📙 Part 2: Describe an old friend that you got in contact with again

This episode's vocabulary

In terms of - in relation to something.

Mindset (noun) - a person's way of thinking and their opinions.

Attitude (noun) - a feeling or opinion about something or someone, or a way of behaving that is caused by this.

Manner (noun) - the usual way in which you behave towards other people, or the way you behave on a particular occasion.

Counter-intuitive (adj.) - something that is counter-intuitive does not happen in the way you would expect it to.

Upbringing (noun) - the way in which you are treated and educated when young, especially by your parents, especially in relation to the effect that this has on how you behave and make moral decisions.

Get on like a house on fire - if two people get on like a house on fire, they like each other very much and become friends very quickly.

Hand in glove - working together.

Terrific (adj.) - very good.

Convenient (adj.) - suitable for your purposes and needs and causing the least difficulty.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory will describe an old friend that he got in contact with. He will say who he/she is, what he/she is like, how he got in contact, and explain how he felt about it. Rory, are you ready to rock and roll? OK, give us some moves and dancing. OK, give us the story. Come on.

R: I think this is a good opportunity to speak about my friend Sarah. It's actually unfortunate she's never going to hear this because I think she's really cool. She's a senior teacher in a different company to mine and I think is possibly one of the few people who's like me in terms of mindset, humor, attitude to life and manner. And this is a little counter-intuitive, actually, because she's American and we had very different upbringings and very different political viewpoints. But despite this, there is like the same use of irony and tone and sort of sly remarks in our jokes and a similar quality in our work and our investment in our health and our friends. She works extraordinarily hard all the time, but she always makes time for her friends as well. And I'm learning to do the same. We first met in a bar about five years ago and we got on like a house on fire at the time, but we never quite got it together until we bumped into each other again at a bar. Just before the pandemic really hit, actually. Despite the length of time that passed, it was like hand in glove fit. And we were making the same inappropriate remarks and jokes while getting on with other people who were there. She's a really, like, she's a terrific friend and I'm glad we reconnected and got closer than before. And now we're constantly talking to each other online and just because I actually have social media now, so that makes things a lot more convenient. And unlike the last five years, I was actually able to go to her birthday, which was a really which is a really great occasion, because I managed to meet other people who were just like us there as well. So I actually helped me expand my circle of friends even more. Um, but yeah, I think I'm really glad we reconnected. The only really big regret that I have is that we didn't do it before now. But, you know, we survived and things are going to get better.

M: How often do you see this friend?

R: Oh, not nearly often enough. Maybe once or twice a month now, but it's better than before.

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Discussion

M: Yay, so the topic is describe an old friend that you got in contact with again, so got in contact with you met them again. Or Rory very used a phrasal verb bumped into.

R: Yeah, if you bump into somebody, you almost you meet them, but it's like by accident, it's not your plan.

M: Yeah, so you just imagine, dear listener, you're going to work and then oops Rory, like, whoa, hello.

R: What a coincidence.

M: So you can bump into Rory if in Moscow or you can bump into me or you can bump into Vanya. So you do need to have some vocabulary to describe this friend of yours who you got in contact with recently. So, for example, Rory said, like in terms of mindset, humor, attitude to life and manner.

R: Mm hmm. We are similar. So actually that's a good point. If you can't think about concepts or aspects of your personality that make you similar, you can also talk about being similar. You could also think about adjectives you would use to describe yourself and because your friends, they would probably share the same kind of traits. So don't worry to use that kind of mental trick as well. Just describe if you can't describe yourself, your friend, then describe yourself.

M: Yeah. Yeah. And you can say that she's a terrific friend or he's a terrific friend. Terrific is not the same as terrible. Terrific is actually good. So she's a good friend. She's a terrific friend. You can say we get along well with each other. So we get along well. And Rory has used two idioms here. Wow.

R: I did?

M: Oh yeah, you did. So at first you said that we got on like a house on fire. We got on like a house on fire. To get on like a house on fire.

R: You could also get along like a house on fire. But basically it means the same thing, which is that you really liked each other and enjoy each other's company.

M: Yeah. Yeah. In our situation, like Rory and myself. Well, like, I got on like a house on the fire towards him, but he wasn't like that towards me. So it wasn't mutual. And you said that it was like a hand in glove fit.

R: Yes. So if your hand puts into a glove, it's like you belong together and you can work very well together. There's no need for readjustment.

M: Your hand belongs to your glove, obviously. So it was like a hand in glove fit. Yeah, we kind of became friends. And then because the topic is about you getting in contact with this friend, again, you can say like at the end of your talk, right. I'm glad we reconnected. Right. So we got closer. We got reconnected. I bumped into her or him. You can have different upbringings with you.

R: You can. And your upbringing is like your childhood. It's like how you're raised by your parents. So we did have very different upbringings. Um, for example, she was raised in America when I was raised in the UK. There are different styles of parenting there.

M: Yeah. You can say, like, OK, we have different upbringings or backgrounds. However, we got on like a house on fire. Yeah. And when you tell the examiner the story you are using pretty much past tense, right? Like we first met. I bumped into her. We got on like a house on fire. So past tenses, you can also use past continues.

R: You can. I didn't, but you can. For more general phrases to structure your answer, though. You could always start off something like this. Like, I'm going to talk about my friend, bla bla bla. Like, I think this is a good opportunity to speak about. And then. And then you could also say it's unfortunate that he or she is not going to hear this because I think they're great.

M: Yeah, yeah, yes. Dear listener, the first criterion in IELTS speaking is fluency and coherence. Coherence meaning that you organize your story in a logical way. So you do need these, you know, words like despite this, unfortunately or anyway. So to make sure that the examiner understands your story clearly and follows your story. So avoid jumping from one idea to another. No.

R: You can structure it in terms of saying I think this is a good opportunity to talk about blah blah, blah, blah, blah. And then there are like me in that. And then you can go on and then you can say, despite this, blah, blah, blah. And then talk about the time you first met. We first met.

M: Yeah, and at the end of the talk, again, like, I'm glad we're connected. And then if you feel that you do need to speak for a longer time, you can and you have nothing else to say. You can just say, well, I think that's all.

R: Did I say I think that's all?

M: No, you didn't.

R: But you can.

M: No, but you can. If you stopped talking, right. And the examiner is just looking at you like, oh, come on. It's like to signal that, OK, yeah, I'm done. I have nothing else to say.

R: Or you could say, I think that's all. But if I have to continue, then I would like to tell you about the time when we did this.

M: Another friend. Yeah. If you're done with one friend of yours, you can start talking about another friend.

R: No, you'd have to keep talking about the same friend to stay on topic.

M: Oh, really?

R: Yeah, you have to keep on topic. Your answers have to be relevant to the topic.

M: Yeah, OK. But if I kind of, if I tell the examiner the story about this friend, I got reconnected and then I have nothing else to say. Like, oh, wow, there was another old friend of mine who I got in contact with again. So I'm staying on topic.

R: But you have, the original topic was to speak about a friend and you have to speak about only one friend. Not two otherwise you've gone off topic.

M: Really?

R: Yeah.

M: Ok, yeah. True. So it's much better to talk about one person, but if you speak for thirty seconds and then you have nothing else to say, it's much better just to keep talking.

R: Well if you answered every point on the prompt about this one friend then you could just talk about the things you've done together with this one friend. And why it's great that you reconnected. Don't talk about someone new.

M: Or you can talk about like the future, like what would you like to do with this friend. So, OK. And I'm sure that next time I'll see her or him we'll go blah, blah and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

R: Lots of interesting activities there.

M: Yeah. Precise activities. Yeah.

R: Thank you for listening.

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R: Your suggestions for other kinds of band nine gorgeous grammar and vocabulary for a high score. Scotland freedom. What a coincidence.

M: Band nine score. Quality.

R: Quality indeed.

M: Bye!

R: Bye!

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