Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English
We Speak. I'm Feifei...
Rob: ...you are, and I'm Rob.
Feifei: Rob, a question - is it right you
have a friend who lives on top of a
mountain?
Rob: Errr no.
Feifei: What about a friend who lives in La
Paz - one of the highest cities in the
world?
Rob: Strange question, but no.
Feifei: OK, how about a friend who lives at
the top of a very tall tower block?
Rob: Definitely not. Why are you asking
about my friends anyway?
Feifei: Well, someone in the office said
you have friends in high places - and I just
wondered why it was useful to know
people who lived high up.
Rob: OK, well if you have friends in high
places it has nothing to do with their
physical location - they are people you
know who are powerful and in an
important position and
are able to help you.
Feifei: So these are useful people to know
then?
Rob: They certainly are. Let's hear some
examples of other friends in high places...
Examples: Wang managed to get a
promotion but I'm sure it's only because
he knows people in high places.
Thanks to his friends in high places, my
boyfriend managed to get tickets for the
sold-out rock concert. Yeah!
Despite failing her exams, Jane still
managed to get a place at university - I'm
sure she has friends in high places.
Feifei: This is The English We Speak from
BBC Learning English and we're talking
about the phrase 'friends in high places'.
These are powerful and important people
we know and might be able to help us
in some way. So Rob, you know some
very important people then?
Rob: Well, yes a few - although not the
Queen. Why do you want to know?
Feifei: Well, I have to renew my passport
and I need someone important to witness
my application.
Rob: Oh come on Feifei, you know I could
do that.
Feifei: Err sorry Rob. You may be a friend
but you're not in a high enough position to
do this! Look, it needs a doctor, lawyer or
policeman to sign it.
Rob: Great! So how high am I?
Feifei: About this high.
Rob: That low. Oh dear. Time to make
some new friends. Bye bye.
Feifei: Bye.