Having a solid group of friends is undeniably rad1）. You have a crew of besties who want to watch The Fault in Our Stars， a pack of girls to cram2） for your exams with， go-to hang-out-and-do-nothing buddies—but that doesn't mean it's always stress-free. As a matter of fact， drama usually （OK， always） finds a way to creep3） in. Raise your hand if you've ever found yourself on the receiving end of4） some mean gossip from within your own circle， or been bailed on5） by a friend who knew you needed her？ Everybody？ Yeah， us too. Consider this your roadmap for dealing with the types of pals who are particularly difficult.

The Flake6）

Is your bud a barrel of laughs7）， but impossible to lock down？ Then you need to find activities that won't ruin your day if she ends up canceling. If you guys are planning a relaxed afternoon， try a manicure8） date or shopping day instead of grabbing brunch—you can hit the nail salon or your favorite boutique9） alone in case she's a no-show. Planning a night out together？ Have her meet at your place for a hang before heading to a friend's party. There's no shame in rolling into10） the fiesta11） solo if she bails， and this way， you still have something on your schedule.

出爾反爾型

你的朋友很有趣，但卻做不到說(shuō)話算數(shù)？那么，你需要找那些即便她最后不赴約也不會(huì)毀掉你的一天的活動(dòng)。如果你們正在計(jì)劃過(guò)一個(gè)放松的下午，那就試試一起去做美甲或是逛街，而不要約著吃早午餐——萬(wàn)一她放你鴿子，你還可以自己去美甲店或是逛你最喜歡的精品店。要是約在晚上一起出去呢？那就在去你朋友的派對(duì)之前，約她來(lái)自己的地盤(pán)見(jiàn)面逛一逛。即使她爽約，你自己一人不慌不忙地過(guò)節(jié)也沒(méi)什么丟人的。而且這樣的話，你日程中還能有別的安排（編注：指參加派對(duì)）。

毋庸置疑，有個(gè)穩(wěn)固的朋友圈子是件很棒的事。你有一幫朋友想看《星運(yùn)里的錯(cuò)》，有一群女伴可以和你一起為考試臨時(shí)抱佛腳，還有一些小伙伴可以跟你一起無(wú)所事事地閑逛，但這并不意味著一直沒(méi)有壓力。事實(shí)上，戲劇性事件常常（好吧，總是）有辦法悄悄降臨。如果你曾發(fā)現(xiàn)你的朋友圈里有人平白無(wú)故地說(shuō)你壞話，又或是你的朋友曾經(jīng)明知道你需要她卻還是背棄了你，不妨舉下手。每個(gè)人都有過(guò)這種經(jīng)歷？是的，我們也一樣。那就用下面的方法來(lái)指導(dǎo)你如何與各類(lèi)特別不靠譜的朋友相處吧！

The Secret Spiller

When secrets are your friend's currency12）， it can be tough to eke out13） a good relationship. You can still have positive interactions with someone who's always spilling your （and everyone else's） beans14）； you just have to think of this leaky pal as human Twitter. Don't share any stories with her that you wouldn't tweet to the world yourself， and don't reveal any info you wouldn't post publicly. That way， you can maintain your friendship without worrying yourself sick over if you should or shouldn't discuss so-and-so's15） breakup.

大嘴巴型

當(dāng)你的朋友視秘密為流通貨幣時(shí)，你們就很難勉強(qiáng)維持一段良好的關(guān)系了。不過(guò)，你仍然可以跟經(jīng)常泄露你（和其他所有人）秘密的人保持積極的互動(dòng)，只是你必須把這個(gè)大嘴巴的朋友當(dāng)成人形推特。不要跟她分享任何你不會(huì)發(fā)在推特上的事情，也不要透露任何自己不會(huì)公開(kāi)發(fā)布的信息。這樣，你就可以維持你們的友情，而又無(wú)須擔(dān)心自己會(huì)因到底應(yīng)不應(yīng)該和她討論某某人分手的消息而感到厭煩。

The Fair-weather Friend

It's tough being close with someone who only wants your chemistry notes or a ride to the big game. If you find yourself fretting16） about whether they're your friend for real or just using you， trust your gut17）. When they're asking too much of you， you'll feel it—and when you do， simply say no to their requests. Your friend will realize you have boundaries once you put your foot down18） and treat you more genuinely when they know they can't take advantage of you. But if they don't—and you guys become less tight—you know you rose above19） a crummy20） user.

勢(shì)利型

如果有人只想借你的化學(xué)筆記看看或是搭你的便車(chē)去看大型比賽，那就很難跟這樣的人保持親近。要是你發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在苦惱到底他們是真把你當(dāng)朋友還是只是在利用你，相信自己的直覺(jué)吧！當(dāng)他們對(duì)你索取太多的時(shí)候，你會(huì)感覺(jué)到的，而當(dāng)你感覺(jué)到時(shí)，就直接拒絕他們的要求。只要你態(tài)度堅(jiān)決，你的朋友就會(huì)意識(shí)到你有自己的底線。他們知道不能利用你時(shí)，也就會(huì)更加真誠(chéng)地待你。但如果他們沒(méi)有改變——而且你們也逐漸疏遠(yuǎn)了——那你就知道你擺脫了一個(gè)只會(huì)利用人的朋友。

The Quiet Festerer21）

Since communication is one of the main ingredients of a killer friendship， a pal who keeps her feelings bottled up22） can be a tough nut to crack23）. Your best bet is to give her enough opportunity to share what she's going through， but never pressure her if she's not ready to talk： make sure she knows you're available， trustworthy， and judgement-free. Yes， you'll have to shoulder the burden of questioning what might be wrong， but if it's something that's really bugging24） her， she'll open up.

壓抑沉默型

既然交流是深厚友情的主要構(gòu)成之一，有一個(gè)總是壓抑自己想法的朋友就很難辦了。最好的選擇就是給她足夠的機(jī)會(huì)來(lái)傾訴自己的遭遇，但是如果她還沒(méi)有做好說(shuō)的準(zhǔn)備，永遠(yuǎn)不要強(qiáng)迫她，要確保讓她知道可以找你傾訴，你值得信任，而且也不會(huì)評(píng)判她。是的，這樣你必須肩負(fù)起詢問(wèn)可能發(fā)生了什么事的擔(dān)子，但是如果出了真的在困擾著她的事情，她會(huì)打開(kāi)心扉的。

The Real Housewife

She's the dramatic one： the girl who talks a whole lot of smack25） and does who-knows-what behind everyone's back. On paper at least， this isn't a true blue26） friend， but we know it can be tough to ditch her when she's your BFF. Don't fret about cutting her out entirely if you still want her in your life—just try your best not to add fuel to the fire. Keep the gossiping to a minimum and （obviously?。?don't indulge27） any of her shady28） behavior. You'll see that after you resist a few times， your friend will stop engaging you in her negativity， and it'll be smooth sailing from there on out.

說(shuō)長(zhǎng)道短型

她就是那個(gè)充滿戲劇性的朋友，制造一大堆的謠言，也不知道她背著大家在搗鼓些什么。至少理論上這并不是真正可靠的朋友，但是我們知道當(dāng)她是你最好的朋友時(shí)，讓你拋棄她可能就很痛苦了。如果你還想把她當(dāng)成朋友，那就不用為要完全甩掉她而感到苦惱了——只要努力別去火上澆油就行。將這些說(shuō)長(zhǎng)道短的行為控制到最低限度，而且（顯然）也不要縱容她任何見(jiàn)不得人的行為。你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，在你反對(duì)幾次之后，你的朋友將不再把你卷入她的負(fù)能量中，從那以后一切就會(huì)一帆風(fēng)順啦！

1.rad [r?d] adj. <主美口>非常棒的；頂呱呱的

2.cram [kr?m] vi. （為應(yīng)付考試而）臨時(shí)抱佛腳

3.creep [kri?p] vi. 悄悄進(jìn)入，逐漸產(chǎn)生

4.on the receiving end of： 平白遭受，蒙受

5.bail on： 放棄，背棄。bail [be?l] vi. 放棄（一個(gè)項(xiàng)目或一段感情等）

6.flake [fle?k] n. 反復(fù)無(wú)常的人；靠不住的人

7.a barrel of laughs： 有趣的人（或事）

8.manicure [?m?n?kj??（r）] n. 修指甲

9.boutique [bu??ti?k] n. （時(shí)裝、珠寶等的）專(zhuān)賣(mài)店；精品店

10.roll into： 不慌不亂地來(lái)到；姍姍來(lái)遲

11.fiesta [fi?est?] n. 喜慶日；假日

12.currency [?k?r?nsi] n. 貨幣

13.eke out： 竭力維持

14.spill one's beans： 泄露（某人的）秘密

15.so-and-so： 某某人

16.fret [fret] vi. 苦惱；煩惱

17.gut [ɡ?t] n. 內(nèi)心

18.put one's foot down： 堅(jiān)決反對(duì)

19.rise above： 克服；擺脫

20.crummy [?kr?mi] adj. 劣質(zhì)的；蹩腳的

21.festerer [?fest?r?（r）] n. 使情況惡化的人。fester [?fest?（r）] vi. 逐漸惡化

22.bottle up： 壓制，掩飾（不快）

23.a tough nut to crack： [俗]難辦的事；難以解決（或理解）的問(wèn)題

24.bug [b?ɡ] vt. 使煩惱

25.talk smack： 出言毀謗（或謾罵）

26.true blue： 忠貞不渝的；堅(jiān)定不移的

27.indulge [?n?d?ld?] vt. 縱容；遷就

28.shady [??e?di] adj. 可疑的；見(jiàn)不得人的