I. A) Read the dialogues “overheard” during and after the meetings. Translate them.

b) Work in pairs. Rephrase the dialogues.

c) Work in groups. Continue the dialogue and make a longer conversation.

1)

- What a way to run a meeting! Can’t get a word in edgeways.

- He certainly has the gift of the gab but I wish he’d come to the point at last, it’s so much hot air!

2)

- It’s five o’clock – time to wind up the discussion and go home.

- But there’s still one more thing that we should kick around.

- I’d like to take you up on that, Mr X – after the meeting

II. Choose the better of the two options to explain the idiom.

1. His comments threw a wet blanket on the discussion. (discouraged/stopped)

2. They were beat after three days of hard work. (exhausted/frustrated)

3. Jack was hard up to pay his rent. (reluctant/had no money)

4. The storm left them all in the same boat. (in the same situation/on the same territory)

5. The house fire meant we had to start from scratch ( a draft/the beginning)

III. Match the idiom and its explanation

1. at a premium

2. back-of-the-envelope calculations

3. belt-tightening

4. (to) bite the bullet

5. bitter pill to swallow

6. blockbuster

7. brownie points(score brownie points)

8. cash cow

9. (to) cash in on

10. (to) climb the corporate ladder

11. to) compare apples to oranges

1. advance in one's career; the process of getting promoted and making it to senior management

2. to compare two unlike things; to make an invalid comparison

3. a product, service, or business division that generates a lot of cash for the company, without requiring much investment

4. to make money on; to benefit financially from

5. a big success; a huge hit

6. at a high price; at a relatively high price

7. bad news; something unpleasant to accept

8. credit for doing a good deed or for giving someone a compliment (usually a boss or teacher)

9. quick calculations; estimates using approximate numbers, instead of exact numbers

10. reduction of expenses

11. to make a difficult or painful decision; to take a difficult step

IV. Read the sentences and fill in the appropriate idiom.

1.Comparing a night at Econo Lodge with a night at the Four Seasons is like ………………… . One is a budget motel, and the other is a luxury hotel.

2.Jamie Oliver, star of the TV show The Naked Chef, ……………….. his popularity by writing cookbooks and opening restaurants.

3.You want to ……………………. ? It helps to be productive and to look good in front of your boss.

4.After Gina spent her whole summer working as an intern for American Express, failing to get a full-time job offer from the company was a …………………………. .

5.Sara ………………………….. with her boss by volunteering to organize the company's holiday party.

6.With strong sales every year and a great brand name, Mercedes is ……………….. for DaimlerChrysler

7.When worldwide demand for software decreased, Microsoft had to do some …………….. .

8.When demand was down, U.S. automakers had to …………………… and cut jobs.

9. I don't need the exact numbers right now. Just give me some ……………………. .

10.When flat-screen televisions first came out, they were selling ………………. .

11.Eli Lilly made a lot of money with the prescription drug, Prozac. It was a real ………………. .

Talking point

I. In groups make up the dialogues using the above idioms where:

a) the participants are exchanging the opinions on the decision taken at the meeting .(some of them consider it as the only possible solution, whereas others are blaming the chairperson for failing to get a better solution to the issue in question.

b) the participants highly praise the personality and skills of newly elected Chairman who obviously improved the meeting’s efficiency.