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Karl was full of enthusiasm when he started his university course. He worked extremely hard at
first, but, after a couple of years, he ran out of steam(1) and lost interest in his studies. He spent
much more time going to parties and staying out all night than studying, and his tutor worried
that he had gone off the rail(2). But then Karl fell in love with a student in his department. Now,
six months down the line(3), he is back on track(4) towards gaining an excellent degree and fulfilling his dreams.
1. ran out of steam = lost energy or interest: mất động lực
2. gone off the rail = started behaving in an unacceptable way: trở nên hư hỏng 3. down the line = later: sau
4. back on track = again on the way to achieving something: lấy lại phong độ Idiom Example Definition Meaning be flying high The company had some initial is very successful rất thành công
problems but now it is flying high.
fly by the seat of We had no business experience doing something difficult gặp khó khăn vì your pants
before opening the shop, so we were without much experience không có nhiều kinh
really flying by the seat of our pants or ability (informal) nghiệm at first.
do something on I've written so many references now do something without làm mà không suy autopilot
that I can more or less do it on thinking (informal) nghĩ autopilot. take a nosedive
Share prices took a nosedive last went down suddenly and đột ngột suy giảm week. fast nhanh chóng be on a collision
The two countries are on a collision
are behaving in such a way bất đồng lớn course
course, and it seems that nothing can that is likely to cause a
be done to prevent serious trouble. major disagreement or fight come to a
Production has come to a standstill stopped bị dừng lại standstill because of the strike.
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Complete each dialogue with an idiom from the opposite page.
1. Tim: Edward's moving to New York. He said he needs more excitement in his life.
Ruth: Yes, I think he's tired of ________________________________________________ .
2. Rob: The government have changed their mind completely on the new vehicle tax!
Pierre: Yes, they’ve ________________________________________________ .
3. Mona: Their son has started getting into trouble with the police.
Leon: Yes, he seems to have ________________________________________________ .
4. Rajiv: They were so enthusiastic when they started the new conservation scheme, but now it
all seems to have slowed down.
Nick: Yes, the whole project seems to have ________________________________________________ .
5. Ursula: We need to start doing things more effectively and quickly.
Mark: Yes, we definitely need to ________________________________________________ .
6. Freda: Did you see who was driving when the accident happened?
Krishnan: No, I couldn't see who was ________________________________________________ .
Match the beginning of each sentence with its ending.
1 I'm glad to say that things are now back a driving seat any more.
2 We don't know what could happen a year down b a collision course. c
3 Things are out of control. Nobody seems to be in the the line.
4 Profits of Internet-based companies have taken d a complete standstill.
5 I think the employers and the unions are on e on track.
6 Nothing's happening. Things have come to f a nosedive recently
Choose the correct answer.
1 If a business is flying high, it is a) failing b) just starting up c) doing well and is profitable.
2 If you do something on autopilot, you do it a) without thinking b) using a computer c) deliberately.
3 If someone is back on track, they are a) being punished for bad behaviour b) behaving in a less
responsible way c) behaving responsibly again. 4 If you are flying by the seat of your pants, you are doing something
a) without much ability or experience b) without thinking about it c) which is very exciting. O
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