Linda Lajterman suffered one of the worst experiences of her life while on a cruise with her husband and two other couples. Halfway through the trip, one of her friends stopped talking to her -- for good.
　　琳达•拉哲特曼(Linda Lajterman)在与丈夫和另外两对夫妇乘船游览的时候遭遇了她这辈子最不愉快的经历。半路上，她的一个朋友不理她了，而且永远不理她了。

　　Ms. Lajterman says she has no idea what prompted the woman, who was one of her best friends, to cut her off. They helped take care of each other's kids, celebrated family events together and shared confidences. After the cruise, which took place a few years ago, she called her friend and asked for an explanation, but received none. She says she was devastated.
　　拉哲特曼说，她不知道是什么事让最好的朋友和她绝交了。她们曾帮对方照看小孩，一起举办家庭庆祝活动，分享秘密。在旅行过后，她打电话给那个朋友，请她作出解释，不过对方什么也没说。这已经是几年前的事了。拉哲特曼说，她因此感到很伤心。

　　'I would have welcomed the opportunity to apologize or discuss it if I did anything wrong,' says Ms. Lajterman, a 52-year-old nurse from Ramsey, N.J. 'Instead, it took me three self-help books and two years to make peace with the fact that someone I thought was a good friend ended our friendship.'
　　现年52岁的拉哲特曼是新泽西州拉姆齐的一名护士。她说，如果是我做错了什么事，我希望有机会道歉，或者和她好好谈谈。相反，我却是在读了三本自助书，花了两年的时间后才让自己接受了这个事实──我以为是好朋友的人和我绝交了。

　　There are 50 ways to leave your lover, according to Paul Simon. But how many ways are there to leave a friend?
　　正如保罗•西蒙(Paul Simon)在歌中唱到的，离开情人的方法有50种。不过，离开朋友的方法有多少种呢？

　　I know, it's a terrible question. But think about it: Some of the worst breakups in our lives are not with romantic partners. They are with friends -- the people with whom we often share our deepest thoughts. Friends provide guidance, encouragement, laughter and a refuge. Losing a good friend can be one of the saddest experiences in life.
　　我知道，这个问题很可怕。不过好好想想：我们人生中最糟糕的分手经历有些并不是和情人之间。有些是和朋友──那些我们经常分享自己内心深处想法的人。朋友能够给你指引、鼓励、欢笑和避风港。失去一个好朋友有可能是一辈子最让人难过的经历之一。

　　And yet, many friendships just don't last. Some simply fizzle out, victims of routine life events such as moves, job changes, divorce or a divergence of interests.
　　不过，很多友谊就是无法持久。有些是无疾而终，成为搬家、工作变动、离婚和兴趣不同等普通人生过程的牺牲品。

　　Others end badly. Rob Wilson, 53, a writer in Atlanta, saw a 12-year friendship abruptly end after he mentioned he was voting for George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. Arthur Newton, 46, a hotel manager from Austin, Texas, had a female friend tell him she couldn't hang out with him anymore because her husband was jealous.
　　有些则是不欢而散。53岁的罗伯•威尔逊(Rob Wilson)是亚特兰大的一位作家。在2004年的总统大选中，他向朋友提到自己投了布什(George W. Bush)的票，之后两人之间12年的友谊就戛然而止了。得克萨斯州奥斯汀46岁的酒店经理亚瑟•牛顿(Arthur Newton)的一个女性朋友告诉他，因为她丈夫嫉妒，所以她无法继续和他做朋友了。

　　Michael Hassard watched a good friend run away from him -- literally. He had heard his pal had begun dating his ex-girlfriend, so Mr. Hassard, 39, a NASA engineer from Muscle Shoals, Ala., approached him in church one day to ask about it. But before he could speak, his friend turned and fled down a hallway, out the door and into his car. He and his former buddy never spoke again.
　　迈克尔•哈萨德(Michael Hassard)眼睁睁地看着他的一个好朋友从他身边跑掉了。哈萨德39岁，是驻阿拉巴马州的一名美国国家航空及太空总署(NASA)工程师。他听说朋友开始与自己的前女友约会，所以有一天他在教堂见到他时，想上前问个究竟。可是还没等他开口，朋友就转身沿着走廊跑掉了，跑到门外之后进了自己的车。两人从此再没说过话。

　　Friendships are such a nuanced and intriguing relationship that we even follow celebrity friend breakups, as we do their romances. Why else would we care about Mariana Pasternak but for her tell-all book about her former friendship with Martha Stewart, which ended after Ms. Pasternak testified at Ms. Stewart's 2004 trial.
　　友谊是一种微妙而动人的关系，我们甚至会像关注名人情侣分手一样关注名人朋友分手。如果不是玛丽安娜•巴斯特纳克(Mariana Pasternak)那本有关她和“家政女皇”玛莎•斯图尔特(Martha Stewart)从前友谊的“全揭秘”书，我们又怎么会关注她呢？2004年斯图尔特受审时，巴斯特纳克曾出庭作证，之后两人的友谊就结束了。

　　'It's a myth that friendships last forever,' says Irene S. Levine, a psychologist, professor of psychiatry at New York University's medical school and author of 'Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend.' We are tied to our family by blood and our spouses by law, so we are often more attentive to those relationships. 'Friendships are relationships of choice, so we tend to overlook them,' she says.
　　纽约大学医学院精神病学教授、心理学家艾琳•莱文(Irene S. Levine)说，友谊地久天长的说法纯粹是天方夜谭。她曾著有《永远都是好朋友》(Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend)一书。她说，我们与家人之间靠血缘关系维系，和配偶之间靠法律关系维系，所以我们对家人和配偶更用心；友谊则是你选择的，所以我们往往会忽视。

　　As a result, many friendships die from neglect, Dr. Levine says. And this in itself poses a very sticky problem in friendship breakups: How do you know if you're being neglected -- or dumped? What if your friend is always too busy to get together but always seems to have a good excuse? What if she never calls you, but seems happy enough to hear from you when you call?
　　莱文说，结果就造成很多友谊因为忽视而告终。这本身就给朋友之间的分手带来了一个非常棘手的问题：你如何知道自己被忽视了，或被“抛弃”了？如果你的朋友总是看起来忙得无法和你见面，又总是看起来有很好的理由怎么办？如果她从来不给你打电话，但在你打给她的时候看起来很高兴呢？

　　And there's the rub. There are no rules or even societal norms for friendship breakups. Fr

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