Episode 258

EPISODE 258

LEVEL A1.2/A2.1

 

 

READING COMPREHENSION 

 

BEHAVIOUR

 

Mark was still angry with John when he went to his boss and told him this:
„John tends to ( = has a tendency to) make snap decisions ( = too quick decisions). He usually doesn’t keep his word (= doesn’t keep his promises) and often bears a grudge ( = remembers for a long time bad things which other people have done to him). He cannot keep his temper ( = he gets angry) and he can be brutally honest ( = honest even if it hurts) at times.” When Mark finished his boss asked: „Are you sure you are talking about John?”

 

More contexts for the new words: 

• I have a strong sense of responsibility. ( = I feel responsible for what I do) 
• I am good company. ( = people like spending time with me) 

 

EXERCISE 1 

Match the expression halves

 

1. brutally
2. keep your
3. keep
4. bear
5. make snap
6. tend

 

a) your word
b) to
c) decisions
d) honest
e) a grudge
f) temper

 

EXERCISE 2 

Complete the questions, then answer them.

 

1. Do you always keep ……………………… word?
2. Do you ………………………. snap decisions?
3. When was the last time you were brutally …………………………?

 

 

ENGLISH IN USE  

 

Today we will look at sentences in past simple with verbs other than „to be”.
This is our sentence for today:

Mark was still angry with John when he went to his boss.

As you can see, we don’t have „go” or „goes” here, we use „went”. This is the past form of „go”. Here is a short list of other verbs and their past forms:

GO – WENT
HAVE – HAD
SEE- SAW
GET UP – GOT UP
DRINK – DRANK

When you look at our example one more time, you will see we have no -s at the end of the verb, even if we use it with „he, she, it”. Don’t forget that in past simple we don’t put „s” at the end of verbs. And now look at some more examples of past simple tense:

I had a good job last year.
He saw his friend last week.
They drank a lot of beer yesterday.
She got up very early yesterday.

 

 

IDIOM CLOSE-UP 

 

 

A/ John cannot keep his temper.

B/ No, he LOSES HIS TEMPER quite often.

 

When you lose your temper, you get angry.

 

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

 

 

1. When you MAKE UP your mind, you make a decision.

 

John never makes snap decisions. In fact, he has problems making up his mind at all!

Come on, make up your mind!

 

2. When you LET someone DOWN, you disappoint them.

 

You let down your friends when you don’t keep your word.

I was a little late but I couldn’t let them down completely.

 

EXERCISE 3 

Complete each gap with one word.

 

1. It is really hard when your best friend lets you ……………………..
2. I don’t know if I want the red dress or the black one. I just can’t make …………………….. my mind!
3. When he lost the game, he lost his …………………….. and started throwing chairs around.

 

 

NEWS

  

TOO MUCH WORK

 

Psychologists claim that more and more people are spending too much time at work. As a result, they show aggressive behavior at work and at home. Experts believe that you are more likely to fly off the handle if you’re overworked. And even if you manage to leave your office after eight hours, be careful not to bring the work home – this is also detrimental to your health! So, what should you do to maintain good emotional health? Well, simply relax!

 

GLOSSARY 

– fly off the handle – suddenly become extremely angry without a good reason

– detrimental – harmful

– maintain – keep

 

 

download lesson (pdf)