This clip is from Episode 46 of The Adam Buxton Podcast, a great podcast if you want to practise listening to natural conversation.
…so I was just like, “this is a disaster!”…
The phrase I was like, he was like, she was like etc is a common and useful way of introducing direct speech (a quote). In informal conversation, this is often more natural than using reported speech, e.g. I said it was a disaster.
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This clip is from an episode of The Allusionist, which is a wonderful podcast all about language.
The speaker is talking about his work as a hand engraver – cutting text or designs into objects (usually jewellery) by hand. The speaker has a London accent.
…it’s a dying trade…
If someone refers to a job or profession as a dying trade, then they are saying that it is disappearing due to a lack of demand or need for it.
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This clip is from an episode of The Allusionist, which is a wonderful podcast all about language.
The speaker is talking about the way that the word ‘please’ is sometimes used differently in British and American English.
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This clip is from an episode of the Adam Buxton Podcast, which is a brilliant, funny and interesting conversational podcast. This episode features an interview with singer-songwriter John Grant.
John and Adam are discussing how they cope with long journeys.
…Well, I mean…
These are examples of fillers – words or phrases that we add to sentences while we think or organise our ideas. These are very common in natural spoken English, and an important listening skill is identifying and then ignoring fillers.
…I’d had a really long day…
Notice the weak/contracted pronunciation of the past perfect in this sentence: /aɪd hæd/ rather than /aɪ hæd hæd/.
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