UNIVERSIDAD TÉCNICA
NACIONAL SEDE CENTRAL
INGLÉS COMO LENGUA
EXTRANJERA
Course: ILE – 514
Idiomatic Expressions and Phrasal Verbs I
Professor: Carlos Gonzáles Alvarado
Student: Ashly Velásquez Rivera.
II – 2023
Expectations:
One day I had a dream about having my independence. I used to think that was castles in the air,
oh well, in my sister’s words. I used to look for departments on internet and make plans like “when
I live alone, I will have seven cats”, but my sister always said, “not do count your chickens before
they hatch, you´re only 15”, and that hurt me because she didn’t believe in me. Inside of me I knew
that my goal was on the cards. I trusted myself and capacity. When I was 19 one of my older
sister’s friend offered me to take care her house because she lives in Los Angeles and wanted
someone to clean, live, and take over the house. Since I was available, I accepted immediately. I
found a job. My boss said that I don’t have prayer to accomplish my goals. Finally, I have been
living alone since 19 and out of the blue, without anyone expecting it, I started living on my own.
Succes and Failure
Bring the house down: She brought the house down! Her speech was awesome! Now I
have a lot to think about it.
Fall flat on your face: I always fell flat on my face when I try to make friends because of my
sense of humor. Usually, people don’t understand me and think that the things that I say
are for real and not just a silly joke.
Hit the nail on the head: -Oh dear, you’re right! The cocoa butter gives it a better taste. You
hit the nail on the head with that proposal! - said the old woman.
Fight a losing battle: The students were fighting a losing battle against the president when
they try to speak about their rights.
Save the day: Carmen always saves the day with her jokes. She is so funny.
With flying colors: I found a job with flying colors. It was my first day looking for a job.
Then, I got a good job with good a salary and few working hours.
Back to the drawing board: My pottery sculpture was garbage, so I went back to the
drawing board and looked for new ideas to make my sculpture with better materials.
Sport and Fitness + Travel and Tourism
I went with my family to Panama last year. It was my first time in an airport. I used to think
that it was like to wait for the bus. I was getting into swimming in those days so I packed a
book about swimming technics. Once we arrived in Panama we moved on the city to find a
good hotel. We went around the city to see some places to visit for the next day,
unexpectedly, we came across with my aunt who was there for vacations. She invited us
the next day to stay with her in the same hotel. It was funny because my sister was there,
but to be honest I was wearing out for the long trip. After we made the check in for the
hotel that my mom previously chose, my sister and I went swimming. We made a little
competition, but I fell behind her because she is very fast. At the next day, my sister and I
made the check out to went with my aunt to the hotel that she was. My parents dropped
us off in front of the hotel while they went to the mall.
