Unit 11 globalization (1)

Unit 11 Unit 11 globalization Vocabulary extension Idioms Choose the most appropriate word in the box to complete the idioms 1 I was thrown in at the deep when my company sent me to run the German off.

U N I T 1 1

GLOBALIZATION

V O C A B U L A R

Y

E X T E N S I O N

IDIOMS

1 Choose the most appropriate word in the box to complete the idioms:

1 I was thrown in at the deep ……… when my company sent me to run the

German office I was only given two days' notice to prepare

2 We don't see eye to ………… about relocating our factory The Finance Director

wants to move production to the Far East, but I want it to remain in Spain

3 I got into hot ………… with my boss for wearing casual clothes to the meeting with our Milanese customers

4 Small talk is one way to break the ………… when meeting someone for the first

time

5 I really put my ……… in it when I met our Japanese partner Because I was

nervous, I said "Who are you?" rather than "How are you?“

6 I get on like a house on ………… with our Polish agent; we like the same thing and have the same sense of humour

7 When I visited China for the first time I was like a fish out of ………… Everything was so different, and I couldn't read any of the signs!

8 My first meeting with our overseas clients was a real ……… -opener I had not seen that style of negotiation before.

end eye

water

ice foot

fire

wate r

eye

Exercise 1: Choose the most appropriate word in the box to complete the idioms in the sentence below.

eye eye foot water water fire

ice end

Be thrown in at the deep end Get on like a house on fire

Be like a fish out of water

Get into hot water

Not see eye to eye

A real eye-opener

Break the ice Put one’s foot in it

Exercise 2: Match the idioms in Exercise 1 to the correct meanings a to h

Break the ice Get into hot water

Be like a fish out of water Get on like a house on fire

Put one’s foot in it Not see eye to eye

Be thrown in at the deep end A real eye-opener

Which of the idioms refer to:

a A situation of a fair competition

b Being in front of the competition

c Be at the same level as the competitor

d Being the only competitor

e Waste your time on a hopeless situation

f Stay focused

g Change the rules

h Being in control

A level playing field Ahead of the game

Be neck and neck

A one horse race

Flog a dead horse Keep your eye on the ball

Move the goalposts

In the driving seat

Exercise 3 There are many idioms from sport used in business, particularly when talking about competition

1 a level playing field 5 move the goalposts

4: Complete the following with the most suitable idiom from Exercise 3

1 a level playing field 2 in the driving seat 3 be neck and neck 4 flog a dead horse

5 move the goalposts 6 keep your eye on the ball 7 ahead of the game 8 a one horse race

1 It’s not ……… any more As a small company, it is difficult for us to compete with the bid multinationals

2 They are so far ahead of their competitors in terms of new products that it has

become ……… It will be years before they face any serious

competition

3 We have left all our competitors behind We spend a lot of money on R&D so we can stay ………

4 The government have changed all the rules for exporters They have

……… so we will have to rethink our international operation

5 It's a waste of time continuing with the project It will never work We are

………

6 With our market dominance in the US, we are really ………

7 We have exactly the same market share as our nearest rival We

……… in terms of our profits so far this year, too

8 We really need to concentrate on what our competitors are doing In today's market you need to ……… at all times

a level playing field

a one horse race

a head of the game

moved the goalposts

flogging a dead horse

in the driving

neck keep your eye on the ball