Your ability to keep long-distance friendships alive may depend on your gender¹, according to a new study.

一项最新研究表明，你的性别可能会决定你保持一段异地友谊的能力。

Whereas a good gossip on the phone is enough for women to stay close to each other, regular calls have absolutely no effect on men.

虽然女性之间可以通过电话聊天来维持彼此的感情，不过男性间进行定期通话显然毫无作用。

According to psychologists at Oxford² University, male friends need to make the effort to meet up face to face if their "bromance" is to survive.

来自牛津大学的心理学家认为，如果男人希望“基情”长久，就要经常见面。

Professor Robin³ Dunbar followed a group of 30 teenagers as they left home to start university or pursue careers, and found a "striking sex difference" in the factors that decided⁴ whether a friendship flourished or floundered.

罗宾·邓巴教授对30个为大学学业或个人事业离开家乡的少年进行了跟踪调查，调查发现，决定一段友谊是继续发展还是就此沉寂的因素存在着“让人震惊的性别差异”。

He said: "The caricature is if you move away to another town, girls will be on the phone or Facebook with each other to keep the relationship going.

他表示：“如果女性搬去别的城镇，那么通过电话或者脸书，她们的友谊可以维持下去。”

"With guys, it is 'out of sight, out of mind'. They just find four more guys to go drinking with."

“至于男性，则是'眼不见，心不念'，他们还是会叫上四五个人一起喝酒。”

Prof Dunbar explained that male friendships endure when mates meet up and do stuff together - whether it is a drink down the pub, watching the football, or playing a five-a-side game.

邓巴教授解释称，男性朋友间只有经常见面，一起活动--无论是去酒吧喝酒，看足球赛还是踢室内足球--才能维持友谊。

He believes that telephone calls work better for women because female friendships have a greater intensity⁵ than male ones - and are more similar to romantic relationships, which can break catastrophically.

他认为通电话对女性来说作用更大，因为女性之间的感情比男人之间的要更亲密--和情侣关系有些相似，有时一旦破裂，堪称一场灾难。

Because of this, women are more motivated to safeguard their friendships - even over long distances.

正因如此，女性维护友谊的动机才更强烈--即使彼此远隔万里。