Talking about characteristics

English Speaking Topic

• How would you describe a person?
• What words would you use to describe yourself?
• How would other people describe you?

Listen to the conversation between a man and a woman talking about the impression of the new job.

A	So what’s your new job like? Do you like your colleagues?
B	Oh, the job’s fine, I suppose, but the people They’re a funny bunch.
A	Really? All of them?
B	Yes! They’re really strange. The woman I sit next to is a know-it-all. Honestly, she thinks she knows everything. it doesn’t matter what the topic is, she knows everything about it.
A	Oh no.
B	And she’s a name-dropper. She knows the director of the company, she went to school with this actor, she sat next to this singer on a plane.
A	What about your boss?
B	Terrible. She’s a complete control freak. She checks my work every day and then changes everything. She tells me to make calls and organise meetings, and then she calls the people and checks the meetings.

 

Language Note:

colleague (n)
a person someone works with
– She is busy talking to a colleague

funny bunch
a strange group of people
– Have you heard of these clowns? They are a funny bunch.

know-it-all (n)
someone believes he/she understands many different topics.
– She jumps into any topics we discuss as if she is a know-it-all.

topic (n)
a particular subject that you discuss or write about.
– What is the topic of your essay?

name-dropper (n)
a person uses famous people’s names to impress others. A person pretents that famous persons are his/her friends.
– He knows the president of United States and his family. He had breakfast with Micheal Jacson. He is a name-dropper.

complete control freak
a person who likes to manage and check everything.
– She is a complete control freak. She checks every work I do.

organise (v)
to plan or arrange something
– We decided to organise a concert.

Learn more:

• How to describe locations in English
• Your English is very good
• Talking about likes and dislikes in English