Idioms and expressions

47. small (block, capital, upper case, lower case) letters

48. question (leading, rhetorical, direct, awkward)

49. language class (activities, games)

50. it's Greek to me

51. to talk nineteen to the dozen

52. to talk rubbish

53. to talk a mile a minute

54. talk of the devil

55. to call a spade a spade

56. the talk of the town (street)

57. tall story (tale)

58. rule of thumb

59. a slip of the tongue

60. tongue/ brain twister

61. Hold your tongue!

62. Alma mater

63. to burn the midnight oil

64. to be on the tip of the tongue

65. to talk in broken (thick) Russian (English)

66. to start from scratch

67. stumbling block

Proverbs and sayings

68. A man is never too old too learn. /Live and learn.

69. Dot your i's and cross your t’s.

70. Without rhyme or reason

71. Practice makes perfect.

72. There's no royal road to learning.

73. You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

74. You're never too old to learn.

75. A little learning is a dangerous thing. (A. Pope)

76. A thing well said will be wit in all languages. (J. Dryden)

77. Language is the dress of thought. (S. Johnson)

Culture words

The King's English (the Queen's) English, American English / British English /World English, Tower of Babel, British Council, Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Modern English-Russian Dictionary, CALL - Computer Assisted Language Learning

Vocabulary work

Exercise 1.

Look up the English equivalents for the following Russian words

and word combinations.

Сокращенный текст, посещать занятия, прогуливать занятия, мертвый язык, официальный язык, эссе, идиоматическое выражение, значение слова, перефразировать, определение, понимание текста, неправильное написание слова, зубрить, говорить громче, сказать слово по буквам, шариковая ручка, маркер, дать транскрипцию, болтать, дубликат/ копия, перевести с русского языка на английский, заикаться, липкая лента, оговорка, неправдоподобная история, говорить на ветер, вбивать в чью-то голову, иметь хорошо подвешенный язык, в двух словах, лицемерная болтовня, говорить на ломаном немецком языке, объяснять/ излагать что-то, расставлять знаки препинания, аудирование, учебный толковый словарь, заглавные буквы, наводящий вопрос, прописные буквы, накапливать словарный запас, выучить наизусть, лингафонный кабинет, называть вещи своими именами, для меня это - китайская грамота.

Exercise 2.

Study the following examples illustrating the proper use of idioms and expressions. Render the sentences into Russian paying special attention to the translation of the italicized phrases.

1. She rehearsed her speech until she was word-perfect.

2. It is difficult to follow the script of "Transporting" for the characters speak thick, Scottish accent.

3. It is all Greek to me.

4. She was wearing a sweat shirt emblazoned with the name of her alma mater.

5. The group burned its midnight oil this week preparing for the finals.

6. John said he'd be coming - and talk of the devil, here he is now.

7. I meant to say Friday, not Monday. It was a slip of the tongue.

8. John's been the talk of the department since his affair with James.

9. Jim was full of tall stories about his Safari in East Africa.

10. What is your native language?

11. I am paraphrasing, but this is honestly what he said.

12. She recited a passage from "As You Like It."

13. They were frightened at his dreadful habit of calling a spade a spade.

14. Is rote learning still used to master grammar?

15. What is the official language of the Netherlands?

16. Typewriters, and lately, the word processors have become extended forms of writing implements.

17. Although there are no lessons this week, the students are all cramming for the next week's test.

18. Her shot-gun marriage is the talk of the street.

19. If you read between the lines, this letter is really a request for money.

20. Don't try to reason with them - you are wasting your breath.

Exercise 4

Match the Russian idioms and expressions on the left with their English equivalents on the right.

1	Говорить на ветер	а	Better ask than go astray.
2	Хорошо выраженная мысль звучит умно на всех языках.	b	To burn the midnight oil
3	Язык проглотил?	с	Without rhyme or reason.
4	Повторение - мать учения.	d	A tall talk
5	Учиться никогда не поздно.	е	Dot your i's and cross your t's.
6	У меня это вертелось на языке.	f	To talk rubbish
7	Сидеть за книгами до поздней ночи	8	To call a spade a spade
8	Язык до Киева доведет.	h	To waste one's breath
9	Притча во языцех	i	A thing well said will be wit in al languages.
10	Век живи, век учись.	J	You are never too old to learn.
11	Поставить точки над "и"	k	Cat got your tongue?
12	Ни складу, ни ладу.	1	Practice makes perfect
13	Хвастовство	m	The talk of the town
14	Называть вещи своими именами.	n	I had it on the tip of my tongue.
15	Молоть чепуху	0	Live and learn.

Exercise 5.

Read the dictionary definitions of some words and phrases from the Topical Vocabulary. Deduce the meaning from these definitions and put them down in your notebook.

1. a system of communication by written or spoken words, which is used by the people of a particular country or area

2. a sentence or expression which is very difficult to say properly, especially when you try saying it quickly a number of times. 'She sells seashells on the seashore' is an example of the expression

3. a group of words with a meaning of its own that is different from the meanings of each separate word put together: tall tale is an example of this type of expressions

4. the study of the origin, history, and changing meanings of words

5. to work or study till late at night

6. very informal language that includes new and sometimes rude words, especially words used only by particular groups of people such as criminals, schoolchildren, or people who take drugs

7. an exercise in language teaching to find out how well you understand a piece of spoken language

8. to represent speech sounds with special phonetic symbols (letters)

9. something that you say when you meant to say something else

10. to start from the beginning or with nothing

11. a school, college, or university which one has attended or from which one has graduated

12. correct English usage and diction

13. the English language as spoken in the U.S

14. something that prevents action, advance, or development; an obstacle

15. to form a word by writing or saying the letters separately in the right order

16. a story which is difficult to believe

17. to express in a shorter or clearer way what someone has written or said

18. the marks used in dividing a piece of writing into sentences, clauses, phrases

19. a room in which people can learn foreign languages by means of special teaching machines, esp. tape-recorders

20. to enlarge one's vocabulary