Phases Mix Flashcards
(140 cards)
1
Q
What was that movie called again? You know it’s right there, just ______.
A
at/on the tip of your tongue.
2
Q
If you mess this up, my head is on the chopping block.
A
This means that the speaker is in danger of being voted out of the tribe next.
3
Q
They spent the afternoon phoning different numbers and talking to strangers - just for the heck of it.
A
if you do something for the heck of it, you do it only because you want to or because you think it is funny
4
Q
Your friend did something funny, so you started laughing. She’s mad because she thinks that you’re making fun of her. You didn’t mean to make fun of her, so you say:
A
No, come on! I’m not laughing at you; I’m laughing with you.
5
Q
You meet a girl who you’d like to go out with at a dance club. You ask her on a date, but she doesn’t answer. You want to encourage her to answer. You say:
A
Come on! What do you say?
6
Q
It’s customary for one person to pay for an entire round of drinks for everyone, and then someone else pays for the next round. When it’s your turn to pay for a round, you say:
A
This round’s on me.
7
Q
You were talking with your girlfriend. You mentioned that she doesn’t dress in really fancy, expensive clothes. You wanted to say that you like this about her, but now she’s angry. She feels like you’re insulting her style. You say:
A
Come on. I didn’t mean it that way.
8
Q
You are working on a project at work. You’ve spoken with your co-workers briefly about your plans, but you haven’t discussed the details yet. You want to suggest that you discuss the details later:
A
We should sit down and go through the details later this week.
9
Q
You’re talking to a friend on the telephone. Her voice sounds deep and scratchy. It sounds like she’s sick. You say:
A
You sound horrible!
10
Q
You’re sick. Your friend called you, and she said that you sound horrible. You have a cold, so your voice does sound messed up. But you pretend to be offended by your friend criticizing your voice. You say:
A
Thanks a lot!
11
Q
Your son made a rude gesture, so he got in trouble at school. Now he’s not allowed to ride the school bus for two weeks. You’re explaining what happened to your brother. You say:
A
He got suspended for flipping off the bus driver.
12
Q
Easy tiger
A
Girl 1: I’ve just met the perfect man – he is tall, handsome, kind… I’m going to marry him and have children – we’ll live together in a house by the sea, we’ll - Girl 2: Easy tiger! Do you even know his name?
13
Q
Get your hands dirty
A
Unlike other bosses, Mr Stevens really likes to get his hands dirty. It’s as if he’s one of us.
14
Q
Have your cake and eat it
A
He’s just got married, but he misses the single life. Well it’s too bad – you can’t have your cake and eat it!
15
Q
Wake up and smell the coffee!
A
Wake up and smell the coffee – she doesn’t want to go out with you!
16
Q
You are stuffed?
A
Li: You are stuffed? Completely full? Neil: Yes, I am completely stuffed, I can barely move.
17
Q
You just came home from work a few minutes ago. You say this to start a conversation with your wife:
A
How was your day?
18
Q
You work at a clothing store. A customer looks like he’s ready to check out. You want to offer to help him, so you say:
A
I can assist you with that.
19
Q
happy bunny
A
I’m a happy bunny today because I passed my English test.
20
Q
in favor of something
A
Her offer was rejected by the company in favor of a much better deal.
21
Q
play (it) safe (informal)
A
They’re playing it safe by not investing too much money until they’ve seen the first year’s accounts.
22
Q
she’s such a dragon.
A
A: I’m never going to make my deadline with this report. B: You should speak to Kate to get an extension. A: But I’m too scared of Kate – she’s such a dragon. B: That’s true. She’s so unfriendly and scary. She’ll probably shout at you.
23
Q
speak of the devil
A
24
Q
your eyes are bigger than your stomach
A
25
a diet to help you shed pounds
26
Your friend is going on a trip to Italy and has signed up for a guided tour. Now you're each discussing your thoughts about tours. You told him that you don't like going on tours, and now you're explaining why. You say:
I'm more interested in having a really authentic local experience.
27
You're out drinking with people. One of the people seems like he's ready to leave, but you think it would be more fun if he stayed for another drink. You suggest:
Come on, stay for one more round.
28
You're a teacher. You're talking to the parents of one of your students, who talks loudly to her friends during your lectures. You say:
Monica's been growing increasingly disruptive in class over the past few weeks.
29
A friend suggests that you ask out a girl that you have a crush on. You think she's too pretty and doesn't like you in that way.
Nah, she's way out of my league.
30
At work, a member of another department suggests a change. You think it's a good suggestion, but you can't agree to it because you don't have the power to make that change. One of your bosses will need to agree to it. You say:
It's not up to me; I'm way too far down on the totem pole.
31
Your mother is going to make breakfast. She asks you what you want to eat. You don't care, so you say:
It's up to you.
32
You ordered a latte at a coffee shop but asked for no foam on it. The barista gave you a latte with foam. You're annoyed, so you're complaining to your friend.
What part of "no foam" do they not understand?
33
In your apartment, you have a tall bookshelf set up near your bed with some heavy boxes on top of it. Earthquakes aren't common in your area, but you're worried that the boxes would fall and hurt you if one happened. You communicate this fear to your wife.
I'm a little worried about what would happen if we were to have an earthquake.
34
You fell down on the stairs and hurt your knee. Your girlfriend is worried, so you're reassuring her.
I just skinned it a little.
35
You're telling a friend about your brothers and sisters. One of them is a musician, another one is a housewife in the suburbs, and you work in a large corporation. You're explaining why you're all so different.
We've all taken very different paths in life.
36
You're riding the subway in New York City. The train conductor makes an announcement because the train isn't stopping at its usual stops.
There is no local Brooklyn-bound service between 34th Street and Canal.
37
You're waiting at a train station for a train to New York. You hear an announcement which says:
New York-bound local train, now boarding on track three.
38
Your mother is visiting you from out of town. She wants to go to a museum while you're at work one day. You have to explain how to get there by train, so you start by saying:
You need to take the express train.
39
You want a cup of coffee, but you've run out of coffee at home. You make a cup of tea instead, and say this to yourself:
Better than nothing, I guess.
40
You're a college student visiting another city. You can't afford to stay in a hotel, so you want to stay at a friend's small apartment. After explaining your situation, you ask him like this.
Listen, do you mind if I crash on your couch for a night or two?
41
A friend asks if you've ever tried to grow a beard. You've tried, but it didn't look good. You're explaining why you stopped trying.
There's one little patch that never seems to grow in.
42
You're visiting a friend's house in the evening. He's going to order dinner from a restaurant. He asks if you want anything to eat, but you're full already.
No, I'm good. I had a late lunch.
43
You're commenting on a news story about the President of your country. A lot of the other commenters are saying bad things about the President, but you still like him and think that he can accomplish good things. You write:
Everybody seems to be critical of the President these days, but I still believe in him.
44
You're a professional photographer. Websites that sell amateur photos for low prices are making it harder for you to make enough money. You are talking to an acquaintance who's not a photographer about this situation. You say:
It's getting harder and harder to earn a living as a photographer these days.
45
At work, you always get sleepy after lunch and don't work very efficiently. You are describing this problem to a friend of yours:
I find it really hard to focus on my work in the afternoon.
46
Earlier today you bought a pair of gloves, but one of them had a hole in it. Now you've returned to the store where you bought the gloves. You want to explain your situation to a cashier who works there. You say:
I bought these here earlier today, but when I got them home I discovered that one of them seems to have a hole in it.
47
You're having a video chat on your computer with a friend in another country. When you ask her a question, it takes her a few seconds to answer. You think that's because the message isn't reaching her immediately. You say:
There seems to be a bit of a lag.
48
You're telling a story about a silly mistake you made. You've told the general time and situation, and now you want to describe the interesting event that happened. You say:
As I was riding the train home, I realized that I'd left my keys in the closet at work.
49
You're telling a story about something that happened to you at work one day when you were really tired. You are telling the setup for the story. You say:
I was really sleepy because I had gone out drinking the night before.
50
You're telling your friend a story about a funny thing that happened to you on the way to work. You've described leaving the house and starting to drive. Then you tell the funny thing that happened:
I was halfway there when I realized I didn't have my wallet.
51
You're telling a story about a silly mistake you made. You thought you couldn't get into your house, so you spent the night in a cheap hotel. Now you're telling the punchline of the story. You say:
It turns out that my roommate had left his window unlocked anyway.
52
You have a meeting that was scheduled at work. You don't know what the meeting is for. You are frustrated because your department often has long meetings that seem unimportant to you. You ask a coworker who's a close friend of yours:
What's the point of this meeting anyway?
53
Your apartment is hot and has a little bit of a bad smell. You think that you should open one of the windows, so you say this to your roommate.
Let's crack open a window and get some fresh air in here.
54
You are the director of a division in your company. Last quarter, your company had high sales growth. Now you are leading a meeting and want to thank all the employees. You say:
We really appreciate all of your hard work and effort.
55
You're leaving your company to start a new job. You visit your boss to say goodbye on your last day. You want to show that you appreciate how she has helped you. You tell her:
I want to thank you for all the support you've given me during my time here.
56
You've traveled to a certain country that has very strict laws. You're warning someone who's traveling there soon to be careful of the police there.
They can hold you indefinitely without a trial.
57
You subscribe to a newspaper. You're checking the mail, and there's a letter warning you that you have to pay for your subscription again soon. You say to your husband:
Our subscription to the Times is coming up for renewal.
58
You're in the army. You've been told that you have to leave the country to do a mission. You call your boyfriend to tell him.
It looks like I'm being deployed in a couple of weeks.
59
You're on a first date with a guy. You're telling each other about yourselves. You tell him the name of the town that you're from, but he's never heard of it. So you describe the town.
It's a quiet little suburban community about 30 minutes outside the city.
60
You're talking to your friend, who lives in another city. She asks about your baby, who she hasn't seen for several months. The baby talks now, so you say:
She's talking up a storm these days.
61
Your knee often hurts because of a sports injury you got many years ago. Today it's hurting. Someone asks if something is wrong, so you explain what's happening.
My knee is acting up agian.
62
You're hanging out with a group of friends late at night. You want to ask a silly question to start a discussion.
If you could live in any period in history, which one would it be?
63
You try a new beer that comes from a brewery that was recently built near your house. It's surprisingly good. You're telling the people that you're eating dinner with that you like it.
That's not half bad!
64
For example, if you've been waiting for someone for 15 minutes and are annoyed about it, you might say to them when they show up:
I've been waiting here since last year!
65
If you saw a movie that you liked and are enthusiastic about, you can say:
That was the best movie ever.
66
Another reason for understatement is to disagree with someone or criticize them without coming across as too aggressive. For example, if your teenage child makes a big mistake, you can use understatement instead of yelling at them:
That probably wasn't the smartest thing for you to do. You really could have handled that better, you know.
67
Your friend is a single guy who's not very good with women. He was able to get a girl's phone number and wants to call her the next day, but you don't think he should call her that soon. You tell him:
You don't want to come across as too desperate.
68
You have had a bad experience when you called your cable TV provider to get help with a problem. You're on an Internet forum where people are discussing their experiences with cable companies. You write:
Time Warner Cable's customer service leaves much to be desired.
69
You bought a new mobile phone a few weeks ago and have been taking pictures with it. Now you're showing some of the photos to a friend, and you are noticing that they look better than you would expect for mobile phone pictures. You say:
I must say, I've been quite impressed with the quality of the pictures that I've taken with it.
70
You went to see a movie that you had been waiting to see. You didn't really like it. On the way out of the theater, you say to your friend who watched it with you:
I have to say — I was kind of disappointed.
71
You've been offered a job in another country. You're telling your friend about it. You're going to take the job and you're excited about it, but it's also a little bit scary. You say:
It's a bit intimidating.
72
You met and talked to a famous singer. You expected him to be unfriendly and intimidating, but when you met him he was nice and easy-to-talk-to. You're telling a friend about him. You say:
I was surprised by how down-to-earth he was.
73
You are out shopping with your girlfriend. She asks you what you think of a pair of shoes that she likes. You don't like them very much. You say:
I'm not crazy about them.
74
You are out shopping with your girlfriend. She asks you what you think of a pair of shoes that she likes. You don't like them very much. You say:
I'm not crazy about them.
75
Your son wanted to join his school's basketball team. He tried out for it. You just found out that he was successful, and you're passing the news on to your wife.
Rory made the team!
76
In an audition or tryout system, each time you go to the next round, you can say that
you "made the cut". If you "didn't make the cut", it means that you were eliminated and won't be chosen.
77
You get a phone call while you're on the line with someone else. You answer it, but you want to finish the other conversation first.
Rina, let me call you right back.
78
You can also say "call (someone) back", which sounds slower than calling them "right back":
Rina, let me call you back later this afternoon.
79
You are giving a presentation at a conference. You are at the beginning of the presentation. You've said your name and thanked the person who introduced you. Now you want to tell the audience about yourself. You start by saying:
Let me tell you a bit about my background.
80
At work, one of the employees you manage noticed a problem with your software. She asks if you should tell your clients about it. You're afraid that the clients will get upset and have a lot of questions about it. You say:
I'd rather not open up that whole can of worms.
81
People say "I'd rather not..." to talk about something that they don't want to do, although they might have to. For example, if you're shopping for a new car, you can tell the salesperson:
82
83
If you're in a bad mood, and someone asks you what's wrong, you can respond this way:
I'd rather not talk about it.
84
For example, imagine that you and your sister have been arguing with each other over who should take care of your parents in their old age. For the past few months, you haven't talked about it. Now you and your husband are on your way to eat dinner with your sister's family. You tell your husband:
Don't mention anything about my parents. I don't want to open up that can of worms.
85
People sometime talk about things that are complicated, annoying, or difficult with the phrase "that whole \_\_\_":
I don't know anything about that whole mess. I just let my accountant take care of it.
86
You got a new passport. The pages are thicker and can't be ripped easily. You notice this and say something about it to your husband:
This one's a lot more durable than the old one.
87
You're watching a commercial for a frozen pizza. The announcer on the commercial says this.
We use only the finest ingredients.
88
In advertisements, companies sometimes brag about having very high standards. To do this, they use the phrase "only the \_\_\_":
We use only the highest quality water in our beer.
89
Your daughter says something about farting while your family was eating dinner together. This is rude, so you warn her that she shouldn't say that.
We do not talk about bodily functions at the dinner table!
90
This is a formal way to teach rules to children. When a child does something wrong, you say "We do not...":
We do not take things that do not belong to us.
91
You can talk this way about things that a person does while eating dinner at home:
How many times do I have to tell you? No cell phones at the dinner table!
92
The child that you babysit had some kind of accident. He's upset and crying. He's trying to tell you about the accident, but it doesn't make sense. You tell him to start telling the story again in order.
Hold on, hold on. Start at the beginning.
93
You are at a meeting for the homeowners' association for your neighborhood. You have made a suggestion to raise the homeowner's fee, but the other members immediately started making noises and complaining before you could explain your reasons for raising it. You want everyone to listen to your reasons first before deciding, so you say:
Hold on. Just hear me out first.
94
This phrase means to listen to someone's complete explanation before making a conclusion about a topic. If someone won't listen to your explanation, you can say:
She wouldn't even hear me out.
95
Your wife was working on a document on the computer at home. The program crashed, and she's upset because she thinks all of the work she did is lost. You think she might be able to get the file back again. You say:
Hold on — you might be able to recover it.
96
You also use "be able to" when talking about things that you successfully did in the past:
Were you able to find out how much it costs?
97
You're playing softball with a group of friends. You tried to hit the ball, but missed 3 times so you got struck out. Now you're explaining to your teammates why you missed.
I couldn't see because of the glare.
98
You're explaining what your charity organization does at a street fair.
We provide assistance to disabled veterans.
99
One way that we use "provide assistance" is to talk about organizations that give money to groups to help people like disaster victims, people with disabilities, and so on:
Donations will go to provide assistance to families displaced by the recent earthquake.
100
You can also use "provide assistance" to describe helping someone in very formal speech. For example, if you are a witness in court, you might describe helping someone to the judge like this:
I saw a vehicle parked on the side of the road with its warning lights on, so I stopped to provide assistance.
101
Your sister is telling a story about your father at a family party. In the story, she politely says that your father was "frugal" when you were children (meaning that he always saved his money). You want to tease your father a little more, so you say:
Frugal? Cheap is more like it!
102
(something) is more like it
103
104
You're filling out a survey. The first question is for people who own a car, but you don't have one. You say this to yourself.
The first item doesn't really apply to me.
105
(something) doesn't apply to (something)
The tuition discount only applies to people who have been living within the state for three years or longer.
106
A client asks you for some research information about the results of your company's product. You don't have the research, but you will send it to your client when you get it. You tell them this.
We'll pass that along as soon as we have it.
107
pass (some information) along
We're expected to have an answer later this week. When we hear, we'll pass it along to you.
108
(do something) as soon as (something happens)
He called as soon as he heard the news.
109
You went on a trip with a group of friends for 4 days. You had a lot of fun and didn't sleep much, so you were tired at the end of your trip. You went to sleep soon after you returned home. Now you're talking to one of your friends who was on the trip. You tell her about this:
I went straight to sleep as soon as I got home.
110
You usually stop by the supermarket or the gym after work before coming home. But yesterday you wanted to get home earlier because you are hooked on a TV show that you've been watching on DVD. You tell your friend
I went straight home after work to watch it.
111
Your daughter got a bad grade on her first progress report for this school year. You're asking her why, and she complains that her teacher isn't very good. You're angry that she is blaming the grade on the teacher instead of herself. You say:
112
If your children or employees make excuses to explain their mistakes, you can use this expression to tell them that you won't accept their reasons:
113
take responsibility for (something)
114
You need to hire an office assistant. You want someone who will do a good job without being told what to do. You write the job description:
We're looking for a highly-motivated, super-organized self-starter.
115
We're looking for (an employee)
We're looking for someone with at least six years of experience in digital publishing.
116
a highly-motivated (person)
She's always been really motivated.
117
a super-organized (person)
super cool super easy super expensive super friendly super excited
118
You're watching a documentary on TV about a war in ancient Rome. You remember studying this and writing about it when you were a student. You tell your girlfriend about it.
I actually wrote a paper on this in college.
119
You bought a bottle of wine on sale for only $4. You try it out, and are surprised that it's better than you thought it would be. You say:
120
You bought a cheap bottle of wine. You want to let your wife know that it was cheap. You say:
I got this on sale for only four bucks.
121
get (something) on sale
I always buy my clothes on sale. I never pay full price.
122
(buy something) for (an amount)
I bought that car for two thousand dollars ten years ago, and it's still running.
123
You're checking a PowerPoint presentation that your boss is going to give tomorrow to the entire company. You notice a mistake on one of the pages and you point it out. Your boss is surprised that there was a mistake and happy that you told him about it. He tells you:
Wow, good catch.
124
You and your boyfriend are visiting your brother Brian and his wife in another city. You need to get someone to drive you to the airport tomorrow, but your brother and his wife have to work and won't be able to drive you. Your brother had a solution to this problem: drive his car and leave it at the airport, then he will go get it later. Now you're going to tell your boyfriend about this solution:
Brian pointed out that we could just take his car to the airport and they can pick it up later.
125
(someone) could (do something)
A: I don't know of anywhere to go for dinner around here. B: Well, we could go to an Italian place I know nearby.
126
pick (something) up
Hey, can you pick up dinner on your way home?
127
You go to an event for people who are interested in learning and studying English. You introduce yourself to someone and ask them:
How did you find out about this?
128
find out about (something)
My wife found out that one of her employees was stealing from her.
129
Your friend asked you if you got your hair colored. You did color your hair, but you didn't get it done at a salon. You dyed it at home. You answer:
130
(do something) (oneself)
Would you like a cookie? I made 'em myself.
131
To do something "yourself" is a little different from doing it "by yourself". When you do something "by yourself", it means that there is no one else with you:
I usually eat lunch by myself.
132
You work at a clothing store. You see a customer who's looking at pants but seems to want something specific. You want to offer to help him. You ask:
Is there a certain size you're looking for?
133
is there (something)(clause)
Is there a day when we could meet and discuss this in depth? Is there anyone I can talk to about the status of my application? Is there something you wanted to tell me?
134
a certain (thing)
I made the mistake of telling a certain friend about my problems with Jeff, and next thing you know the whole school was talking about it.
135
look for (something)
I'm looking for a gift for my husband.
136
The small company you work for was featured in an article in the New York Times. Since then, thousands of new customers have started to contact you and buy your products. The number of orders that customers have made is so high that it has been difficult to send out everyone's orders fast enough. You tell a business contact:
We've been absolutely overwhelmed with orders.
137
(someone) has been (\_\_\_ed) If someone broke into your house and stole things from you, when you call the police you say:
I've been robbed!
138
(be) overwhelmed (with something)
I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. I've got school, band practice, work, not to mention spending time with my boyfriend. I just can't handle it all! It's easy to get overwhelmed with the amount of work here if you don't have an organized system for handling it all.
139
You may also hear "overwhelmed by \_\_\_". This is more often used to express a positive emotional feeling when something makes you so happy, thankful, or proud that you just can't believe it:
I've been overwhelmed by all the support and help my fans have given me.
140
