Choose an idiom to replace the expression in the brackets:
(a) dog and pony show (b) monkey business (c) piggyback (d) road hog
(a) the cat had got his tongue (b) you can’t teach an old dog new tricks (c) curiosity killed the cat (d) there is more than one way to skin a cat
(a) call the dogs off (b) have a whale of a time (c) flog a dead horse (d) hold your horses
(a) a cash cow (b) as strong as an ox (c) a horse of a different color (d) a dark horse
(a) as awkward as a cow on roller skates (b) a kangaroo court (c) as quiet as a mouse (d) a scaredy-cat
(a) living high off the hog on (b) riding herd on (c) horsing around with (d) going ape with
(a) hit the bull`s eye (b) let the cat out of the bag (c) turned tail (d) cried wolf
(a) off his high horse (b) straight from the horse`s mouth (c) in two shakes of a lamb’s tail (d) in a pig`s eye
(a) straw that broke the camel`s back (b) black sheep of the family (c) cat on a hot tin roof (d) wolf in sheep`s clothing
(a) led a dog`s life (b) bet on the wrong horse (c) cast pearl`s before swine (d) made a mountain out of a molehole
(a) holy cow (b) dog in the manger (c) alley cat (d) top dog
(a) in the dog house (b) as busy as a beaver (c) until the cows came home (d) like lambs to the slaughter
(a) tail is wagging the dog (b) tail is between her legs (c) looks are like something the cat dragged in (d) bark is worse than her bite
(a) white elephant (b) horse trading (c) rat race (d) horse sense
(a) went to the dogs (b) put on the dog (c) served as a guinea pig (d) played possum
(a) as crooked as a dog’s hind leg (b) as clean as a hound’s tooth (c) as stubborn as a mule (d) bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
(a) a cock-and-bull story (b) a whale of a time (c) the best-laid plans of mice and men (d) a bull in a china shop
(a) lock horns with (b) monkey around with (c) go hog-wild with (d) make a monkey out of
(a) killing the fatted calf (b) making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear (c) backing the wrong horse (d) separating the sheep from the goats
Answers: 1 b), 2 c), 3 d), 4 a), 5 d), 6 b), 7 c), 8 b), 9 a), 10 b), 11 d), 12 c), 13 d), 14 c), 15 d), 16 a), 17 b), 18 a), 19 c)
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There are two common ways of telling the time.
Say the hours first and then the minutes.
Example: 7:45 – seven forty-five
For minutes 01 through 09, you can pronounce the ‘0′ as oh.
Example: 11:06 – eleven (oh) six
Say the minutes first and then the hours. Use past and the preceding hour for minutes 01 through 30. Use to and the forthcoming hour for minutes 31 through 59, but .
Example: 7.15 – fifteen minutes past seven
Example: 7.45 – fifteen minutes to eight
Another possibility of saying ‘15 minutes past’ is: a quarter past
Another possibility of saying ‘15 minutes to’ is: a quarter to
Another possibility of saying ‘30 minutes past’ is: half past
Example: 5:30 – half past five
Use o’clock only at the full hour.
Example: 7:00 – seven o’clock (but 7:10 – ten past seven)
In everyday English the twelve-hour clock is used. Timetables usually use the twenty-four-hour clock. In spoken English, the twenty-four-hour clock is, however, only used in official announcements, but not in ordinary speech. Beispiel: 17:20 – twenty past five
For times around midnight or midday you can use the expressions midnight or midday / noon instead of the number 12.
Beispiel: 00:00 – midnight
Beispiel: 12:00 – midday or noon
To make clear (where necessary) whether you mean a time before 12 o’clock noon or after, you can use in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, at night. Use in the morning before 12 o’clock noon, after 12 o’clock noon use in the afternoon. When to change from afternoon to evening, from evening to night and from night to morning depends on your sense of time.
Example: 3:15 – a quarter past three in the morning OR a quarter past three at night
More formal expressions to indicate whether a time is before noon or after are a.m. (also: am – ante meridiem, before noon) and p.m. (also: pm – post meridiem, after noon). Use these expression only with the formal way of telling the time.
Example: 3:15 – three fifteen a.m.
It is not usual to use a.m. and p.m. with past/to.
Example: 3:15 – fifteen minutes past three OR a quarter past three
Instead of past Americans often use after.
Example: 06:10 – ten past/after six
But: in time expressions with half past it is not usual to replace past by after.
Instead of to Americans often use before, of or till.
Example: 05:50 – ten to/before/of/till six
ADVERTISEMENT:
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Visit beautiful Northumberland!
* Visits to castles included
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**
Mary went on the weekend bus tour of Northumberland. The tour was a disaster. When she came back she wrote this letter of complaint.
LETTER OF COMPLAINT:
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to you about the tour of Northumberland I went on last weekend.
First, in your advertisement you stated that the cost would include visits to castles. In fact, we had to pay to go into one of the castles.
Secondly, the bus was not as comfortable as you had said it would be. The seats were dirty and several had cigarette burns in them.
Thirdly, the driver had obviously been drinking and almost lost control of the vehicle several times.This could have resulted in a terrible accident.
Therefore, in view of all these problems I would appreciate a complete refund.
I hope to hear from you as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully,
Ms. Mary Jones
Explanation: The letter begins with ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ because Mary does not know the name of the person she is writing to. She might also use ‘To Whom It May Concern’.
The first line of any formal letter must state the purpose of the letter, in this case, to discuss the tour of Northumberland.
Each paragraph deals with one point only, in this case there are three specific complaints, so three core paragraphs.
The letter concludes with the request, or the aim of the letter, ie. to get a refund.
We then end with a stock phrase such as ‘I hope to hear from you as soon as possible’ or ‘I look forward to hearing from you soon’.
When we do not know the name of the person we are writing to, we sign off, ‘Yours Faithfully’. If we know the name, we write ‘Yours Sincerely’ and if we have a prior existing, professional relationship with the person, we use ‘Regards’.
Finally, we sign our name. ‘Mr.’ is for a man. Traditionally we used ‘Mrs.’ to indicate a married woman, and ‘Miss’ for an unmarried woman. However, today we prefer to use ‘Ms.’ for all women as it is completely irrelevant whether she is married or not, much like ‘Mr.’ does not inform us of a man’s marital status.
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You are going to read a newspaper article about dog owners. Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A – H the one which fits each gap 1 -7. There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
A : All of this leads some people to suggest that dog fights should be prohibited.
B: These include working on farms, helping blind people navigate their way through life, and assisting the police and security forces.
C : Dogs often give the impression that they know exactly what their owners want, without being told.
D : Owners then have to start counting calories and prepare simple dished with vegetables.
E : Some dog owners have become very selective when it comes to their pets’ diet.
F : It is true that the occasional dog can go wild and attack someone, sometimes causing severe injuries.
G: Examples of these include loss of appetite and even a tendency to bite people.
H : When you look at the extremes to which some owners go, it would certainly seem so.
The old saying that a dog is man’s best friend has been around for centuries, and few people who have dogs of their own would argue with it.
Famous for their affectionate and loyal nature, dogs are often regarded as friends rather than pets. Children and old people are particularly inclined to develop close relationships with their dogs. (1)________ This sensitivity is what makes them seem almost human.
After centuries of being bred to be domestic animals, dogs have developed into safe companions. (2)_________ Such cases are rare, though, and almost always involve animals that have been trained to be aggressive. This doesn’t mean that dogs are naturally violent or dangerous, simply that they can be trained to perform a number of tasks. In fact, their capacity to learn and follow instructions is what makes dogs so valuable as working animals.
During the long history of mankind’s association with animals, the role of the dog has changed. At one time dogs were simply domestic animals that performed a useful function. Today, of course, the majority of dogs are kept as household pets, although there are still some animals engaged in important occupations. (3)___________
Many owners like to treat their pet dogs like human beings, but do some people go too far? (4)_______ Wouldn’t expensive, fashionable coats for dogs be a waste of money? Surely designer beds for dogs costing over £1,000 would be ridiculous. But these are just some of the items available from the exclusive dog boutiques to be found in many major cities around the world. This is clearly a luxury that average dog owners cannot afford. In France dogs are welcome in expensive restaurants, one of which has recently announced a new special menu for dogs. Dogs are such valued customers that they may be served before their master.
(5)__________Susan Brown buys fresh seasonal products for her Yorkshire terrier. The weekly menu consists of chicken, lamb and fish. ‘I spend hours preparing the food,’ she says. ‘I steam it, and go through it to make sure there are no bones. He loves shepherd’s pie, spring vegetables and low-fat yoghurt.’ Chef Max Oliver claims that breed should be taken into account when deciding on a dog’s diet. Boxers have delicate stomachs and they should feed on tinned food and croquettes.
It is not surprising that you can now find cookbooks with special recipes for exciting healthy dishes for dogs. Many fond owners pamper their dogs with delicacies, and the percentage of obese dogs has increased. Obese dogs are taken to the vet who puts them on a diet. (6)______ Restrictions on how much they eat make dogs feel miserable.
It is no wonder that dogs treated in such an excessive way can become nervous and unsure of themselves, acting in uncharacteristic ways. (7)_______ As a result, more and more owners are taking their confused animals to dog psychologists. These medical experts try to analyse and explain the dog’s moods. Psychologists advise the worried owners to remember that dogs basically want to run, bark and eat. Too much affection confuses them. Everything else just sends them barking mad.
(Answers: 1:C, 2:F, 3:B, 4:H, 5:E, 6:D, 7: G)
Gerry: How do you manage to survive without a job?
Kimberly: Oh, I get by with a bit of help from my parents.
[Have just enough money to pay for the things you need but nothing more]
Lauren: The problem is that the regulations don’t allow us to use next year’s budget.
Juliet: Don’t worry. We’ll get around it somehow.
[Also get round. Find a way of dealing with or avoiding a problem]
Yanis: Have you rung the travel agent’s yet to confirm our bookings?
Ronan: Sorry, I haven’t got round / around to it yet, but I promise that I’ll do it after lunch.
[Do something that you have intended to do for a long time]
Polly: I really think you ought to you-know-who about you-know-what.
Ivan: I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re getting at. Who? What?
[Asking someone what they mean, usually because they have said something indirectly]
Ellen: Do you think I can get away with not giving the students any handouts in my lecture?
Lou: Yes, they just throw them away anyway.
[Do something successfully even though it is not the best way of doing it]
Get together (often + with) – If two or more people get together they meet in order to do something or spend time together – EG. It’s nice to get together with friends at the weekend.
Get on (often + with) – If two or more people get on, they like each other and are friendly to each other – EG. I get on with my brother but not my sister.
To continue doing something, especially work – EG. I must get on with my essay.
Get behind (often + with) – If you get behind with work or payments, you have not done as much work or paid as much as you should have by a particular time – EG. I got behind with my essay because I spent too much time on the Internet.
Get something over with – Do and complete something difficult or unpleasant that must be done – EG. Let’s get this meeting over with.
Get away – Leave a place or person often when the situation makes it difficult for you to do so – EG. Let’s get this meeting over with, or else we’ll never get away before 6pm.
Can’t / couldn’t get over something – Be very surprised or shocked that something has happened or that something is true – EG. I can’t get over Susan losing her job.
Get away with something / doing something – Succeed in not being criticised or punished for something wrong that you have done – EG. I can’t get over how she manages to get away with doing so little work. It’s obvious to everyone but the boss never seems to notice.
1) You eat breakfast in the morning. Which meal do you usually eat between 12 – 2 in the afternoon?
2) Which of the following is not a fruit?
Grape – Cucumber – Pear
3) What colour is a strawberry?
4) Which of these vegetables is not green?
Carrot – Cabbage – Lettuce
5) Match up the following shops with what you can buy in them.
Baker – Butcher – Furniture shop – Jeweller – Post office
A sofa – A stamp – Bread – Meat – A ring
6) We say a bottle of milk. What do we say for the following?
A p_______ of biscuits.
A t_______ of soup.
A l_______ of bread.
A b______ of matches.
7) Organise these into fruits or vegetables.
Banana – Leek – Lemon – Onion – Orange – Peas – Plum – Potato
8) My cousin works in a florist. What does she sell?
9) The meal was expensive. What’s the opposite of expensive?
10) At a restaurant, you normally have a starter, a ______course and a dessert.
a) chief b) main c) biggest.
Answers:
1) lunch
2) cucumber
3) red
4) carrot – it’s orange
5) baker = bread butcher = meat furniture shop = sofa jeweller = ring
post office = stamp
6) A packet of biscuits A tin of soup A loaf of bread A box of matches
7) Fruit = banana, lemon, orange, plum
Vegetables = leek, onion, peas, potato
8) flowers
9) cheap
10) main
face-to-face = in person: “We need to arrange a face-to-face meeting.”
face the music = take responsibility for a difficult situation: “We’ve got to face the music – this company is going under.”
face up to responsibilities = accept responsibilities: “You need to face up to your responsibilities – it’s time you got a job and started to save money.”
be two-faced = be hypocritical: “I can’t believe she told you that she likes Harry – she told me she hates him! She’s so two-faced!”
be all ears = listen attentively: “So, you’ve got an idea. I’m all ears.”
have an ear for = be good at music: “He’s doing well in his piano lessons – he’s definitely got an ear for music.”
keep your ears to the ground = listen out for something: “I’ll keep my ears to the ground – the next time I hear someone wants to rent out a flat, I’ll let you know.”
up to your ears in something = be extremely busy: “I’m sorry I can’t come out this weekend – I’m up to my ears in work.”
keep your eyes peeled = watch extremely attentively: “Keep your eyes peeled for him – he’s in the crowd somewhere.”
keep an eye out for = watch for someone or something: “Keep an eye out for the next turning on the left.”
eye up = look at someone because you think they look nice: “Whenever she goes to a club, she always gets eyed up by older men.”
have your eye on something / someone = want someone or something: “I’ve got my eye on a new computer.”
have eyes in the back of your head = warn someone that you can see exactly what they are doing: “Don’t make those signs at me – I’ve got eyes in the back of my head!”
see eye to eye on something = agree with someone: “Those two don’t always see eye to eye – they often argue.”
stick your nose in = get involved in something or someone else’s business: “I wish she wouldn’t stick her nose in like that – I really don’t want anyone else’s help.”
on the tip of my tongue = when you’ve forgotten the word you want to say: “What’s the word for it – it’s on the tip of my tongue…”
tongue-tied = when you can’t say anything because you feel shy: “She’s tongue-tied when she has to speak in public.”
by the skin of my teeth = just manage to do something: “He got out of the burning building by the skin of his teeth.”
cut your teeth on something = where you learn to do something: “He’s the best man to run the company – he cut his teeth in the Production Department and ran it successfully for years.”
teething problems = start-up problems with a new project: “We’re having teething problems with our distribution systems.”
have a cheek = be disrespectful: “He’s got a cheek saying you never help him – I saw you writing his report for him!”
a frog in my throat = when your throat tickles and makes you cough: “Sorry I can’t stop coughing – I’ve got a frog in my throat.”
stick your neck out = do or say something that might have negative results: “I’m going to stick my neck out and say what I think.”
be up to your neck in = be in a difficult situation: “He’s up to his neck in debt.”
breathe down someone’s neck = check constantly what someone else is doing: “I can’t write this letter with you breathing down my neck!”
We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?
Eg.
If + condition + result
If + pres. simp. + will + vb. inf. (Grammar of the First Conditional)
If it rains I will stay inside.
Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures: [IF condition result] and [result IF condition]?):
Examples:
If I see Mary tomorrow I’ll tell her.
If they don’t pass the exam their teacher will be sad.
If it rains tomorrow what will you do?
Result + If + Condition (Reverse grammar for First Conditional)
I will tell Mary if I see her.
Their teacher will be sad if they fail the exam.
What will you do if it rains tomorrow?
Note: Sometimes, we use shall, can, or may instead of will, for example: If you are good today, you can watch TV tonight.
READING TEST: PARAGRAPH TOPIC HEADINGS
For each paragraph, choose the most suitable heading from the list which follows. There is one extra
heading you do not need to use.
THE NEED FOR A GREEN WORLD
A. Some countries do not do as much as others.
B. Publicity may encourage green attitudes.
C. Some people take a lot of trouble.
D. Pollution is all around us.
E. Government action is essential.
F. Wildlife suffers.
G. A heavy price paid for economic success.
H. Possible to take being Green to extremes.
I. The end of civilised society.
1
Possibly, in Europe, one person in ten has turned green. No wonder. You would have to lead a sheltered life not to be aware of the garbage in the air, on the land, and in the sea. Take the Adriatic coast of Italy where, all night long, the slime and the scum lap the moonlit beaches. At dawn, the shore is covered in a thick brown-green gunge. Dump trucks roar into action, and the splodge is collected and taken away, but by early afternoon, it has again started to drift inshore. The sludge is killing fish, clams and mussels. It is killing the tourist business, too.
2
Where does it come from? For years, nitrates and phosphates and God knows what other chemicals have been dumped into the Adriatic. As Italy’s economic miracle has worked its wonders, the industry of the Po valley has had its effluent combine with rising temperatures in the sea to produce a thick algae. The result is economic disaster for the tourist industry: 3,000 hotels, 26,000 villas and 800 restaurants take a lot of filling. One politician suggested the building of swimming pools.
3
Whatever may be happening south of the Alps, there is little doubt that Britain remains the least green country in Northern Europe. The average Britain does not sort as much garbage for recycling, does less to conserve energy, rarely votes on green issues, and only began driving on unleaded petrol once there was a tax incentive. Britain is probably about five years behind the leaders.
4
West Germany is ahead. The Greens are a real political threat there, so the government has been forced to deal with their issues. In German supermarkets, shoppers choose the green-friendly and the not-nasty. Fly-sprays are exchanged for old-fashioned fly-papers. A Green householder will have two dustbins, one for normal rubbish, and one for paper which is taken to be recycled. Glass goes into a special container down the road, and used batteries are taken to special collecting-points.
5
But if the German consumer takes his Greenness seriously, the American has elevated it to an art form. It is no longer a simple matter of separating the bottles from the chicken bones, and picking out the lettuce leaves for the compost heap. In offices, workers have lines of colour-coded wastepaper baskets, one for white paper with glue, one for white paper without glue, one for coloured paper, and yet more baskets for other types of rubbish. Trash Police are employed to report on Garbage Louts.
6
The science of garbology has taken hold. It has an official magazine, entitled, of course, Garbage. It lifts the lid on garbage for the common man. Its first print run of 100,000 was sold out with days. The magazine has a Garbage Index with lots of information for the fact-hungry. Americans throw away 1.6 billion ball-point pens every year, as well as two billion razor blades and 250 million car tyres. Greens are recommended to read the Los Angeles Times, 83 per cent of which is printed on recycled paper, rather than The Washington Post, none of which is.
7
Out on America’s beaches, there is a another problem: sixty per cent of the rubbish washed up on the beach is plastic. To keep the floating rubbish from reaching New York, the US Army Corps of Engineers uses skimmers to lift debris from the water. One result of the plastic garbage is dead fish. A rare three-metre-long beaked whale was washed ashore on Long Island. After a postmortem, scientists concluded that the animal had starved to death, its stomach blocked by plastic carrier bags.
8
On a larger scale, Western consumption patterns are wrecking the ozone layer over the Antarctic and destroying the Brazilian rain forest. Power stations in Britain are killing trees in Norway. Today’s central heating will produce tomorrow’s global warming, and the flooding of low-level lands the day after. These problems are too large to be left to the individual. They are probably too large to be left to the Greens. According to the British Green Manifesto, “Conservation must replace consumption as the driving force of our economy… Green politics is about `enough’, not about `more and more’… nuclear power stations are extremely dangerous. We want to see them phased out quickly… The growth of air traffic over Europe is unnecessary…”
(Answers: 1.E; 2.G; 3.A; 4.C; 5.H; 6.B; 7.F; 8.E)
