Shadowing Practice: Speak Like a Native | Day 8 | Talk About Friendship | B1-B2 Listening Practice - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hey, hey, hey!
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Welcome back, FluentX family.
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Day 8.
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Week 2 starts today, and honestly, this might be my favorite topic of the entire series.
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Mine too!
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I am Sarah.
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And I am Mike.
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And if you are joining us for the first time today, welcome home.
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You are part of something real here.
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Now, before we start today's episode, I need to ask you something.
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And I want you to actually think about it.
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Not just listen.
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Actually think.
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Go ahead, Sarah.
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How many true friends do you have?
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Not followers, not contacts, not people you say hi to at work.
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True friends.
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The kind who would answer the phone at two in the morning.
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Hmm, that is a real question.
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It is.
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Because most people, when they actually count, the number is smaller than they expected.
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And that is not a sad thing, necessarily.
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That is just the truth about adult friendship.
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It is rare, it is precious, and it is one of the hardest things to talk about in any language, including English.
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And today, we are talking about it.
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All of it.
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How to describe your friendships, how to talk about what friendship means to you, how to express the complicated,
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beautiful, sometimes painful truth of what it means to have real friends.
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This is day eight of our Speak Like a Native series, B1 and B2 level.
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Twenty minutes of real listening practice, real language, real life.
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Today's format is our signature three-layer approach.
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We start with a real story, then we break down the language, then we practice using it all in real conversations.
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If you have not subscribed yet, please do it right now.
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This series is building every single day, and you do not want to miss what is coming.
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And drop a comment below.
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Tell us, who is the most important friend in your life right now?
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You do not have to share their name.
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Just tell us what makes them special.
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We read every single comment.
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Okay, are you ready for day eight?
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Let us go.
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Okay, layer one, the story.
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Every episode, we share a real story connected to today's topic.
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Listen carefully.
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This one is personal, and I think it is going to feel very familiar.
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A few years ago, I had a best friend.
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I will call him Daniel.
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We had been friends for almost eight years.
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We went through everything together.
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University, first jobs, heartbreaks, family problems, everything.
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Eight years is a long time.
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It is.
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A lifetime when you're young.
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We had this thing we did every Friday, no matter what was happening in our lives.
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We would meet for coffee.
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Same cafe, same table, same order, every Friday for years.
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That sounds really special.
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It was.
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And then one day, Daniel just stopped showing up.
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No explanation.
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No argument.
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No fight.
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Nothing happened between us.
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He just gradually disappeared.
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Texts left on read.
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Calls that went to voicemail.
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Friday plans that were canceled and never rescheduled.
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That is one of the loneliest feelings in the world.
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Someone fading away without telling you why.
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Exactly.
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And the worst part was not the losing him.
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The worst part was the silence, the not knowing.
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Because without a reason, your brain invents one.
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And the reasons your brain invents are always about you.
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Was I too much?
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Was I not enough?
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Did I say something wrong?
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Did I stop being interesting?
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You started questioning your own worth because of his silence.
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Yes.
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And that's what the loss of a friendship does.
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It's different from a romantic breakup.
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In a romantic breakup, people expect you to be devastated.
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They give you space.
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They check in on you.
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They bring you food.
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But when a friendship ends, especially quietly, people do not always understand why it hurts so much.
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Right.
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Someone would ask me how I was doing and I would say, oh, I'm fine.
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Just one of my closest friends kind of disappeared from my life.
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And they would say, oh, that's a shame, and change the subject, as if a lost friendship is a minor inconvenience and not a real grief.
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But it is a real grief.
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It is a real grief, one of the realest there is.
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Because a true friend is not just a person you spend time with.
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They're a witness to your life.
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They remember the versions of you that no longer exist.
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They know the stories nobody else knows.
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When you lose that, you lose a piece of your own history.
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A witness to your life.
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I love that.
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Years later, I found out that Daniel had gone through something very dark, a personal crisis, and his way of coping was to pull away from everyone,
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not just me, everyone.
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He wasn't ending the friendship, he was drowning, and he didn't know how to ask for help.
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So the disappearance was not about you at all?
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It was never about me, And when we finally talked again, after almost two years of silence, he said the one thing I had needed to hear from the beginning.
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He said, I'm sorry I disappeared.
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I wasn't okay.
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And I didn't want you to see me like that.
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That must have been hard to hear, and also a relief.
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Both at the same time.
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Because it confirmed what I had hoped was true.
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That it wasn't me.
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That the friendship was real that the silence had a reason, and it reminded me that sometimes the people who go quiet aren't ending things,
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they're just lost, and they need someone to wait for them.
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That is a beautiful and painful story, Mike.
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And I think a lot of people listening right now have their own version of it.
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I think so, too.
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Friendship is one of those topics that looks simple from the outside, but underneath it's incredibly complex.
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And today, we're going to give you the English to talk about all of it.
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The deep stuff.
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The real stuff.
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Layer 2 is coming right up.
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Okay, Layer 2, Language Breakdown.
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This is where we take the most powerful vocabulary and phrases from today's story and teach you how to use them naturally.
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We are going to go through five categories, describing your friends, describing friendship dynamics, talking about losing a friend,
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expressing what friendship means to you, and advanced phrases that make you sound completely natural at B2 level.
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Okay, let us start with category one, describing your friends.
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At B1 and B2 level, you need to go beyond nice and funny and kind.
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Let us talk about more precise, more interesting vocabulary.
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First phrase, loyal to the core.
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This means someone who is deeply and completely loyal, not just a little bit loyal, loyal to the very center of who they are.
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For example, she is one of the most loyal people I have ever met.
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Loyal to the core.
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If you're in trouble, she's the first one there.
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Loyal to the core.
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Say it with me.
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Loyal to the core.
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Loyal to the core.
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Next, dependable.
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This means you can always count on them.
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They do what they say they will do.
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They show up when they say they will show up.
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For example, what I value most about him is that he's completely dependable.
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If he says he will be there at 7, he's there at 7.
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Dependable.
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Say it.
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Dependable.
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Dependable.
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Next phrase.
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We just click.
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This means the connection between you happened easily and naturally, without effort, without awkwardness.
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For example, we met at a work event and we just clicked immediately.
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Within an hour, it felt like we had known each other for years.
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We just click, or we clicked immediately.
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Both are natural.
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Both perfect for B2 level conversation.
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Next, she knows me inside out.
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This means she knows everything about you.
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Your good sides and your bad sides.
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Your habits and your quirks.
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For example, I don't have to explain myself to her.
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She knows me inside out.
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She can tell when something is wrong just from the tone of my voice.
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Knows me inside out.
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Beautiful phrase.
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One more for category one.
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A kindred spirit.
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This means someone whose personality and values feel very similar to yours.
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Someone who understands you in a deep, instinctive way.
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For example, the moment I met her, I knew she was a kindred spirit.
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We had completely different backgrounds, but we saw the world in exactly the same way.
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A kindred spirit.
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That's a lovely phrase.
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Okay.
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Category 2.
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Friendship dynamics.
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How friendships work.
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How they grow and change.
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First phrase, we have grown apart.
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This means two people were once close, but over time they have become less connected.
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Not because of a fight, just because life took them in different directions.
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For example, we were inseparable at university, but over the years we've grown apart.
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We still care about each other, we're just not as close as we used to be.
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We have grown apart.
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Very natural.
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Very real.
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Next, we pick up right where we left off.
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This means that even if you haven't seen someone for a long time, the moment you're together again, it feels like no time has passed at all.
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For example, I haven't seen her in three years, but every time we meet, we just pick up right where we left off.
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It feels completely natural, like we saw each other yesterday.
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Pick up right where we left off.
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That is such a beautiful quality in a friendship.
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It really is.
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Next phrase, a one-sided friendship.
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This means one person puts in most of the effort, one person initiates contact, one person makes the plans, and the other person mostly receives.
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For example, I slowly realized it was becoming a one-sided friendship.
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I was always the one texting first, always the one suggesting plans, and I had to ask myself, is this actually a friendship or just a habit?
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A one-sided friendship.
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Very important vocabulary for adult life.
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Okay, category three.
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Talking about losing a friend.
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Because this is something that happens to everyone, and almost nobody has the English for it.
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First phrase, we drifted apart.
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Similar to growing apart, but more gradual, more quiet.
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Like two boats that were once tied together, but slowly the rope loosened, and now they're floating in different directions.
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For example, there was no big moment, no fight, no reason.
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We just drifted apart over time, and one day I realized I hadn't spoken to her in six months.
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We drifted apart, gentle but honest.
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Next, they faded out of my life.
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This means someone gradually became less present, less frequent, until one day they were just gone.
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For example, after university, most of my friend group faded out of my life.
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Social media keeps us connected in theory, but in reality, we are just strangers who know each other's holiday photos.
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Strangers who know each other's holiday photos.
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That is so real for social media friendships. So real.
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Next phrase, I had to let that friendship go.
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This means you made a conscious decision to stop investing in a friendship that was not working.
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For example, after years of feeling undervalued, I finally had to let that friendship go.
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It was not easy, but it was necessary.
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I had to let that friendship go.
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Very honest, very mature.
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Category four, expressing what friendship means to you.
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This is where your English can really shine.
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First phrase, friendship is not about being available all the time.
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It is about showing up when it matters.
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This is a complete thought you can use in conversation.
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Say it with me.
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Friendship is not about being available all the time.
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It is about showing up when it matters.
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Friendship is not about being available all the time.
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It is about showing up when it matters.
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Beautiful.
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Next, a true friend is someone who knows all your stories, or better yet, someone who was there for them.
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Say it.
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A true friend is someone who knows all your stories, or better yet, someone who was there for them.
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A true friend is someone who knows all your stories, or better yet, someone who was there for them.
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Incredible phrase.
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That will make anyone stop and think.
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And one more.
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I would rather have four quarters than a hundred pennies.
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Oh, I love this one.
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What does it mean?
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It means I would rather have four true, valuable, real friends than one hundred shallow, unreliable ones.
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Quality over quantity.
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I would rather have four quarters than a hundred pennies.
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That is going to stick with people.
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It always does.
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Okay, category five, advanced B2 phrases that make you sound completely natural.
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First, she has seen me at my worst and never once made me feel judged.
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That phrase tells a whole story about a deep friendship in one sentence.
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Next, he is the kind of person who remembers the things you mentioned in passing six months ago.
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That kind of attention to detail in a friend is everything.
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Next, we have this unspoken understanding.
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We do not need to talk every day to know we are still close.
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Unspoken understanding, when you don't need words because the connection goes deeper than words.
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Next, she calls me out when I'm wrong and I love her for it.
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This shows that real friendship includes honesty, even uncomfortable honesty.
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And the last one, some friendships have an expiry date, and that's okay.
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Not every connection is meant to last forever.
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Some friendships have an expiry date, and that's okay.
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A very mature and peaceful way to think about friendships that end.
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These phrases are yours now.
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Let's go to Layer 3, practice time.
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Okay, Layer 3.
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This is where we use everything we have learned in real conversation practice.
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I'm going to ask you questions.
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Sarah is going to answer in natural B1, B2 English.
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Listen carefully.
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Then we will give you the chance to practice answering yourself.
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Ready?
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How would you describe your best friend?
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She is one of the most dependable people I know.
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We met at university, and we just clicked immediately.
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She knows me inside out.
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Even on the days when I cannot explain how I feel, she gets it without me having to say a word.
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That sounds like a really deep connection.
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It is.
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She's a kindred spirit.
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We don't talk every day, but we have this unspoken understanding.
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Distance and time do not really affect what we have.
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Have you ever lost a close friend?
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Yes, and it was harder than I expected.
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We had been close for years, and then gradually we just drifted apart.
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No drama, no argument.
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We just grew in different directions.
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I had to let that friendship go eventually.
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And honestly, it took time to grieve that.
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That is such a real experience.
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What does friendship mean to you personally?
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For me, friendship is not about being available all the time.
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It's about showing up when it truly matters.
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I'd rather have four quarters than a hundred pennies.
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I value depth over quantity.
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A true friend is someone who has seen me at my worst and never once made me feel judged.
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That kind of friendship is rare.
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And when you find it, you protect it.
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That was a masterclass answer, Sarah.
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Thank you, Mike.
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Now it's your turn.
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Try answering these three questions yourself, out loud, right now.
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Take your time.
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Question 1.
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How would you describe your best friend?
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Use phrases like loyal to the core, dependable, we just click, knows me inside out, or a kindred spirit.
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Go ahead.
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Answer out loud right now.
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Take as much time as you need.
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Question 2.
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Have you ever lost a close friend?
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Use phrases like we drifted apart, faded out of my life, we've grown apart, or I had to let that friendship go.
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Try it now.
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Answer in your own words, out loud.
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And question three.
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What does friendship mean to you personally?
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Use any of the advanced phrases we practiced today.
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Go ahead.
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Take your time.
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Speak your answer out loud right now.
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How did that feel, speaking about something personal in English, something real?
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Because here's what happened just now.
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You didn't just practice English.
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you thought about something that actually matters to you in English.
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And that's the difference between learning a language and living in one.
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Welcome to Word Tour.
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Ten powerful phrases from today.
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All B1, B2 level.
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All ready to use in real conversations.
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Let us go.
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Number one, loyal to the core.
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Means completely and deeply loyal in every situation.
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Example, she stood by me through everything she is loyal to
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the core loyal to the core number two we just clicked means the connection happened immediately
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and naturally example we met at a conference
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and we just clicked by the end of the evening we were talking like old friends.
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We just clicked.
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Number 3.
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Knows me inside out means someone understands everything about you completely.
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Example, my best friend knows me inside out.
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I cannot hide anything from her even when I try.
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Knows me inside out.
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Number 4.
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A kindred spirit means someone who feels deeply similar to you in personality and values.
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I rarely meet people I truly connect with, but when I met him, I knew immediately he was a kindred spirit.
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A kindred spirit.
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Number five, we drifted apart, means two people gradually became less close over time, without any specific reason.
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After we both moved to different cities, we slowly drifted apart.
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We still care about each other, but we're not close like we were.
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We drifted apart.
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6. Pick up right where we left off.
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Means to continue a friendship naturally after time apart, as if no time has passed.
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Example, we had not seen each other in two years, but the moment we sat down, we just picked up right where we left off.
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Pick up right where we left off.
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7. A one-sided friendship.
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means a friendship where only one person puts in most of the effort.
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Example, I finally admitted to myself that it was a one-sided friendship.
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I was always the one reaching out, and that was not sustainable.
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A one-sided friendship.
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Number eight, I had to let
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that friendship go means you made a conscious decision to stop investing in a friendship that was no longer working.
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Example, it was painful, but I had to let that friendship go.
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Some connections run their course, and that's okay.
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I had to let that friendship go.
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Number nine, an unspoken understanding.
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Means a deep mutual understanding between two people that doesn't need to be said out loud.
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Example, we have an unspoken understanding.
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We don't need to explain ourselves to each other.
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We just know.
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An unspoken understanding.
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Number ten, some friendships have an expiry date.
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means not every friendship is meant to last forever, and that's a natural part of life.
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Example, I used to feel guilty when friendships ended, but I've come to understand that some friendships have an expiry date, and letting go gracefully is a sign of maturity.
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Some friendships have an expiry date.
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Beautiful.
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Those were ten powerful phrases for talking about friendship in natural B1, B2 English.
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Say them all one more time out loud right now.
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Loyal to the core.
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We just clicked.
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Knows me inside out.
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A kindred spirit.
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We drifted apart.
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Pick up right where we left off.
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A one-sided friendship.
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I had to let that friendship go.
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An unspoken understanding.
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Some friendships have an expiry date.
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Go ahead.
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Say them all out loud right now.
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All right, Fluentex family.
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Let us take a breath together.
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In and out.
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Today, we talked about one of the most important things in human life.
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Friendship.
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Real friendship.
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The kind that holds you together.
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The kind that quietly fades.
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The kind you have to let go.
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and the kind that picks up right where it left off, no matter how much time has passed.
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And you now have the English to talk about all of it, deeply, naturally, like a native speaker.
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Here's your Day 8 challenge.
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Think of one friendship in your life right now.
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It can be a close friendship, a fading one, a lost one, a new one.
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And write three sentences about it in English in the comments below.
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Use the vocabulary from today.
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Loyal to the core.
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We just clicked.
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We drifted apart.
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An unspoken understanding.
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Whatever feels true for you.
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We are going to read every single comment.
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And we are genuinely curious about the friendships in your lives.
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And here's a little preview of what is coming tomorrow.
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Day 9 is going to be about something that almost every person avoids,
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a conversation so difficult that most people put it off for months, sometimes years.
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We are going to give you the language to finally have it.
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Day 9.
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Describe a difficult conversation.
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You do not want to miss it.
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If today helped you, if you learned something, if Mike's story about Daniel felt familiar, please hit that like button.
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Share this episode with someone who needs it.
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And subscribe if you haven't yet.
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Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
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Real English, real stories, real life.
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You are not just learning English here.
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You are learning to express the most human parts of yourself in a second language.
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and that's extraordinary.
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This is Mike and this is Sarah and you've been listening to FluentX English podcast.
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Speak like a native.
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Day eight complete.
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We will see you tomorrow for day nine.
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Take care of your friendships today and take care of yourself.
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Bye family.
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Bye.
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Real-Life Scenarios: Talking About True Friendship
Imagine chatting with a friend over coffee, reflecting on what makes a relationship "real." The video dives into this exact situation, exploring how to describe deep connections—like friends who answer the phone at 2 a.m. or stick through university, first jobs, and heartbreaks. This isn’t just small talk; it’s the kind of conversation that helps you connect authentically in English. Whether you’re sharing stories about a lifelong pal or explaining what friendship means to you, the dialogue gives you the tools to speak naturally, not just correctly.
Useful Chunks & Collocations to Memorize
- "True friends" – Not followers or work contacts; the ones who show up.
- "Go through everything together" – Perfect for describing shared life experiences.
- "Answer the phone at two in the morning" – A vivid way to talk about reliability.
- "Rare and precious" – Words to highlight friendship’s value.
- "Complicated, beautiful, sometimes painful truth" – Captures the depth of real connections.
These phrases are native-level and ready to use in your next English speaking practice. They’ll make your conversations feel less scripted and more genuine.
Your Shadowing Challenge: Practice Like a Pro
Want to improve English pronunciation and fluency? Try the shadowing technique—one of the best ways to learn English with videos. Here’s your task: Play the first 30 seconds of the dialogue where Sarah and Mike discuss "true friends." Pause, then repeat the lines out loud, mimicking their tone, speed, and stress. Focus on how "true friends" is emphasized and the natural rhythm of "not followers, not contacts, not people you say hi to at work." Do this 5 times, then record yourself. Compare it to the video—you’ll notice a difference in your flow! This is "shadowspeak" in action: learning by mirroring native speakers to sound more natural.
Ready to level up? Head back to the video, practice the shadowing exercise, and start using these chunks in your own conversations. You’re not just learning English—you’re learning to connect.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to be · used to feel |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have not subscribed · have ever met · have grown |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who go · someone who is · Someone who understands |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were canceled · be devastated · is meant |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.