We know nobody likes a person who is always telling lies. We can often hear people say: "Tell me the truth. I won't mind". But when they really hear the truth, they might be unhappy, and they might even hate you and hurt you. This is the complexity¹ of interpersonal relationships. So I have to say, sometimes it's OK to tell the truth, but you have to think about it if it's good enough to do so.

I had an experience about how to be honest. One of my teachers is a middle-aged² woman. One day I met her in the teacher's building and said hello to her. But she suddenly asked me a question. She said: "Look at that woman teacher! She is two months younger than I. Who do you think looks younger?"! think she looked older, but when I saw the eyes were full of ex-pectation, my answer became: "Of course you look younger. "She seemed to be happy and went away with great satisfaction.

This doesn't mean I'm not honest. On this occasion³ it may hurt her feeling if I tell the truth, therefore it's better to tell a friendly lie than to tell an unfriendly truth. Don't you agree?

But on some occasions⁴ we have to tell the truth though it might not be good for ourselves. When we see a pickpocket⁵ steal-ing something on a bus, we should not keep silent; we must tell the truth to the victim. Surely, it's quite dangerous if you shout:

"Pickpocket! "But we can tell the truth quietly and secretly. So we must also pay attention to the way to tell the truth.

To be honest is the elementary moral⁶ character. However, as people's minds and the society are growing more and more com-plex, it's not so easy to tell the truth. We must learn to protect ourselves when telling the truth, then we can make it without hurting others' feelings. We can also avoid troubling when it's not necessary.

Honesty should do good for others and ourselves.

指导教师：宋立泽 刘雪梅