– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Hello! Welcome to Real Easy English  from BBC Learning English. I'm Georgie.

And I'm Neil.

We're here to help you improve your English  with a real conversation in easy English.

If you want to read along,  you can find a text version  

of this podcast at BBC Learning English dot com.

Right, let's start the show. How are you today, Neil?

I'm very well, thank you, Georgie.

What are we talking about in this episode?

Today is all about friends.

We'll talk a bit about our friends and why they are important.

Great, let's get started.

So, Neil, do you have a lot of friends?

Erm, yes, I do have quite a few friends.

How about you?

Yes, I also have quite a lot of friends.

I've lived in different places,

so I have made friends in lots of different areas and times of my life.

So, Georgie, you said that you have lived in lots of places,

and I know you have lived in Spain.

So, do you have lots of friends in Spain?

Yes, I have a few friends in Spain.

But now that I live in London, it's quite difficult to stay in touch with them.

But, actually, one of them is coming to visit this weekend.

Ah! So you try to 'keep in touch with' some of your friends.

That means 'to keep contact with them',

to make sure that you stay friends by speaking to them.

Yes, exactly.

And if you have a lot of friends,

it can be difficult to stay in touch with so many.

What do you like to do with your friends, Neil?

Well, I like to talk to them, mainly.

So, I like to meet them maybe in a pub or a restaurant,

or we go to a sports match sometimes and we...

and we talk there and have a good time.

— That sounds nice. — How about you?

Yes, I'm the same.

During the week I think a nice plan is to go out for dinner with friends.

At the weekends, I like going for a walk or getting a coffee with friends.

Mm, you can do both of those at the same time!

Yeah. That's right.

Sometimes I meet friends, we get a coffee to take away,

and then go for a walk around the park.

And are you happy about the number of friends you have?

Or would you like to have more or fewer?

I always like making new friends.

If you start a new hobby or you move to a different place,

there are always more people and new people to meet.

I like making friends. What about you?

Yes, but I like to see my old friends and if I make new friends,

I know it's something that happens slowly and that's OK.

Now, we have used this word friends a lot,

but there are other words for friends too, aren't there?

Yes. One is mate. I use mate a lot.

We also use pal.

So sometimes I refer to my friends that are girls as gal pals.

Gal pals. That's a nice expression.

So, Neil, why are friends important to you?

Ah, yes, good question!

Friends are important, I think, because you can be yourself with your friends.

You don't have to pretend, if they're good friends, because they know you as you are.

And that's not the same everywhere that you go in life.

Yep, that's true!

Let's recap the language we learned during the conversation.

We learned 'mates' and 'pals', which are other words for 'friends'.

We heard 'keep in touch with', which means 'see or speak to someone regularly'.

We also say 'stay in touch'.

And 'a few', which means 'more than two, but not many.'

So I have a few friends in Spain, but not many.

Thanks for listening to Real Easy  English. Visit our website for  

more activities and courses to help you with  your English. BBC Learning English dot com.

Next time, we'll talk about  holidays and places we would like to go.

See you then. Goodbye!

Bye!

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
friend /frɛnd/ A1	noun - a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection
conversation /ˌkɒnvərˈseɪʃən/ A2	noun - an informal talk between two or more people
meet /miːt/ A2	verb - to come together with someone intentionally
talk /tɔːk/ A2	verb - to speak or converse noun - a spoken communication; a chat
stay /steɪ/ A2	verb - to remain in a particular place
keep /kiːp/ A2	verb - to retain or continue having something verb - to prevent something from happening
important /ɪmˈpɔːtənt/ B1	adjective - having great significance or value
different /ˈdɪfrənt/ B1	adjective - not the same as something else
new /njuː/ A1	adjective - recently created or acquired
old /oʊld/ A1	adjective - having lived for a long time; not new
good /ɡʊd/ A1	adjective - having desirable qualities; satisfactory
make /meɪk/ A1	verb - to create or produce something verb - to cause something to happen
like /laɪk/ A1	verb - to find enjoyable or agreeable
go /ɡoʊ/ A1	verb - to move from one place to another
visit /ˈvɪzɪt/ A2	verb - to go to a place or person for a short time
place /pleɪs/ A1	noun - a particular position or area
hobby /ˈhɒbi/ B1	noun - an activity done regularly for enjoyment
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the measurable period during which events occur
expression /ɪkˈsprɛʃən/ B2	noun - a phrase or word that conveys an idea or feeling
question /ˈkwɛs.tʃən/ A2	noun - a sentence or phrase used to elicit information