For example, Americans' sense of personal space — a comfortable distance between oneself and others — is between eighteen and thirty inches depending on the closeness of the relationshi
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7 Many young people barely _ on their low salaries.
8 It's difficult to _ in California if you don't have a car
9 Having a loving family makes it easier to the most difficult problems
10 I _ early this morning after a two-week vacation.
11 Wendy was too sick to _ much over the last few weeks.
12 George was so in love with Melinda that it took years to _ her after they broke up.
13 It took a long time to understand what the professor was He just didn't explain it very well.
14 It's so difficult to to teenagers sometimes; they just don't understand.
15 Drake decided that he would try to _ Tina for going out with another guy
16 It's time for you to your life; you have to forget about her!
17 I heard that Bill and Jane don't really each other and that they may be getting a divorce.
18 Frank normally at 5:00, but he had to stay at the office late tonight.
20H LISTEN UP!
Listen to a story about how one community of friends and neighbors helped each other during a devastating fire Then answer these questions.
1 How did San Diegans know there was a fire?
2 Why did residents have to stay at home for a week?
3 What made so many people want to help the fire victims?
4 What were some of the ways people helped one another?
20I WHY DO THEY DO THAT?
Body Language, Personal Space, and More
Like spoken language, gestures and body language in a new culture can be confusing Every culture has its own certain unwritten rules that people from other cultures need to be aware of, and the U.S is no exception There are many very common and important gestures and body signals that are helpful to know while dealing with Americans.
For example, Americans' sense of personal space — a comfortable distance between oneself and others — is between eighteen and thirty inches
depending on the closeness of the relationship If others stand within that personal space, it makes Americans feel uncomfortable, and they may take a step back to recover an acceptable distance Standing "too close" to an American while in conversation is just one pitfall to avoid Here are few others:
Eye contact — Americans usually look each other directly in the eyes, looking
away briefly from time to time A failure to maintain "acceptable" eye contact may be
Trang 2Lesson 20: Just Shooting the Breeze 209
interpreted as a lack of self confidence, or — worse — as a sign that you are guilty of something and are trying to hide it
Touch — Americans are not as openly affectionate as those from some other cultures
may be, but a brief touch on the arm could be interpreted in various ways, ranging from flirtatious to sympathetic or reassuring depending upon the situation
Beckoning — It is common to beckon by holding the upturned palm out and up while
wiggling one or two fingers or even all together towards oneself This is acceptable in most situations and is not considered rude However, in a restaurant, it's more polite to simply hold the index finger up while trying to catch the eye of a server Do not snap your fingers to get someone's attention
Saying goodbye— Usually, the hand is held up with the palm down with the fingers
together as they wave up and down, or the hand is held straight up, palm out bending at the wrist from side to side
Kissing hello or good-bye— It is very unusual for some Americans to kiss one another
when they say "hello" or "good-bye," and they may consider it downright bizarre
However, this does occur sometimes, especially in urban settings where people are more comfortable with a mix of cultural norms The best thing to do is follow the example set by the person you're with
Handshake — The handshake is firm and bobs up and down two or three times This is a
standard greeting among people from most regions, regardless of gender or situation
Laugh — There is a range of types of laughter among Americans, from "big" and
hearty to "small" and softer Loud, open laughter is not usually considered odd or
offensive; instead it may be interpreted as coming from a person who enjoys life
Pointing — Point with the index finger, the one next to the thumb Do not point with the
middle finger as this is considered an obscene gesture in the U.S And some people consider it rude to point directly at other people, so it's best to point to people with the full hand, palm facing nearly upward
OK—This is a gesture made with the index finger and thumb forming a circle with the other fingers extended It means OK, or that's right, or perfect.
Thumbs up or down — The thumb turned up means "everything is good;" down
means the opposite
There are some other cultural behaviors to be aware of For example, Americans may interrupt a conversation at any time, especially when it is highly animated and among friends or coworkers You also may have noticed that men usually stand up when a
woman enters the room This is considered very polite but is occurring less and less in the changing roles of women and men in American society And although some
Americans do not always follow these rules, spitting and burping are not publicly
acceptable Try to suppress burps and always say"Excuse me" afterwards Find a private place to spit if needed
And last but not least, the smile A common criticism of Americans is that they smile too much But for many Americans, smiling is a gesture of courtesy to others, because it is a way to present a happy face to others, and perhaps to brighten other people's
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moods as well Americans in many regions believe that it's less than polite to allow oneself to be seen as angry or in a bad mood A nice smile — even if it's not entirely genuine — is thus considered proper behavior among other people
Lesson 20: Answer Key
Practice Exercise 1 1 boring, 2 bored, 3 crowded, 4 broken, 5.annoying, 6.cracked, 7.embarrassing,
8.frightened, 9 exhausted, 10 thrilling
Practice Exercise 2 1 photographing, 2 talking, 3 take, 4 dancing, 5 working, 6 singing,7 interview, 8 blowing,
9 baking, 10 getting
Practice Exercise 3 1 herself, 2 myself, 3 by herself, 4 themselves, 5 yourself, 6 by myself, 7 himself, 8 by
yourselves, 9 ourselves, 10 itself
Review Exercise 1 1 Fair-weather friends, 2 congenial, 3 dinner party, 4 familiar, 5 kindred, 6 block party,
7 neighborly, 8 street fair, 9 courtesy, 10 acquaintances, 11 newcomer, 12 community, 13 neighborhood watch, 14 city council, 15 potluck, 16 fraternize, 17 confidant, 18 sociable
Review Exercise 2 1 confused confusing, 2 satisfied satisfying, 3 exciting excited, 4 frightening
frightened, 5 exhausted exhausting, 6 bored boring, 7 interesting interested, 8 disappointed disappointing
Review Exercise 3 1 chasing, 2 sitting, 3 cry, 4 following, 5 sing, 6 baking,7.cheating, 8 standing
Review Exercise 4 1 told himself, 2 fixed myself, 3 live by yourself, 4 took themselves, 5 sits by itself, 6 reward
yourselves, 7 promised herself, 8 stay by ourselves
Review Exercise 5 1 got away with, 2 get in, 3 get up, 4 got after, 5 got into, 6 get together, 7 get by, 8 get
around, 9 get through, 10 got back, 11 get out, 12 get over, 13 getting at, 14 get through to, 15 get back at, 16 get on with, 17 get along with, 18 gets off
Listen Up! 1 The sky was orange, there were ashes everywhere, air smelled like smoke 2 It was
dangerous to be outside breathing the air 3 Because they would want others to do the same for them 4 Collecting and distributing food and clothing, lobbying for public money, putting
up sand bags to stop erosion
Trang 4Appendix A
Irregular Verbs
Each of the following verbs appears in the infinitive, the simple past, and the past participial forms
arise/ arose/ arisen
awake / awoke / awoke (n)
be (am, are, is) / was, were /
been
beat / beat / beaten
become / became / become
begin / began / begun
bend / bent / bent
bet / bet / bet
bid / bid / bid
bind / bound / bound
bite / bit / bitten
bleed / bled / bled
blow / blew / blown
break / broke / broken
bring / brought / brought
build / built / built
burst / burst / burst
buy / bought / bought
cast / cast / cast
catch / caught / caught
choose / chose / chosen
cling / clung / clung
come / came / come
cost / cost / cost
creep / crept / crept
cut / cut / cut
deal / dealt / dealt
dig / dug / dug
do / did / done
draw / drew / drawn
eat / ate / eaten
fall / fell / fallen
feed / fed / fed
feel / felt / felt
fight / fought / fought
find / found / found
fit / fit / fit
flee / fled / fled
fling / flung / flung
fly / flew / flown
forbid / *forbade / forbidden
forget / forgot / forgotten
forgive / forgave / forgiven
freeze / froze / frozen
get / got / "gotten
give / gave / given
go / went / gone
grind / ground / ground
grow / grew / grown
hang / hung / hung
have / had / had
hear / heard / heard
hide/ hid / hidden hit / hit / hit hold / held / held hurt/ hurt/ hurt keep / kept / kept kneel / knelt, kneeled / knelt, kneeled know / knew / known
lay / laid / laid lead / led / led lean / leaned, leant / leaned, leant leave / left / left
lend / lent / lent let / let / let lie/ lay/ lain light / lit, lighted / lit, lighted lose / lost / lost
make / made / made mean / meant / meant meet / met / met misspell / misspelled / misspelled mistake / mistook / mistaken misunderstand / misunderstood / misunderstood overthrow / overthrew / overthrown pay / paid / paid prove / proved / proven, proved put / put / put
quit / quit, quitted / quit, quitted read / read / read rid / rid / rid ride / rode / ridden ring/ rang/ rung rise / rose / risen run / ran / run say / said / said see / saw / seen seek / sought / sought sell / sold / sold send / sent / sent set / set / set shake / shook / shaken shine / shone / shone shoot / shot / shot show / showed / shown shrink / shrank / shrunk shut / shut / shut sing / sang / sung sit / sat / sat sleep / slept / slept slide / slid / slid speak / spoke / spoken speed / sped, speeded / sped, speeded
*Some speakers often use forbid for simple past.
"Some speakers often say hove got to meaning must, and in British English the form gotten does
not exist
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spend / spent / spent
spin / spun / spun
spread / spread / spreac
spring / sprang / sprung
stand / stood / stood
steal / stole / stolen
stick / stuck / stuck
sting / stung / stung
stink / stank / stunk
strike / struck / stricken
swear / swore / sworn
sweep / swept / swept
swim / swam / swum
swing / swung / swung
take / took / taken
teach / taught / taught
tear / tore / torn
tell / told / told
think / thought / thought tread / trod / trod, trodden throw / threw / thrown understand / understood / understood undertake / undertook / undertaken upset / upset / upset
wake / woke / woken wear / wore / worn weave / wove / woven weep / wept / wept win / won / won wind / wound / wound withdraw / withdrew / withdrawn wring / wrung / wrung
write / wrote / written
Trang 6Appendix B
Adjectives Followed by Prepositions
absent from discriminated against jealous of accustomed to divorced from known for acquainted with done with limited in / by addicted to dressed in made of afraid of engaged to married to angry at/with enthusiastic about opposed to annoyed with envious of patient with associated with equipped with polite to aware of excited about prepared for blessed with exposed to provided with bored with faithful to proud of capable of familiar with ready to / for cluttered with filled with related to committed to finished with relevant to composed of fond of remembered for concerned about friendly toward / with responsible for connected to furious about safe from content with furnished with satisfied with convinced of glad about scared of coordinated with grateful to/for terrified of crazy about guilty of tired of crowded with hidden from upset with dedicated to innocent of used to devoted to interested in worried about disappointed in/with involved in
Trang 7Appendix C
Verbs Followed by Prepositions
accuse of agree
with apologize for
apply to/for
approve of argue
with/about arrive
in/at ask for beg
for believe in
blame for care
about/for
compare to/with
complain about
consist of
contribute to
count on/upon
cover with
decide on
depend on/upon
die from
distinguish from
dream of/about drink to escape from excel in excuse for fall
in love with feel like fight for forget about forgive for hide from hope for insist on/upon know about listen to look after look forward to object to participate in pay attention to pray for prevent from
prohibit from protect from provide with recover from remind of rescue from respond to search for shoot at stare at stop from subscribe to substitute for succeed in talk about take advantage of take care of thank for think of vote for / against wait for warn against / about
Trang 8Appendix D
Real English Idioms
All over with Finished, finalized.
All over Everywhere.
All stressed out Nervous; feeling stress.
All thumbs Clumsy or awkward.
All-time low A situation that has never been worse.
Apple of someone's eye An adored person, most often one's child.
As fresh as a daisy Well rested; new looking.
At death's door Close to death.
Axe to fall (To wait for the ) To expect to lose one's position.
Bad egg One bad thing among others that are good.
Bargain basement A store featuring inexpensive products, often on sale.
Bargain rack An area of a store devoted to reduced prices; cheaper products.
Bear market A stock market that is not performing well; pessimism about the market.
Birds of a feather flock together People who have similar ideas, feelings, and behaviors are more likely to
become friends
Blast A lot of fun.
Blog A forum on the Internet for sharing one's views A "Web log"
Boot up To start a computer.
Boxed in Trapped on all sides.
Bread Money.
Break away To take a break from hard work To remove oneself from stress.
Break in To use something until it begins to operate smoothly.
Break laws To violate laws.
Breathe down someone's neck To pressure someone to work.
Bring home the bacon To bring home one's salary to pay for a family's living.
Buckle up To wear a seat belt.
Build A person's physique.
Bull market A stock market that is performing well; optimism about the stock market.
Bursting with pride Feeling very full of pride.
Chat room A special "space" on the Internet for conversing or sharing opinions.
Check out To look at something carefully.
Chew the fat To make conversation or small talk.
Clean bill of health A pronouncement of good health, made by a doctor.
Close call A near-accident, an accident that was barely avoided.
Cool as a cucumber Calm and relaxed.
Crash To stop working, said of a computer.
Crash To fall asleep suddenly and anywhere; to lose energy.
Crazy Wild, different from the majority Also, insane.
Cruise along To drive in a relaxed manner.
Cry all the way to the bank To be without money and in need of a loan.
Cubicle farm Office space made of cubicles; semi-private work spaces separated by partitions Cut out for Naturally suited to do something.
Do all your homework To study something carefully in advance.
Dough Money.
Down on one's luck In a difficult financial situation.
Trang 9216 Appendix D
Downsize To cut back on employees.
Dressed to kill Dressed very well and looking good.
Drop a line To write a short letter or note to someone.
Eat humble pie To have to admit one is wrong.
Egghead One who is extremely intelligent; an exceptional student.
End up To finally result in.
False alarm Expected danger that does not happen.
Feel two inches shorter To lose confidence.
Filthy rich Extremely rich.
Fix up To repair; to make better or more livable.
Fixer-upper A property in need of repairs.
Flame To send an angry or hostile e-mail message.
Forages For a very long time.
Freak out To become upset and agitated.
Geek An often disliked intellectual; a person who knows a lot about computers.
Get blood from a stone To work someone more than they are capable.
Get hitched To get married.
Get into To become involved or interested in.
Get it To understand.
Get to talking To begin talking about something.
Get out of here/there To leave.
Get worse before something gets better Things will not improve immediately, and they may get worse Give it away To sell for a very low price.
Glow To look healthy; to look good.
Go all out To do something with intensity or enthusiasm.
Go blank To momentarily be unable to recall something.
Go broke To run out of money.
Go bust To lose all one's money.
Go down When the computer network one is using is not working or can't be accessed.
Go out of one's mind To go crazy because of some problem.
Go postal To act rashly.
Going out Dating.
go over someone's head To go higher in the chain of command.
Good catch Better than average.
Goof off To relax; to play.
Hacker Someone who illegally breaks into a computer system.
Hang out To spend time together, socializing informally.
Have a nervous breakdown To lose control of oneself.
Have a night on the town To go out for an evening of entertainment.
Have what it takes Have the necessary qualities for something.
Heart sinks to one's feet A sudden feeling of fear or worry.
Helper unit A rental house or apartment in back of a main house that helps pay the bills when rented High-end Higher-priced.
Highway robbery Profits derived from items that are extremely expensive or overpriced.
Hit the books To study.
Home sweet home Your own home.
Hot date A date with someone exciting.
In a nutshell In a few words.
In ages In a long time.
Trang 10Appendix D 217
In love with Having strong feelings for someone or something.
In shock Surprised; a state the body goes into to protect itself after an accident or tragic or frightening
event
In the black Making money.
In the pink In good health; having rosy colored skin.
Keep in touch To communicate from time to time.
Keep it up To continue doing something.
Keep one's cool To remain calm.
Kick back To relax.
Kick up one's heels To let go of inhibitions and have fun.
Knockout A gorgeous woman.
Laugh all the way to the bank To make more money than most people, especially suddenly.
Lead foot A "heavy foot" that presses too hard on the accelerator A fast driver.
Lemon A poorly manufactured product that breaks down a lot more than it should.
Life passes before your eyes A rapid review of one's history prior to death, said to happen when one is
about to die, as in an accident
Live it up To have a good time.
Live to see tomorrow To continue living.
Long arm of the law The power and influence of law enforcement.
Look forward to To anticipate something pleasurable.
Look in the eye To look at someone directly and/or without fear.
Look like a million dollars To look fantastic and richly dressed.
Make (someone's) day To allow or cause something exciting and memorable to happen to someone Make money To earn money.
Man! An expression about a feeling, similar to wow!
Meet your maker To die.
Mess up To ruin; to harm.
Miss the boat To be too late; to lose a chance.
My head is spinning I have too much information to think about.
Neighborhood specialists Ones who know a specific neighborhood well.
No strings attached Without secondary expectations or complications.
Nose to the grindstone Working very hard.
Not long for this world Having little time before one's death.
Off the top of one's head Expressed without much forethought or research.
Online On the Internet.
On your feet Out of bed; not sick.
On your last legs Worn out; close to death.
Open house A time when a house or apartment is "open" for prospective buyers to visit.
Open up To click on a message so that it can be read.
Out of it Not thinking clearly; not paying attention.
Out of nowhere Unexpected; with unknown origins.
Pack To carry a weapon.
Package deal Several things that come together for one price.
Paint the town red To have fun and do a lot of things for evening entertainment.
Pass out To lose consciousness temporarily.
Pay through the nose To pay a lot for something.
Pile of work A lot of work to do.
Priced out of the market Not having enough money.
Pride of ownership Home ownership that causes people to care for a home.