“You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.” That line comes from American writer Harper Lee’s book “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Now compare her words to another famous expression: Blood is thicker than water. This means that family will always be with you while other people -- with no blood connection -- may come and go. Having strong ties to family and friends has long been identified as an important part of being happy and healthy. People need people. However, if forced to choose which is more important, American researchers now say friendship is more important than family. Their new study suggests that friends may be more important than family members, especially as we age.
Title: Are Friends Better Than Family for Your Health?
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/friends_are_better.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Are Friends Better Than Family for Your Health?' data-article-id='2517'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='5625'>“You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.”</span> <span data-start-time='5625' data-end-time='12167'>That line comes from American writer Harper Lee’s book “To Kill a Mockingbird.”</span> <span data-start-time='12167' data-end-time='20542'>Now compare her words to another famous expression: Blood is thicker than water.</span> <span data-start-time='20542' data-end-time='30875'>This means that family will always be with you while other people -- with no blood connection -- may come and go.</span> <span data-start-time='30875' data-end-time='40854'>Having strong ties to family and friends has long been identified as an important part of being happy and healthy.</span> <span data-start-time='40854' data-end-time='43292'>People need people.</span> <span data-start-time='43292' data-end-time='54063'>However, if forced to choose which is more important, American researchers now say friendship is more important than family.</span> <span data-start-time='54063' data-end-time='63396'>Their new study suggests that friends may be more important than family members, especially as we age.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/friends_are_better.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=9055 data-hint-location='40854' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/people_need__blank_.m4a'>People need <span class='blank'>people</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='people'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/people.m4a'><span>people</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/family.m4a'><span>family</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/friends.m4a'><span>friends</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/money.m4a'><span>money</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=9056 data-hint-location='43292' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/what_is_more_important_than_family.m4a'>What is more important than family?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='friendship'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/wine.m4a'><span>wine</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/fame.m4a'><span>fame</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/friendship.m4a'><span>friendship</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/money.m4a'><span>money</span></div></div></div><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=9057 data-hint-location='20542' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/what_does_connection_mean.m4a'>What does connection mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='association'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/expression.m4a'><span>expression</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/association.m4a'><span>association</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/thickness.m4a'><span>thickness</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/friendship.m4a'><span>friendship</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
Sound Name: https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1999/friends_are_better.m4a
Preview
