Business idioms.

8. Read the letter and match the idioms with following meanings.

Dear Giles,

I just had to write and let you know that I got the job at the law firm I was telling you about.

The interview was a bit odd because the other candidate, Mr Dalziell-Smythe, and myself, were interviewed together and I must admit I felt a bit concerned when turned out that both he and the interviewer were 1) old boys from Eton. Mr D.S. was a terrible snob too, ant made it obvious that he thought I was 2) from the wrong side of the tracks as soon as I mentioned that was from Brixton. However, I needn't have worried as the 3) smart alec soon 4) put his foot in it when he told the interviewer that he thought the current legal system was old-fashioned and needed updating. The interviewer was clearly offended and responded by saying that being 5) of the old school he rather admired the traditional legal ways. This comment seemed to 6) put Mr D.S. in his place as he didn't say much after that.

I felt even better when I realised that Mr D.S. was 7) all at sea as far as canon law was concerned. Fortunately, I've been studying so hard that I 8) know the subject inside out, and I made sure that the interviewer knew that too!

The firm's head office called me this morning to tell me that I've been accepted and that they'd like me to go back tomorrow morning as they want me to 9) learn the ropes as soon as possible. I'll probably ask them to tell me a bit more about the firm too, as the interviewer barely had time to 10) scratch the surface last week.

I'll write again soon to let you know how I'm getting along.

Regards, Craig

a. to make sb understand/ admit they have done/ said sth unacceptable

b. confused

c. former student, espe­cially from an all-boys private school

d. to examine a small part of a problem/subject

e. old-fashioned and conservative

f. to offend/upset/ embarrass others, usually by accident

g. from the poor/less respectable part of town

h. to know sth/sb very well

i. sb who thinks he/she is very clever

j. to become familiar with details/methods of a job/ profession/company, etc

9. Rewrite the following sentences using the words in bold. Do not change these words in any way.

1. Roger's only just become a carpenter, so he's still developing his skills.

ropes ……… .

2. My doctor is a delightful gentleman who is very traditional in his ways.

school ……… .

3. Fred is always offending people; I wish he'd be more careful when he speaks.

foot ……… .

4. I'm afraid your plan to slow down inflation only offers a partial solution to the problem.

scratches ……… .

5. Mother soon made my young cousin behave properly by giving him a good telling-off.

place ……… .

10. a) Match the items with the idioms from Dialogue 1.

a completely honest/fair

b to accept/appreciate what sb has said

c to talk about worries/problems in order to gain relief

d a miserable person who doesn't like others to have fun

e to take revenge

f sb who is curious about other people's business

g to have a tendency to get angry quickly/easily

h sb whose character is unknown

i sense of anger/bitterness because of unfair treat­ment

j to lose control due to panic/anger, etc

b) Rewrite the following sentences using the words in bold. Do not change these words in any way.

1. Fiona never wants to do anything exciting; she's such a miserable person.

blanket ……… .

2. Our neighbours are such curious people, they're always peeking through their curtains to see what we're doing.

parkers ……… .

3. I appreciate what you're saying, Jo, but we just can't afford a car right now.

point ……… .

4. Watch what you say to the director, he loses his temper very easily.

fuse ……… .

5. My mother became furious when my brother told her that he had been suspended from school.

lost ……… .

IV WRITING

1. Addresses