Quản lý

Mình đang sống trong 1 hoàn cảnh, nếu nói 1 cách thô thiển là đang bị giam trong cũi sắt, vì mình là người trầm tính, không bao giờ kể chuyện nên có cảm giác như vậy. Còn nói văn hoa thì là mình đang bị quản lý. Thực ra thì chịu sự quản lý chẳng có gì cả, nhưng nó không mang lại điều gì tốt đẹp. Đấy là suy nghĩ của mình. Sự tự ti đang dâng trào. Nhưng mình không sợ. Định không làm người quân tử nữa, khi nào có vợ con rồi cũng sẽ không làm người quân tử được nữa đâu. Nhưng nếu không làm người quân tử nữa thì mình còn lại cái gì đây. Đừng than vãn nữa, hãy nhìn thế hệ đi trước, và thế hệ mình giống nhau cả thôi. Chấp nhận cho người khác thắng có nghĩa là chấp nhận mình thua, và người ta chẳng bao giờ đi chơi với thằng kém hơn họ. Đó là quy luật, người ta chỉ đi theo kẻ mạnh thôi. Việc bà chị gái bị tác động và thay đổi là hoàn toàn có thể hiểu được, nhưng để chấp nhận nó thì khó quá đối với mình.

Có những việc không thể bắt chiếc. khà khà

nhớ mạng rồi

LESSON 39

to goof off: to waste time, to be idle

o         Some of the workers in our office always goof off when the boss is out.

o         On Saturday afternoons, I like to go to a movie or just goof off at home.

to talk back to: to answer in a rude manner, to speak to disrespectfully

o       Billy, if you talk back to me like that once more, you're going to spend the rest of the day in your room.

o       The school principal had to reprimand the child for talking back to her teacher.

to be in: to be popular or fashionable; to be available at one's work or home

o       Most young people tend to want anything that is in at the time, but a few don't care about current trends.

o       Could you please tell me when Mrs. Zachary will be in? I'd like to talk to her soon.

to be out: to be unpopular or no longer in fashion; to be away from one's work or home

o       These days, designer jeans are in and long skirts are out.

o       I'm sorry, Mr. Jensen is out at the moment. Could I take a message?

to draw the line at: to determine to be unacceptable, to refuse to consider

o       I don't mind helping him with his homework, but I draw the line at writing a term paper for him.

o       The conference organizers tried to accommodate the needs of the various interest groups, but they drew the line at extending the conference by two day.

to get out of line: to disobey or ignore normal procedures or rules (also: to step out of line)

o       When a child gets out of line in that teacher's class, she uses the old-fashioned method of making the child sit in the corner of the room.

o       Any employee who steps out of line by coming to work in an unacceptable condition will be fired.

dry run: rehearsal, practice session

o       The college president requested a dry run of the graduation ceremony in order to ensure that all aspects went smoothly.

o       Before the manager present the reorganizational plans to the board of directors, he did several dry runs of his presentation.

to play by ear: to play music that one has heard but never read (S); to proceed without plan, to do spontaneously (S)

The pronoun it is often used with the second definition.

o       That pianist can play most popular music by ear. She never needs to read sheet music.

o       My husband wanted to plan our trip carefully, but I argued that it was more fun if we played it by ear.

to be in (someone's) shoes: to be in another person's position, to face the same situation as another person

o       If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't take too many classes this semester.

o       When his boss finds out about that accounting error, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes.

to keep after: to remind constantly, to nag

o       Lynn always has to keep after her children about cleaning up their rooms and doing chores around the house.

o       Lon is so forgetful that it's necessary to keep after him about every little thing.

to fix up: to repair or put back in good condition (S); to arrange a date or an engagement for another person (S)

o       Instead of buying an expensive new home, we decided to buy an older home and fix it up ourselves.

o       Since my visiting friend didn't have a date for dinner, I fixed her up with a male friend of mine. They got along very well together.

to be had: to be victimized or cheated

o       When the jeweler confirmed that the diamonds that the woman had purchased abroad were really fake, she exclaimed, "I've been had!"

o       The angry customer complained about being overcharged at the store, asserting that this was the third time that he had been had.

LESSON 38

to land on one's feet: to recover safely form an unpleasant or dangerous situation

o       After a series of personal and professional difficulties, it's amazing that George has landed on his feet so quickly.

o       Some young adults get into so much trouble at school that they are never able to land on their feet again. They drop out before graduating.

to dish out: to distribute in large quantity (S); to speak of others in a critical manner (S)

o       Mary's mom dished out two or three scoops of ice cream for each child at the birthday party.

o       Larry can't seem to take any criticism of his actions but he certainly likes to dish it out.

to get through to: to communicate with, to make someone understand (also: to break through to)

This idiom has the meaning of to make someone "catch on" (Lesson 29, eighth idiom, the first definition)

o       Some of the students in my reading class understand English so poorly that it is difficult to get through to them.

o       The doctors have never succeeded in breaking though to Mr. Ames, who is a silent and secretive patient.

to keep one's word: to fulfill a promise, to be responsible

An idiom with the opposite meaning is to break one's word.

o       Suzanne kept her word to me not to let on to others that I intend to step down next month.

o       Thomas always intends to keep his word, but invariably the end result is that he breaks his word. He just isn't capable of being a responsible person.

to be over one's head: to be very busy, to have too much to do (also: to be up to one's ears); to be beyond one's ability to understand

o       I'd love to take a week off for a hiking trip, but at the moment I am over my head in work. Maybe next week when I'm only up to my ears!

o       It was impossible for the tutor to get through to Bill about the physics problem because the subject matter was over Bill's head.

to ask for: to deserve, to receive a just punishment (also: to bring upon)

o       If you drink alcohol and then drive a car, you're only asking for trouble.

o       Don't complain about your cut in salary. You asked for it by refusing to heed our repeated warnings not to be late and inefficient.

to be a far cry from: to be very different from

o       I enjoyed visiting Seattle, but it was a far cry from the ideal vacation spot I expected.

o       Ned is enjoying his new job, but his responsibilities are a far cry from what he was told they would be.

by all means: certainly, definitely, naturally (also: of course); using any possible way or method

o       If the Johnsons invite us for dinner, then by all means we have to return the invitation. Of cause, we don't have to invite their children, too.

o       In order to ensure its survival, the ailing company has to obtain an infusion of cash by all means.

to get out from under: to restore one's financial security, to resolve a difficult financial obligation

o       After years of struggling to get ahead, the young couple finally got out from under their debts.

o       The ailing company, succeeding in obtaining the necessary cash, was able to get out from under its financial burdens.

to take the bull by the horns: to handle a difficult situation with determination

This idiom is usually used when someone has been postponing an action for some time and finally wants or needs to resolve it.

o       After three years of faithful service, Jake decided to take the bull by the horns and ask his boss for a raise.

o       Vic has been engaged to Laura for a long time now, and I know that he loves her. He should take the bull by the horns and ask her to marry him.

to give (someone) a hand: to assist, to aid, to help (also: to lend someone a hand) (S)

o       Would you give me a hand lifting this heavy box?

o       When Terry's car broke down at night on the highway, no one would stop to lend her a hand.

to give (someone) a big hand: to clap one's hands in applause, to applaud (S)

o       After the talented new vocalist had sung her number, the audience gave her a big hand.

o       Should we give a big hand to each beauty contestant is as she is introduced, or should we wait until all the introductions are finished?

LESSON 37

to throw (someone) a curve: to introduce an unexpected topic, causing embarrassment (S)

o       The first week of class was going very well until a student threw the teacher a curve by suggesting that the textbook was too difficult.

o       The director asked us in advance to stick to the meeting agenda and not to throw him any curves.

to make waves: to create a disturbance, usually by complaining

This idiom is similar in meaning to the previous idiom, but the emphasis is on the aspect of complaining rather than causing embarrassment.

o       In most companies, an employee who makes waves is not appreciated.

o       The meeting was going smoothly until one of the participants made waves about the newly revised compensation package.

to carry on: to continue as before; to conduct, to engage in; to behave in an immature manner

o       Even in the face of disaster, the inhabitants carried on as though nothing had happened.

o       The business associates decided to carry on their discussion in the hotel bar instead of the conference room.

o       I can't believe that John carried on so much just because his dog died. He looked depressed and cried for weeks after it happened.

not on your life: absolutely not (also: no way)

This idiom is used as a kind of exclamation by itself.

o       You're asking me to invest in that poorly rated company just because you know the son of the president? Not on your life!

o       When a friend tried to get Mark to jump out of a plane with a parachute, he immediately responded, "No way!"

to cover ground: to be extensive, to discuss much material

Forms such as a lot of, too much, too little are used before the noun ground.

o       That national commission's report on urban ghettos covers a lot of ground. Many of the recommendations are too costly to implement.

o       In his first lecture on Greek philosophers, I thought that our professor covered too little ground.

to mind the store: to be responsible for an office while others are gone

o       It seems that all of our employees are taking a lunch break at the same time. I wonder who's minding the store.

o       Lynne agreed to mind the store while the others went outside to watch the parade passing by.

to throw the book at: to punish with full penalty, to be harsh on

o       Because the criminal was a repeat offender, the judge threw the book at him with heavy fines and a long prison term.

o       My boss threw the book at me when he discovered that I had been using company time for personal business. I was severely reprimanded and forced to make up the lost time.

to put one's foot in: to say or do the wrong thing

This idiom is used with the noun phrase one's mouth or the pronoun it.

o       Fred really put his foot in his mouth when he called his supervisor by the wrong name.

o       I really put my foot in it when I forgot my girlfriend's birthday and didn't buy her anything. She almost lost her cool.

to be up for grabs: to become available to others

this idiom is used when something is highly desirable to many other people.

o       When one of the full-time contract instructors stepped down, her nice office overlooking the river was up for grabs.

o       Did you know that Senator Stone is retiring and that her Senate seat is up for grabs?

to show off: to display one's ability in order to attract attention (S); to let others see, to expose to public view (S)

This idiom can form the noun showoff for the first definition.

o       Elizabeth is an excellent swimmer, but I don't like the way she shows off in front of everyone. It's very obvious that she enjoys being a showoff.

o       Jacquie showed her large wedding ring off to all her friends.

to learn the ropes: to become familiar with routine procedures at work or school

o       The job applicant didn't have much previous experience or knowledge, but she seemed intelligent enough to learn the ropes quickly.

o       It took the new schoolteacher a year to learn the ropes regarding administrative and curricular matters.

to keep one's fingers crossed: to hope to have good results, to hope that nothing bad will happen

This idiom reflects the way people cross their fingers to hope for good luck.

o       Let's keep our fingers crossed that we got passing grades on that college entrance exam.

o       Jerry kept his fingers crossed that the good weather would hold up for the picnic he was planning for the coming weekend.

LESSON 36

to check in: to register at a hotel or motel; to leave or deposit for transporting or safekeeping (S)

The adjective form check-in derives from this idiom.

o       Courtney arrived in town at mid-day and promptly checked in at the Plaza Hotel. The hotel permitted an early check-in time.

o       There dozens of people at the airline counters waiting to check their bags in for their flights.

to check out: to pay the bill at a hotel or motel and then leave; to investigate, to examine (S)

The adjective form check-out derives from this idiom.

o       The latest you should check out of the hotel is 12 noon. However, in your case, we can set a special check-out time of 2:00 P.M.

o       The police received a call from someone claiming to have witnessed a murder. The police sent two detectives to check the call out right away.

to take at one's word: to accept what one says as true, to believe

o       When he offered to be responsible for the fund raiser, I took him at his word. Now he's saying that he's not available to do it.

o       You should be careful about taking her at her word. She's been known to say one thing but to do another.

to serve (the/one's) purpose: to be useful, to suit one's needs or requirements

o       I don't have a screwdriver to open this, but I think that a knife will serve the purpose.

o       Jane prefers working to studying, so it served her purpose to drop out of school and take that job.

in the worst way: very much, greatly

o       Jim and Claudia want to have children in the worst way. They are trying very hard to conceive.

o       Because Umer ahs relatives in Turkey, he wants to visit there in the worst way.

to cop out: to avoid one's responsibility, to quit

This idiom is an informal version of the second definition to back out (lesson 29). The noun form copout means an excuse for avoiding responsibility.

o       Evelyn had agreed to help us with arrangements for the party, but she copped out at the last minute.

o       I can't believe that Cindy offered such an explanation for failing to show up. What a poor copout!

to line up: to form a line; to arrange to have, to manage to obtain (S)

o       The moviegoers lined up in front of the theater showing the most popular film of the summer.

o       Rob is going to schedule the famous author to speak at the convention if he can line her up in time.

to lose one's cool: to get excited, angry, or flustered

o       Despite the boos from some in the audience, the actors on stage never lost their cool.

o       Although the group of skiers were in danger form an apparent avalanche, their ski guide never lost his cool.

to leave open: to delay making a decision on (S)

o       In making up the job announcement, the firm decided to leave the salary open until a qualified candidate was found.

o       We know that the annual summer camp will be held in August, but let's leave the exact dates open for now.

to turn on: to interest greatly, to excite (S)

The idiom with the opposite meaning is to turn off. These idioms are used to form the nouns turnon and turnoff.

o       Does great art turn you on? I find going to a museum and viewing classic works of art a real turnon.

o       Going to a bar and having silly conversation with strangers really turns me off. In fact, most bar scenes are really turnoffs to me.

to miss the boat: to lose an opportunity, to fail in some undertaking

o       The precious metals market was looking up several months ago, but unfortunately most investors missed the boat.

o       Mr. Vlasic's new business went bankrupt within a short time. He really missed the boat by opening a tanning salon near the beach.

to think up: to invent, to create (also: to dream up)

This idiom is often used for an unusual or foolish thought.

o       Who thought up the idea of painting the living room walls bright red?

o       When asked by the teacher why she was late, the student dreamed up a plausible excuse.