Welcome to a new episode of English Vocabulary Booster.
My name is Lara and I'm a SALSA certified English teacher.
Learning new vocabulary usually takes a long time, but we'll do it in a way that's easy, quick and efficient.
In every episode, we'll learn how to use five new English words or expressions, so that you too can start speaking like a native.
So let's get learning.
And we're back again.
So this week's topic is friendships.
Let's hear the story.
Well, Max and I started talking only because we were lab partners in chemistry class.
Nobody could imagine we'd become friends.
We were like chalk and cheese.
Max liked movies.
I liked reading.
He liked going out.
I was shy and preferred to stay at home.
However, we began spending more and more time together and became good friends.
We had our ups and downs.
Sometimes we would have small fights, but in the end, we would always make up.
On the last day of school, however, I heard him talking to a friend and saying, don't tell Tracy.
I couldn't believe it.
I thought we were best friends.
I immediately confronted him and we had a huge falling out.
I accused him of talking behind my back, but he kept denying it.
We didn't speak for weeks.
Well, until I received a letter.
Yep, an actual letter.
And it was from him.
I opened it and it read, Tracy, will you go on a date with me?
So that's what the big secret was.
And from that moment on, we've been much more than just good friends.
Okay, so it's time to take a look at today's expressions.
Let's begin with expression number one, to be like chalk and cheese.
We were like chalk and cheese.
So if two people are like chalk and cheese, are they similar or different?
If two people are like chalk and cheese, they are very, very different.
But we're talking about being different in terms of personality or looks.
If two people are like chalk and cheese, it is their personality that's very, very different.
So think about yourself and think about the people that are in your life.
You and who else are like chalk and cheese?
I must say that there aren't many people that I'm friends with that are very different from me.
In a lot of ways, I think me and my mom are like chalk and cheese.
We have a very different view on life and we have pretty different lifestyles.
But other than that, I think I tend to surround myself with people that I don't know are kind of like me.
Word or expression, I should say.
Number two, have your ups and downs.
We had our ups and downs.
If a friendship has ups and downs, what happens?
Only good things happen.
Or B, only bad things happen.
Or C, a mixture of both good and bad things happen.
You have your ups, you have your downs, which means both good and bad things happen in the relationship or in the friendship.
Do you think it's normal for a friendship to have ups and downs?
I think it isn't.
I think it's more normal in maybe, a romantic relationship, because you spend so much time together and you have maybe different expectations.
But at least for me, when I'm friends with someone, we don't really have any ups and downs.
The relationship is pretty stable.
Word number three, make up.
In the end, we would always make up.
Okay, we're not talking about the makeup that you put on your face.
This time it's a phrasal verb.
So when is it that you make up with someone?
Before having an argument or after?
Here's the order.
You have an argument and then you make up.
Do you go back to being friendly after making up?
Yes, here's the order again.
You have an argument, you make up, and that's why you become friendly again.
So what are some of the things that you could do when making up with someone?
I'll give you three options.
You shake hands or wave your hand or hug.
You have more than one option actually.
So if you're making up with someone, you normally hug someone, maybe if you're very intimate with them.
Or shaking hands.
Shaking hands is very popular in a lot of cultures.
After having an argument to make up by shaking hands,
Waving?
Not so much.
And how long after a fight do you usually make up?
Does it take you a long time to make up?
Um...
It never takes me a long time.
I hate arguing.
And so usually the moment I have a fight like right after the fight's over I immediately try to make up with the person, because it's just I cannot stand being mad at someone or knowing that someone's mad at me.
Word number four, falling out.
We had a huge falling out.
So why falling?
Could you have a falling out?
Is it because you agree or disagree with someone?
Well, a falling out usually happens because there's a disagreement.
And is the disagreement big or small?
The disagreement is big.
Something bad has happened for two people to fall out, for two people to have a falling out.
And if you had a falling out with someone, are you still friendly with them?
Unfortunately, no.
If you've had a falling out with someone, then you stop being friends with them, at least temporarily.
Have you ever had a falling out with someone and why?
Yes, I've had my fair share of falling outs in my life.
I think the biggest ones, or I should say the longest ones, have been with my mom, because sometimes we get into fights and we wouldn't speak for weeks.
Well, maybe not weeks, but days, definitely.
Expression number five, talk behind someone's back.
I accused him of talking behind my back.
If you talk behind someone's back, does that person know you're talking about them?
Nope.
This person has no idea you're talking about them because you're doing it behind their back.
Not literally, just without them knowing that you're talking about them.
If you talk behind someone's back, do you say good things or bad things about this person?
If you're using the expression to talk behind someone's back, it means that the person talking is not saying good things about you.
It's usually bad things.
So, is it a good thing to talk behind someone's back?
Well, no, obviously not.
It's terrible.
Don't do it.
Just be honest.
Be direct.
Talk to the people that you want to talk to.
What would you do if you discovered that a friend is talking behind your back?
I would stop being friends with them, like for sure.
There would be no way for me to keep being friends with someone that I can't fully trust.
So yeah, what about you?
And that is it for today.
And remember, if you want to access the transcript, as well as lots of other resources, visit enboocom.
That is E-N-B-O-O-O dot com.
Have a great day.
