An lanh

Thứ Ba, 27 tháng 12, 2011

LESSON 31




to go through: to undergo, to experience; to consume, to use (also: to use up)
The first definition is used when someone is having some hardship or difficulty.
o       I can't believe what she went through to get that job. She had four interviews with the hiring committee in one week!
o       Frank said that they had gone through all the toilet paper in the house, but Steve couldn't believe that they had used it all up.

to go without saying: to be known without the need to mention
This idiom occurs with a that-clause, often with the pronoun it as the subject.
o       It goes without saying that you shouldn't drive quickly in bad weather.
o       That he will gain weight if he continues to eat and drink so much goes without saying.

to put (someone) on: to mislead by joking or tricking (S)
This idiom is usually used in a continuous tense form. A noun object must divide the idiom.
o       Don't worry. I wouldn't expect you do all that work by yourself. I'm just putting you on.
o       Jack can't be serious about what he said. He must be putting us on.

to keep one's head: to remain calm during an emergency
o       When the heater caused a fire, Gloria kept her head and phoned for assistance right away; otherwise, the whole house might have burned down.
o       When the boat starting sinking in heavy seas, the crew members kept their heads and led the passengers to the lifeboats.

to lose one's head: not to think clearly, to lose one's self-control
o       When Mel saw a god in the street right in front of his car, he lost his head and drove onto the sidewalk and into a tree.
o       If the politician hadn't gotten stirred up and lost his head, he never would have criticized his opponent unfairly.

narrow-minded: not willing to accept the ideas of others (the opposite of narrow minded is broad-minded)
o       Narrow-minded people tend to discriminate against groups of people with which they have nothing in common.
o       Ted is so broad-minded that he has almost no standards by which he judges others.

to stand up: to withstand use or wear; to fail to appear for a date or social engagement (S)
o       My old car has stood up well over the years. I haven't had any major problems at all.
o       Janet was very angry because her new boyfriend stood her up on their second date. She waited over an hour for him before returning home.

to get the better of: to win or defeat by gaining an advantage over someone
o       Jim doesn't seem very athletic at tennis, but if you're not careful, he'll get the better of you.
o       Lynn gets frustrated when Bruce gets the better of her in arguments. No matter what she says, he always has a clever response.

to break loose: to become free or loose, to escape
o       During the bad storm, the boat broke loose from the landing and drifted out to sea.
o       One bicyclist broke loose from the pack of racers and pulled ahead towards the finish line.

on edge: nervous, anxious; upset, irritable
o       Cynthia was on edge all day about the important presentation she had to give to the local citizens group.
o       I don't like being around Jake when he's on edge like that. Someone should tell him to calm down and relax.

to waste one's breath: not be able to convince someone
This idiom is used when someone is wasting time trying to convince another person. The idiom to save one's breath is related and means not to waste effort trying to convince someone.
o       Don't argue with Frank any longer. You are wasting your breath trying to get him to agree with you.
o       I have already decided what I'm going to do. You can't change my mind, so save your breath.

to cut short: to make shorter, to interrupt (S)
o       The moderator asked the speaker to cut short his talk because there wasn't much time remaining for questions from the audience.
o       We were very unfortunate when we received bad news from home that forced us to cut our trip short.

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