访谈录 Interview 2007-08-31&09-02, 钱可以买到友情吗？

Vera Gibbons covers issues of wealth for the show high network on CNBC. And Barbara Melamed is a clinical psychologist at Mercy College here in New York. Good morning to both of you, nice to have you.[Hi.Hi,how are you?]

You just see there in that clip, Jennifer Aniston is kind of trying to ask her way if she can get a little money from her friend. She doesn't get it. But when it comes to the subject of money between friends, it can get very complicated, especially if you're one on the side that you don't have as much as your friend, right, Vera ?

Yeah, it can really put a wedge in even the closest old friends, which is why communication 101 is essential. Money can buy friends. But I would question the legitimacy² of those friendships.

We see in Hollywood, money buys a lot of entourage.[Yes.] And with all these young girls and the people that follow them.

And they are not necessarily happy.

And they are not necessarily, they are not necessarily true friends. I mean, how do you define who is a true friend, Barbara?

When they are there for you. And sometimes you can't buy that.[In the tough times.] They have to be able to reciprocate³, and you know, I have a very rich friend and I say, Hey, let's just go to a lower cost restaurant coz I'd like to pay the bill this time.[Sharing.]

More focus on the intrinsic things as opposed to the materialistic⁴ things.[Right.]

How does money complicate¹ friendships then? I mean, what, does it get in the way more often than not, Vera?

It can. Yes, it can definitely. What, well, in my clinical practice, I find out that 84% of the couples that come have money problems. And rich people have as many or even more money problems in terms of whether they are friends or they are gonna be fair with their friends[in their relationships], you know, rich one day, poor the next. I'm gonna stay with my friend.

And when the money is gone, so are the friends. I mean the people who are actually buying these friendships are insecure, socially inept⁵ people generally speaking. So they are tapping into the one thing that they have access (to) which is money and that's buying them social circles, that's buying them material goods , that's ultimately [buying them pleasure.]Yeah ,statistically⁶, you are seeing a lot more people on the high network side, right?[Yes!] who are buying toys and surrounding themselves with?
What they have...Yeah, exactly. Because there are so many more millionaires and multimillionaires and billionaires out there. They have all the toys and some people are really drawn⁷ to that. They wanna hang around these people.[It's a power trip to some of them,sure.]And some of these people actually who have the money they don't actually care. Because they're getting something back.

1 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

2 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

3 reciprocate   

v.往复运动；互换；回报，酬答

参考例句：

• Although she did not reciprocate his feelings, she did not discourage him.尽管她没有回应他的感情，她也没有使他丧失信心。
• Some day I will reciprocate your kindness to me.总有一天我会报答你对我的恩德。

4 materialistic   

a.唯物主义的，物质享乐主义的

参考例句：

• She made him both soft and materialistic. 她把他变成女性化而又实际化。
• Materialistic dialectics is an important part of constituting Marxism. 唯物辩证法是马克思主义的重要组成部分。

5 inept   

adj.不恰当的，荒谬的，拙劣的

参考例句：

• Whan an inept remark to make on such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，怎么说这样不恰当的话。
• He's quite inept at tennis.他打网球太笨。

6 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。