse A with B
- 把 A 与 B 混淆；误把共同日程当作友谊。
- require
- 要求；友谊不要求选同一条路。
Background notes (Chinese)
朋友不必加入同一个社团，才能继续相处。文中两人的共同练球时间消失了，他们用每周一次的相见和彼此询问，建立了新的交流方式。