Đăng ký Đăng nhập

Tài liệu Idioms organiser rec

.PDF
294
1364
119

Mô tả:

IDIOMS ORGANISER Organised by metaphor, topic and key word by Jon Wright Edited by Jimmie Hill and Morgan Lewis Illustrated by Bill Stott Australia Canada Mexico Singapore Spain United Kingdom United States Idioms Organiser Organised by metaphor, topic and key word Jon Wright Publisher/Global ELT: Christopher Wenger Executive Marketing Manager, Global ELT/ESL: Amy Mabtey Cover design: Anna Macleod Cartoons: Bill Scott Copyright © 2002 by Heinle, a part of the Thomson Corporation. Heinle. Thomson and the Thomson logo are trademarks used herein under license. Copyright ©formerly held by Language Teaching Publications and R.A. Close 1992. Printed in Croatia by Zrinski d.d. - 5 6 7 8 9 10 06 05 04 03 02 For more information contact Heinle, 25 Thomson Place, Boston, MA 02210 USA, or you can visit our Internet site at http://www.heinle.com All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means — graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution or information storage and retrieval systems — without the written permission of the publisher. ISBN: 1 899396 06 3 The Author Jon Wright is co-founder and Director of Studies of The Language Project, Bristol, a small school With a special focus on developing innovative learner-centred materials. He has many years' experience as a teacher, teacher trainer, materials writer and examiner. His other publications include Basic Grammar, with Dave Willis, for Cobuild, and Dictionaries, in the OUP Resource Books for Teachers Series. Author's Acknowledgement would like to thank my editors Jimmie Hill and Morgan Lewis, for their considerable guidance in shaping this book, as well as acknowledging the many ideas and examples, which they gave so generously. The staff and students of The Language Project in Bristol have helped me in many ways both in and outside the classroom. As always, a special thank you to Etsuko. Idioms are important Dear Student Words don't come singly You have probably spent a long time learning new words. Words, however, do not just come individually, they also come in expressions - in groups. Idioms are among the most common of these expressions. There are thousands of them in English: I could eat a horse. Money doesn't grow on trees. It's not up to scratch. I got there in the nick of time. Language is literal and metaphorical Sometimes when we use language we use it in a very literal way: I've been out fishing, but caught absolutely nothing! The same language can be used in a non-literal way - a metaphorical way: Yesterday I caught the bus. My car wouldn't start. Here are more examples of this metaphorical use of catch: He caught my attention. Wait while I catch my breath! Look at that tan! You've caught the sun! I didn't quite catch what you said. The metaphorical uses of a word are often more common than the literal ones. Idioms have grammar Some idiomatic expressions are fixed and cannot change: Two heads are better than one. Very often you can change the tense and the pronoun: I'm/She's/We were all at sixes and sevens. How is Idioms Organiser organised? This book organises the most important idioms in English in four sections: 1. Areas of metaphor 2. Individual metaphors 3. Topics 4. Key Words Make sure you study the Introductory Unit of this book before you begin the main units. Plan your study and work regularly through the units on your own or in class. Jon Wright CONTENTS Introductory Unit 7 Section 1: Areas of Metaphor 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Time is Money Business is War Seeing is Understanding Life is a Journey Life is Gambling A Company is a Ship Moods are Weather The Office is a Battlefield A Project is a Race Economics is Flying Organisations are Gardens People are Liquid Review Unit 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 Section 2: Individual Metaphors 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 25 29 30 31 32 33 14 - Animal Idioms Bird Idioms Body Idioms Breaking Idioms Building Idioms Cat Idioms Clothes Idioms Colour Idioms: Black/White Colour Idioms: Red/Blue Driving Idioms Eating Idioms Eye Idioms Face Idioms Fingers and Thumbs Idioms Fire Idioms Fishing Idioms Food Idioms Foot Idioms Hand Idioms Head Idioms Heart Idioms 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 Horse Idioms House and Home Idioms Life and Death Idioms Metal Idioms Mind Idioms Number Idioms Sports Idioms Swimming Idioms Temperature Idioms Train Idioms Water Idioms Review Unit 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100 102 Section 3: Topics 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 Advice Agreeing and Disagreeing Annoyance and Frustration Being Positive Certainty and Doubt Change Communicating Dishonesty Easy and Difficult The Family Good and Bad Quality Health Holidays Knowledge and Ability Memory Mistakes Misunderstanding Money 1 Money 2 Moods People Power and Influence Problems 1 Problems 2 Reading Relationships 1 Relationships 2 Safety and Risks Similarities and Differences Sleep and Dreams Speed 106 108 110 112 114 116 118 120 122 124 126 128 130 132 134 136 138 140 142 144 146 148 150 152 154 156 158 160 162 164 166 5 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 Starting and Stopping Success and Failure Suitability Surprises Time Work 1 Work 2 Review Unit 168 170 172 174 176 178 180 182 Section 4: Key Words 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 All And 1 And 2 Back Cut End Fall Good / Better / Best Ground Half Know , Life Light and Heavy Like Line Lose and Lost No Of Or Point Side Something, Anything, Nothing Thing To + infinitive Top and Bottom 'Very' Way Word Review Unit 186 188 190 192 194 196 198 200 202 204 206 208 210 212 214 216 218 220 222 224 226 228 230 232 234 236 238 240 242 Section 5: Index of Expressions 245 Section 6: Answer Key 279 6 1: What is an idiom? An idiom is an expression with the following features: 1. It is fixed and is recognised by native speakers. You cannot make up your own! 2. It uses language in a non-literal - metaphorical - way. The following are examples: 1. Tin up to my eyes in work at the moment. 2. At the meeting I felt a bit out of my depth. 3. I was over the moon when I heard she'd had twins! 4. It broke my mother's heart to see her home burn to the ground. If you are up to your eyes, you are very busy. If you are out of your depth, you might be in the sea, but you are more likely to be in a situation which you do not understand for some reason. If you are over the moon, you are extremely happy about something. If something breaks your heart, you are very sad about it. In these examples it is clear that the idiom is a whole expression. This is the traditional view of idioms. But there is a lot more language which is idiomatic. For example, there are lots of individual words with idiomatic uses. On page 3 we saw that catch has many more uses than the literal one of catching a fish. Here are more examples: Literal Use 1. The river flooded several villages. 2. Piles of rubbish lay everywhere. 3. I love roast potatoes. 4. I've got an uncle at sea. Idiomatic Use The crowd flooded on to the pitch. He's got piles of money. Euthanasia. Now, that's a very hot potato! I'm all at sea. 7 We are familiar with the idea of heavy rain causing a river to overflow and flood the surrounding area; crowds are often described as water and the same verb flood is used. The literal meaning of pile is a heap of something; piles of money, however, simply means lots of money. A hot potato is not for eating; it means a controversial issue. An uncle at sea works on a boat; if you are at sea, it means you are in a situation which you do not understand and where you cannot cope. Idioms Organiser takes a broad view of idiom. In this book you will practise common idioms such as the black sheep of the family, but you will also practise the huge area of idiomatic usage where words are used with non-literal - metaphorical meanings. 2: What is a metaphor? Metaphors exist in all languages. You use them in your own language. A metaphor uses one idea to stand for another idea. Above, we saw the simple idea: A crowd is water. When you have that idea in your mind, the crowd can flow, flood, or trickle. Here are some of the common metaphors practised in this book: 1. Time is money. We save time. We can spare 5 minutes. We can run out of time. 2. Business is war. Advertising is a minefield in which you have targets and keep your sights on what your competitors are doing. 3. Life is a journey. You can be on the road to recovery. You might be at a crossroads in your life because you are in a dead-end job. 6 3: Why are idioms and metaphors so important? Firstly, they are important because they are very common. It is impossible to speak, read, or listen to English without meeting idiomatic language. This is not something you can leave until you reach an advanced level. All native speaker English is idiomatic. Every newspaper is full of metaphorical language. You cannot avoid it or leave it till later. The second reason is that very often the metaphorical use of a word is more common today than its literal use. For example, we know that farmers plough their fields, but you can plough through a long novel or report; you can plough on with your work; you can plough money into a business; profits can be ploughed back into a company; a lorry can plough into a row of parked cars. Using plough in its literal farming meaning is now much rarer than all its other non-literal uses. But it is important for you to know the literal meaning. Often the literal meaning creates a picture in your mind and this picture makes the other meanings easier to understand. The third reason that this kind of language is important is because it is fun to learn and to use. Because there is so much to learn, anything which helps you to remember things is important and if the language you are learning is more colourful and interesting, there is more chance that you will remember it. You will also sound more natural if your English contains more idioms. 9 4: Can you translate idioms? The simplest answer to this question is NO. This is an area where languages can be very different. Sometimes you can translate an idiom from one language to another, but most often this is not possible. For example, there is an English idiom to let sleeping dogs lie. The German and Italian equivalents also speak of sleeping dogs, but not the French or Spanish. It is important that you are very careful if you have to translate idioms. Never translate an idiom word for word. You must translate the whole expression. Sometimes you will be able to translate the English idiom into an idiom in your own language. However, there may be no idiom and you may just have to explain the meaning. One of the reasons idiomatic language is difficult to translate is because it is the area of language closest to culture. The metaphors of one culture will be different from those of another. 5: Are idioms spoken or written English? Both! Some people think that idiomatic language is more informal and, therefore, common only in spoken English. This is not true. Idiomatic language is as fundamental to English as tenses or prepositions. If you listen to people speaking, or if you read a novel or a newspaper, you will meet idiomatic English in all these situations. 10 SECTION 1 Areas of Metaphor Some ideas are small and very particular. Other ideas are big. They bring lots of related ideas to mind. For example, we all know what a 'coin' is. It is a small piece of metal which we use to pay for things. It is a part of a much bigger idea - 'money'. When we think of money we think of saving it, earning it, wasting it, spending it, being generous with it, being mean with it. Money is a bigger idea than coins or banknotes. When we use the common metaphor - time is money - we know what we mean. Many of the words we use with money, we also use with time: We have time to spare. We waste time. We spend time doing something. We run out of time. We save time. In this section you will learn about 12 important metaphors which cover major areas of English. 11 1: Literal meanings We spend money. We spend time doing something. We even spend a lot of time spending money! The idea that time is money is very common. Here are 16 sentences - 8 literal and 8 metaphorical. Write the metaphorical sentence under the one with the literal meaning: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. Could you spare 5 minutes for a chat? 40 minutes waiting for a bus! What a waste of time! It's worth spending at least two days in Oxford. You'll have to finish now. We've run out of time. I'm busy today, but I can make time for you tomorrow afternoon. Let's get a taxi. It'll save at least 20 minutes. Venice is definitely worth a whole week. I'm so busy at work. I can't afford more than a week off at a time. 1. I spent over £100 today. 2. I've been trying to save at least £10 a week all year. 3. £2000 for a holiday! What a waste of money! 4. Can you spare me 50p for a cup of tea? 5. I could manage £70 a week, but I simply can't afford £100 for a flat. 6. I've run out of cash. Is there a cash machine anywhere near here? 7. Buy a second-hand car. New ones just aren't worth the money. 8. We made over a thousand pounds at our Christmas Fair. Note: You can say He spent his life working for the poor. 12 2: Spending time Fill in one of the following words in each space to complete the idioms: afford waste (verb) plenty make save ran out of spare waste (noun) value short of precious spend 1. I've had to go the doctor about my eyes. I at least 6 hours a day in front of my computer. 2. If you want to get to college quicker, time: don't drive, buy a bike! 3. I don't get home till 10 o'clock every night, so I the free time I have at weekends. 4. If you're thinking of going to see the new Bond movie, don't bother. It's a of time. 5. Sorry I wasn't able to get that book for you. I just time. 6. Can you a minute or two? I just want to ask you something. 7. I'm sorry I can't the time right now. I've got a plane to catch. 8. I work long hours so the time I spend with my family is very to me. 9. I hate airports. You so much time just queuing! 10. I think we should hurry up. We're time. 11. There's of time. Don't worry! The train doesn't leave for an hour. 12. There's no way I can the time to see you before the end of the week. 3: Revision Complete these common expressions with words from this unit: 1.1 seem to all my time dealing with other people's mistakes. 2. I'm sorry I just can't the time at the moment. 3. Could you me a minute or two? 4. Stop your time! Get on with your work. 5. Why not ring the helpline? It'll you hours trying to solve the problem on your own. 6. We'd better get a taxi to the station. We're of time. Are you well-organised or do you waste a lot of time? 1: Literal meanings In business many words are used which come from the area of fighting and war. Use the following words to complete the definitions below: minefields battle captures march casualties targets flak bombard sights surrounded reinforcements forces 1. The worst weapon used against civilians is the mine. The campaign by Princess Diana made the clearing of an international priority. 2. When one side takes prisoners, it them. 3. Nelson was killed at the of Trafalgar. 4. Left, right, left, right. Learning to properly - in step with others - is one of the first things you have to learn when you train as a soldier. 5. People who are killed or wounded during a battle are 6. When you learn to shoot, at first you use circular After a while. you learn to shoot at in the shape of people. 7. If you shoot from the ground at aircraft, you use shells known as 8. If you shell a place for a very long time without stopping, you it. 9. You aim a rifle by looking through the 10. The Army, Navy, and Air Force are normally called the armed 11. If you need extra troops, they are called 12. If you have completely encircled your enemy, you have him. 2: Gaining ground Use the following words and expressions to complete these sentences: reinforce surrounded gaining ground on bombarded joined forces give up without a fight 1. Sales are up! That means we're definitely our main competitors. They'll soon be trying to take us over! 2. It looks as if we are going to be closed down. We don't want to so why don't we try to organise a management buy-out? 3. Our image is too old-fashioned. We need to modernise our product range in order to our market position. Otherwise, we'll lose it! 4. It was obvious that Smiths would close down. They were by big modern supermarkets with more buying power. 5. In order to expand in the Middle East, we've with a company who have been working successfully in the region for over 20 years. 6. The new advertising campaign has been a huge success. We've been with thousands of new enquiries. 14 3: Keep your head down Fill in the following words and expressions in the sentences below: a. minefield f. taken a lot of flak b. capture g. casualties c. targets h. own worst enemy d. marching orders i. set our sights on e. keep your head down j. battle 1.I think the boss is in a bad mood. J u s t get on with your work and 2. We have a 10% increase in turnover this year. 3. Promotions and Marketing are having their usual Finance Director over next year's advertising budget. with the 4. If you park in the Manager's space, you'll soon get your ! 5. Luke was late again this morning. He's brilliant at his job, but if he's not careful, he'll get the sack. He's his 6. If you don't set , you never know if you haven't achieved them! 7. Exporting to some countries can be a - corrupt customs officials, endless paperwork and red tape, and slow communications. 8. Because we had to lay off 500 people, we've in the press. 9. We need a more aggressive marketing policy if we want to a bigger share of the market. Look at Nike. They're everywhere! 10. Small businesses are always the first in a recession. 4: Revision Fill in the missing verbs to complete these idioms: 1 ground 2 targets 3 market share 4 your sights on 5 up without a fight 6 your market position 7 a lot of flak 8 forces with Do you know someone who is his/her own worst enemy? 15 1: Literal meanings We use the verb see in English to mean with our eyes, but also to mean understand. We say Seeing is believing and I see what you mean. Complete the following definitions with these words: view hindsight mud wide blinkers short-sighted eye-opener sight 1. If your eyes are very open they are open. 2. Something which is very surprising is often called an 3 is when you understand something in the past because of new things you have learned. 4. To make horses go in a straight line without looking to either side, they are fitted with so that they can only see straight ahead. 5. Very wet earth is called 6 people cannot see things which are far away. 7. If something disappears along a road, eventually you lose of it. 8. You usually get a good of the surrounding countryside from the top of a hill. 2: See the point Use the following words to complete the sentences below: a. see past the end of his nose b. made myself perfectly clear c. opened your eyes d. saw through e. through my eyes f. saw reason g. eyes wide open h. see the point 1. Why do you want me to complain? I can't 2. I thought I'd , but I still ended up with the mushroom pizza when I ordered the ham and mushroom! 3. Try to see the situation I simply can't afford to spend £1,000 on a holiday. 4. Jane and Fred are both in their forties so they're going into marriage with their 5. It took a long time to persuade Pete, but he finally 6. My boss is really selfish and small-minded. He can't 7. Look, you need to change your job. They're paying you peanuts! They make you work all hours. It's time you and looked for something better. 8. I knew all Justin's stories were exaggerated. I him the first time I met him. 16 3: A real eye-opener Match the two parts of the dialogues below: 1. Why doesn't Steve ever listen to other people's point of view? 2. Did you see the way Simon spoke to his wife? 3. Not you again! What do YOU want? 4. We should never have bought this car. It's been nothing but trouble. 5. Oh, so you didn't know that Jill got the job because her dad knows the Director. 6. These instructions are incomprehensible. a. > Yes. It was a real eye-opener, wasn't it? I never knew he could get so angry! b. > It's easy to say that with hindsight. c. > Because he's blinkered, that's why. d. > Ah! Now I get the picture. e. > Let me have a look. Yes, I see what you mean. f. > I want to clear up the misunderstanding we had earlier. Note: Another way of saying with hindsight is in retrospect. 4: As clear as mud Put the words in italics in the correct order: 1. I can never understand his explanations, can you? > No. They're (as mud as clear) 2. So I think we should keep the women-only policy. > Isn't that a (view short-sighted very) 3. There are so many possibilities. We could also develop a new — > Stop. Slow down. Don't (lose of sight) 4. Don't worry. It's not really a problem. > Well, it is (my from view point of) 5. Management are giving the smokers their own room. > At last. They've (the seen light) 6. What exactly does he want us to do? > I don't know. Ask him again (It's very not clear) 7. So you add these figures to those and that's how you get this total. > Ah, now (what I mean you see) ? our aims. Have you ever gone into something with your eyes wide open, but regretted it with hindsight? 17 1: Literal meanings Many of the words we normally use to talk about going places are used to talk about life - as a journey. Complete the following sentences with these words: short-cut take off rails dead-end crossroads tunnel ruts track footsteps steam 1. At Heathrow planes and land every minute. 2. Do you think there will ever be a between southern Spain and North Africa? 3. The road up to her house has no surface and in the middle of winter it gets full of 4. It's really difficult finding the way to her house. She lives in the country, five miles from the nearest town, down a lane off the main road, and then up a little past an old ruined church. 5. When you get to the , take the road to the left, heading for Oxford. 6. Before the days of diesel and electric trains, there was only 7. A train came off the just outside York station and 3 people were killed. 8. Sh! Listen! Can't you hear the sound of outside? 9. The police caught the 15-year-old boy who stole my car when he drove up a street which turned out to be a 10. When we were small, we used to take a over the fields to school, but now they've built a housing estate on the farm. 2: In a rut Use the following expressions to complete the sentences below: a. in a rut e. light at the end of the tunnel b. coming or going f. go our separate ways c. short-cut to success g. on the road to recovery d. side-tracked h. taken off 1. I've been doing the same job for 15 years. I think I'm I need a change. 2. I've got so much work on my desk. I'm really confused. I don't know whether I'm 3. It's been a very difficult year, but I'm happy to say there now seems to be some 4. Our partnership didn't last. In the end we agreed to 5. Hard work, long hours, and lots of worry. When you are trying to build up a business, I'm afraid there's no 6. I'm feeling much better now thanks. I'm well 7. Sorry it took so long. I got 8. She's getting frustrated. Her career hasn't really yet. 18 3: No turning back Use the following words to complete the sentences below: a. at a crossroads e. a dead-end job b. right off the rails f. going nowhere fast c. no turning back g. running out of steam d. follow in his father's footsteps h. arrived 1. Once you've made your decision, you realise there's , don't you? 2. I can't make up my mind. It's either stay where I am or apply for a job abroad. I seem to be in my present job. 3. His father's a doctor and it's obvious Harry's going to 4. I'm doing my best, but everything I do seems to involve ringing someone who's either on holiday this week or out of the office. I feel as if I'm 5. Bill's wife died last year. I'm afraid he just hasn't come to terms with it yet. And now he's started drinking. I'm afraid he's just gone 6. There's no prospect of promotion. I'm in 7. Now he's been given a company car, he thinks he's really ! 8. I just don't have the enthusiasm I used to have. I'm 4: Going nowhere fast Using idioms from this unit, complete the following dialogues. A key word is given for each. 1. How are you getting on with your assignment? > Terrible. I'm 2. What's Mark going to do after his college course? > No doubt 3. It's a huge decision, you know. > I know. And 4. Are you and Delia still together? > No. We've 5. How's your dad? > Much better 6. I'm sorry to hear Katy's still in hospital. > Yes. It's been a long time, but there's 7. The full course takes 5 years, I'm afraid. > Oh, I realise that. I know there's 8. Are you making much progress? > Yes, we're getting there slowly, but we're 9. So, you're now European Sales Manager - and not yet 30! > Yes, I suppose my career really has 10. You look a bit harassed. Is everything all right? > To tell you the truth, I don't know whether (nowhere) (footsteps) (turning) (separate) (recovery) (tunnel) (cut) (steam) (off) (going) Are you in a rut? If so, are you going to do anything about it? 19
- Xem thêm -

Tài liệu liên quan