English conversation and listening practice.
Lesson seven catching up with an old friend.
Hears Neil and heres Sarah.
They are old friends.
They are talking about the bad situation in
their company and feel worried about job security.
Listen into their conversation and and focus on
the highlighted words that are used in context.
This English lesson will give you good
listening practice and help you learn new
words and phrases used in daily conversations.
Let's get started.
Hey Neil.
It's been a while.
Long time no see.
Hey Sarah.
It's good to see you.
Things have been pretty rough at work to be real.
Yeah, I feel you.
Our company has been downsizing a lot.
I'm really worried about my job security. Seen here.
I heard they're cutting a lot
of jobs in our department.
It's a really uncertain time.
Yeah, I'm trying to stay positive, but it's tough.
How's your personal life?
It's been good.
Thanks for asking.
I just got back from a vacation with my family.
What's up with you?
I've been good too.
I just moved into a new apartment.
It's been a lot of work, but
it's starting to feel like home. That's tight. Congrats.
So any plans on how to handle the downsizing at work?
Well, I've been trying to stay visible and
make sure my work is getting noticed.
I've also been networking a lot and
looking for other opportunities just in case.
That's a good strategy.
I've been doing the same thing.
It's important to have a plan B. Definitely.
It's tough, but we'll get through this. Agreed.
Let's catch up soon and keep each other updated.
Sounds like a plan. Take care. Meal. You too.
Talk to you soon. Bye.
I hope you enjoyed the conversation and focused on
the highlighted words that were used in this conversation.
Now let's understand these words and phrases
in context with more example sentences.
The first phrase is long time no see.
This is an idiomatic expression that is
commonly used as a casual greeting when
you haven't seen someone in a while.
It's often used as a way to acknowledge that
it's been some time since you last saw someone.
It's also a way to break
the ice and start a conversation.
It's similar to saying it's been a while or it's
been a long time since we last saw each other.
Here are some more example sentences.
Hey John.
Long time no see.
How have you been, Sarah?
It's been ages since we last saw each other.
Long time no see.
I haven't seen you in months.
Long time no see.
How have you been?
It's also used as a greeting
in replacement of how are you?
Up next is a rough time.
It refers to a period
of difficulty, hardship or stress.
It is used to describe a difficult
experience that someone is going through because
of a variety of situations such as
personal, professional, financial or even health problems.
Like in the conversation.
Neil says it is rough at work, which means
there's a lot of stress at his workplace.
Let's understand how to use
it with some example sentences.
She's been having a rough time since
her breakup with her longterm partner.
I've been having a rough time lately with my
health and my stress levels are through the roof.
The company has been going through a rough time
financially, so we have to make some tough decisions.
Here's the next phrase to be real.
To be real is a casual phrase that
is used in replacement of to be honest.
It's used to say someone
is speaking honestly and candidly.
It is usually used when someone wants to express
their true feelings or thoughts on a subject.
It is often used to highlight or
emphasize the seriousness of what is spoken.
Take a look at these example
sentences to understand them better.
I don't mean to be rude, but to be
real, I didn't like the presentation at all.
I know you don't want to hear this, but to
be real, I don't think you're ready for this job.
To be real, do you think
this relationship is going anywhere?
That's tight.
Does it mean that a shirt
or trousers don't fit you well? No.
That's tight is a slang phrase and
is used to express approval or agreement.
It's similar to saying that's great, that's cool, that's
awesome, but in an informal or casual way.
Here are some example sentences I
heard you got that wreath.
That's tight.
I saw your new car.
That's tight.
To stay visible, it's mainly used to encourage
someone to maintain a high level of visibility.
But in the context of this conversation between Neil
and Sarah, it means to keep oneself seen, noticed
or acknowledged by others in order to maintain a
good reputation or influence in that place.
As Sarah is trying to stay visible so
that she's not fired from the job.
Here are some example sentences in order
to advance in your career, you need
to stay visible by taking on high
profile projectsp and volunteering for leadership roles.
If you want to be considered for promotions, you
need to stay visible by contributing to team meeting.
If you want to be successful, you
need to stay visible to your customers.
I hope you got that.
Here's another phrase from the
conversation sounds like a plan.
Sounds like a plan is a casual and informal way
to show agreement or to say I agree with you.
It's a better phrase in replacement of basic
words such as yes, sure or of course.
Take a look at these example sentences
let's meet for lunch at noon.
Sounds like a plan.
Let's start planning our vacation.
Sounds like a plan to me.
I'll handle the presentation, don't worry.
Sounds like a plan. Thanks.
I would like to encourage you to
listen to the conversation once again.
This time, pay attention to the context in
which these words and phrases are used.
Notice how they are used in different situations.
And how they add meaning to the conversation.
Additionally, you will be able to use these
words and phrases in your own conversations which
will help you sound more natural and fluent.
Hey Neil.
It's been a while. Long time. Mel c.
Hey, Sarah.
It's good to see you.
Things have been pretty rough at work, to be real.
Yeah, I feel you.
Our company has been downsizing a lot.
I'm really worried about my job security.
Seen here, I heard they're cutting a
lot of jobs in our department.
It's a really uncertain time.
Yeah, I'm trying to stay positive but it's tough.
How's your personal life?
It's been good.
Thanks for asking.
I just got back from a vacation with my family.
What's up with you?
I've been good too.
I just moved into a new apartment.
It's been a lot of work, but
it's starting to feel like home. That's tight.
Congrats.
So any plans on how to handle the downsizing at work?
Well, I've been trying to stay visible and
make sure my work is getting noticed.
I've also been networking a lot and
looking for other opportunities just in case.
That's a good strategy.
I've been doing the same thing.
It's important to have a plan B. Definitely.
It's tough, but we'll get through this. Agreed.
Let's catch up soon and keep each other updated.
Sounds like a plan. Take care. Meal. You too.
Talk to you soon. Bye.
That's all for today.
By practicing listening to real life conversations, you
will improve your listening skills and become more
confident in understanding and speaking English.
I hope you enjoyed this lesson and found it helpful.
I would love to hear from you.
What conversation topic would you like to
be covered in the next lesson?
Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for tuning in and happy learning.