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Pair the following situations with idioms related to weather.
– I know he told the story you had in mind just before you opened your mouth, but you shouldn’t cry about it!
a) just an icebreaker
b) stole my thunder
c) a storm in a teacup
2.
– My granny tells amazing stories about ferries, trolls, and other creatures. I really don’t know where her ideas come from. She just sits down and begins speaking using these beautiful expressions, as if it didn’t take any effort to describe this whole fantasy world of hers! Even if I try very hard, I don’t think I can ever become as great a storyteller as her.
a) it’s a breeze
b) chasing a rainbow
c) take a rain check
3.
– Your brother always seems so angry at everybody!
– I know it looks like it. He is having a difficult time as a maturing teenager, but at the same time, I know I can always rely on him, no matter what.
a) snowed under
b) come rain or shine
c) a face like thunder
4.
– Alice, you really love chatting, don’t you? You have just spent two hours talking to your friend Jenny on the phone!
– I know, but she needed to talk to someone. She is so stressed and tired! She already had five tests at school this week!
a) a face like thunder
b) talk up a storm
c) snowed under
5.
– When I grow up, I want to become an astronaut. My mum keeps telling me that only very few people actually get trained to fly a spacecraft one day, but I am confident that if I do my best at school, study hard, and keep fit and healthy, it is going to be very easy to get accepted as a spacecraft pilot.
a) chasing a rainbow
b) a storm in a teacup
c) it’s a breeze
Read the text with six missing sentences containing idioms related to weather. For each gap (1 - 6) put a letter corresponding to the missing sentence (A–G) in the appropriate box, so that the text makes sense. One sentence doesn’t fit with any gap.
My uncle is a very unlucky man. Every time he goes away in summer, something horrible happens to him. He always gets robbed, loses his passport, or misses planes or buses. Last summer, I went on a trip to Greece with him and his family. In fact, I hadn’t expected this holiday to be extraordinary in any way. (1) ___ Laying on the beach, relaxing, swimming in the warm sea… But I was wrong. (2) ___ At first, nothing odd happened. We spent the first two days by the sea, just enjoying the sun and chatting. (3) ___ My uncle had so many interesting stories about his past unfortunate journeys to tell, and I liked listening to him and asking questions about his adventures. (4) ___ On the third day, we were having breakfast in the morning with the whole family sitting by the table. (5) ___ He said the hotel had to be evacuated because of the hurricane that was quickly approaching from over the sea. We quickly packed up and left the hotel half an hour later. I was so disappointed! It was the worst holiday of my life. (6) ___
A – Suddenly, the hotel director came in, with his face like thunder.
B – I thought it would be a breeze.
C – In fact, we talked up a storm.
D – Having a quiet and peaceful time with my uncle is like chasing a rainbow!
E – I really like my uncle, but if he invites me to go away with him again, I think I’ll take a rain check!
F – I told my uncle that lightning never strikes in the same place twice.
G – But it was just the calm before the storm.
Which three idioms mentioned in the lesson above would you like to memorise and why? Answer the questions considering:
why knowing these idioms may be useful;
how you could memorise them;
what examples of their use in your conversations you could think of;
how would other people respond to you using them.
Discuss each bullet point above in reference to your three chosen idioms.
You have discovered an interesting blog about how to make your English richer and more attractive. Write a blog entry about idioms. In your blog entry:
explain why knowing idioms will help you understand spoken English;
give examples of how idioms may help you express difficult ideas;
tell how the understanding of idioms may contribute to your understanding of culture;
refer to how idioms could make your speech more interesting.
Your answer should be 100–150 words long.