MEG: Well, hello there, Julia! Long time no see!
JULIA: Meg! Hi! What a coincidence! I haven’t seen you in ages! What
are you doing here?
MEG: I just got a new job in the city, so I’m shopping for some
clothes. Hey, what do you think of this shirt?
JULIA: Hmmm … well, you know how much I love blue. See? I’ve got
the same shirt!
MEG: You always did have good taste! What a small world.
LANGUAGE NOTES
• Well, hello there … Notice the emphasis on “hello,” which shows that Meg did not
expect to see Julia.
• Long time, no see! This is a common expression used to say hello to someone you
haven’t seen in a long time.
• What a ___! This exclamation shows a great degree of surprise, joy, disappointment,
etc. (What a surprise to see you here! What a joy to have you with us! What a shame
that you have to leave so soon! What a wonderful idea that is!)
• You always did have good taste! Notice the stress on “did,” which Meg uses to
emphasize the fact that Julia DOES have good taste! Meg says it in a joking way
because Julia likes the same thing that she does.
• What a small world is a common expression used to describe a chance meeting or
other such coincidence.