085 – First Impression | ESL Podcast

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085 – First Impression | ESL Podcast

Meeting people can be difficult. Learn about making first Impressions while learning English in this ESL podcast

English Learning Reading

A: Hey I ran into your friend Mark at the bank yesterday. We chatted for quite a while because there was such a long wait.

B: How was it?

A: To be honest, it wasn’t that great. He seemed quite arrogant and acted as though he had better things to do than talk to me.

B: Oh no. You are way off base with that. He just comes across that way for some reason. He’s notorious for giving off bad first impressions. He’s a really nice guy once you get to know him.

A: Well, as a friend you should say something to him.

B: I’ve tried confronting him about it but he gets really defensive.

A: Why do you think he acts like that?

B: I don’t really know. I think he’s under the impression that he’s being really cool. Psychologists say that some people are incapable of recognizing the emotions of other people based on their facial expressions and body language. These people are completely oblivious to what other people are feeling, and as a result are not very good in social situations.

A: Does he act that way around girls?

B: He does. They usually don’t find him funny and take him for being arrogant.

A: That sucks.

Ran into: If you “run into” someone it means that you see them somewhere unexpectedly.

I ran into your ex-girlfriend the other day.

You are way off base: If someone is “way off base” it means that they are totally wrong about something. They are not even close to being right.

Ex. A: I thought that eating only one meal a day would be a good way to lose weight.

B: Oh no. You are way off base. It is much more effective to have several smaller meals throughout the day.

Comes across: If someone “comes across” as something it means that they appear to be a certain way when you meet them. They portray a certain image.

That guy comes across as being really calm and friendly, but apparently he gets into a lot of fights when he’s angry.

As a friend: “As a friend, you need to go talk to him about his drinking problem”. That means, “since you are his friend, you should talk to him about his drinking problem”.

Defensive: If someone is being “defensive” it means that they are really sensitive about a certain topic. This person won’t be able to have a reasonable conversation about this topic. Often people are defensive about some personal weakness. They won’t accept their weakness and don’t want to talk about it.

He’s under the impression: If someone is “under the impression” of something it means that they think it is true. Usually we use this when someone thinks something is true but in fact they are wrong.

He’s under the impression that his girlfriend never lies to him.

Take him for being: If you “take someone for being” something it means that you think they are that kind of person.

I can’t believe she is a famous model and actress. I took her for being a normal high school student.

This is a lesson from Fun English Lessons . You can subscribe to all of the comments at RSS 2.0 . You can leave a comment below.