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Question
You have read the expression ‘not to lose heart’ in this text. Now find out the meanings of the following expressions using the word ‘heart’. Use each of them in a sentence of your own.
1. break somebody’s heart
2. close/dear to heart
3. from the (bottom of your) heart
4. have a heart
5. have a heart of stone
6. your heart goes out to somebody
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Solution
1. break somebody’s heart − to upset somebody deeply
It has unfortunately become very easy these days to break somebody’s heart.
2. close/dear to heart − something or someone who is near and close to you
The drawing given to me by my little daughter is very close to my heart.
3. from the (bottom of your) heart − genuinely meaning or feeling something
He loved his son from the bottom of his heart.
4. have a heart − to evoke the feeling to help someone in distress
The poor beggar asked the rich man to have a heart and give him something to eat.
5. have a heart of stone − to not feel anything or any sentiment
The cruel landlady has a heart of stone as she beats up her children.
6. your heart goes out to somebody − to sympathise with someone else and understand his feelings and distress
My heart goes out to the little girl who lost both her parents in a car accident.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Colours are used to describe feelings, moods and emotions. Match the following ‘colour expressions’ with a suggested paraphrase.
| (i) | the Monday morning blues | feel embarrassed / angry / ashamed |
| (ii) | go red in the face | feel very sick, as if about to vomit |
| (iii) | look green | sadness or depression after a weekend of fun |
| (iv) | the red carpet | the sign or permission to begin an action |
| (v) | blue-blooded | a sign of surrender or acceptance of defeat; a wish to stop fighting |
| (vi) | a green belt | in an unlawful act; while doing something wrong |
| (vii) | a blackguard | a photographic print of building plans; a detailed plan or scheme |
| (viii) | a grey area | land around a town or city where construction is prohibited by law |
| (ix) | a white flag | an area of a subject or a situation where matters are not very clear |
| (x) | a blueprint | a dishonest person with no sense of right or wrong |
| (xi) | red-handed | a special welcome |
| (xii | the green light | of noble birth or from a royal family |
Complete the following phrases from the text. For each phrase, can you find at least one other word that would fit into the blank?
(i) tales of _______________
(ii) coastal _______________
(iii) a piece of ______________
(iv) evergreen ______________
(v) _____________ plantations
(vi) _____________bridge
(vii) wild __________________
You may add your own examples to this list.
1. This play has been translated into English from the Russian original. Are there any expressions or ways of speaking that strike you as more Russian than English? For example, would an adult man be addressed by an older man as my darling or my treasure in an English play?
Read through the play carefully, and find expressions that you think are not used in contemporary English, and contrast these with idiomatic modern English expressions that also occur in the play.
3. Look up the following phrases in a dictionary to find out their meaning, and then use each in a sentence of your own.
(i) You may take it that
(ii) He seems to be coming round
(iii) My foot’s gone to sleep
Match, the italicised phrases in Column A with the phrase nearest meaning in Column B.
(Hint: First look for the sentence in the text which the phrase in column A occurs.)
| A | B |
| 1. I was not unmindful of the fact. |
(i) had not forgotten : was aware of the fact (ii) was not careful about the fact (iii) forgot or was not aware of the fact |
| 2. When my comrades and I were pushed to our limits |
(i) pushed by the guards to the wall (ii) took more than our share of beatings (iii) felt that we could not endure the suffering any longer |
| 3. To reassure me and keep me going |
(i) make me go on walking (ii) help me continue to live in hope in this very difficult situation (iii) make me remain without complaining |
| 4. The basic and honourable freedoms of… earning my keep… |
(i) earning enough money to live on (ii) keeping what I earned (iii) getting a good salary |
Make a meaningful sentence of your own using the following phrase.
"to look into”
books / them / only / read / those who / will / love
Make a meaningful sentence by using the following phrase:
to get out of.
There are some phrases where the word crown is used with different shades of meaning. Use the following phrases to complete the sentences meaningfully.
The works of Shakespeare are the __________ of English drama.
Find out the meaning of the following phrase. Use them in your own sentence.
give and take
Find out the meaning of the following phrase. Use them in your own sentence.
knock someone down
Find out the meaning of the phrase given below and use them in your own sentence.
money for old rope
Write as many phrases as you can using ‘enough’ and use them in your sentences.
Example: good enough
Fill the gap in choosing the appropriate idioms.
Those who aspire for success should always ___________ learn more.
Fill the gap in choosing the appropriate idioms.
The siren of the ambulance ____________ all other traffic noise.
Fill in the blank a word or a phrase given in the brackets in their appropriate form.
I was____________ when the menu was brought.
Make a meaningful sentence by using the following phrase, in your notebook.
be afraid of
Read the text again. You will find that the text contains many phrases. Match the phrases in ‘A’ and their meanings in ‘B’. After matching their meanings, make sentences of your own.
| ‘A’ Phrases | ‘B’ Meanings |
| 1. run of terrible bad luck | a. hit on a topic |
| 2. draws heavily on | b. without being affected by a particular factor |
| 3. struck a chord | c. endure in difficult circumstances |
| 4. in spite of | d. a period of time when bad things happen |
| 5. holding on | e. makes use of |
Make a meaningful sentence by using the phrase
‘in front of’
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
| 1. | A fisherman, enfeebled with age, could no longer go out to sea so he began fishing in the river. Every morning he would go down to the river and sit there fishing the whole day long. In the evening he would sell whatever he had caught, buy food for himself and go home. It was a hard life for an old man. One hot afternoon while he was trying to keep awake and bemoaning his fate, a large bird with silvery feathers alighted on a rock near him. It was Kaha, the heavenly bird. “Have you no one to care for you, grandpa?” asked the bird. “Not a soul.” “You should not be doing such work at your age,” said the bird. “From now on I will bring you a big fish every evening. You can sell it and live in comfort.” True to her word, the bird began to drop a large fish at his doorstep every evening. All that the fisherman had to do was take it to the market and sell it. As big fish were in great demand, he was soon rolling in money. He bought a cottage near the sea, with a garden around it and engaged a servant to cook for him. His wife had died some years earlier. He had decided to marry again and began to look for a suitable woman. |
| 2. | One day he heard the royal courtier make an announcement. Our king has news of a great bird called Kaha,” said the courtier. “Whoever can give information about this bird and help catch it, will be rewarded with half the gold in the royal treasury and half the kingdom!” The fisherman was sorely tempted by the reward. Half the kingdom would make him a prince! |
| 3. | “Why does the king want the bird,” he asked. “He has lost his sight,” explained the courtier. “A wise man has advised him to bathe his eyes with the blood of Kaha. Do you know where she can be found?” “No…I mean …no, no…” Torn between greed and his sense of gratitude to the bird, the fisherman could not give a coherent reply. The courtier, sensing that he knew something about the bird, informed the king. The king had him brought to the palace. |
| 4. | “If you have information about the bird, tell me”, urged the king. “I will reward you handsomely and if you help catch her, I will personally crown you king of half my domain.” “I will get the bird for you,” cried the fisherman, suddenly making up his mind. “But Kaha is strong. I will need help. The king sent a dozen soldiers with him. That evening when the bird came with the fish, the fisherman called out to her to wait. “You drop the fish and go and I never get a chance to thank you for all that you‘ve done for me," he said. “Today I have laid out a feast for you inside. Please alight and come in. Kaha was reluctant to accept the invitation but the fisherman pleaded so earnestly that she finally gave in, and alighted. The moment she was on the ground, the fisherman grabbed one of her legs and shouted to the soldiers hiding in his house to come out. They rushed to his aid but their combined effort could not keep Kaha down. |
| 5. | She rose into the air with the fisherman still clinging to her leg. By the time he realised he was being carried away, the fisherman was too high in the air to let go. He hung on grimly, and neither he nor Kaha was ever seen again. |
Pick out the words/phrases from the passage which are opposite in meaning to the following:
- Take off (Para 1)
- Readily (Para 4)
Make a meaningful sentence by using the phrase 'to run away'.
