 Lesson 4

a) Idioms

Lesson 4: Human Behavior

1. To throw a fit hacer berrinche
2. To be carried away To be greatly affected by a strong feeling
3. Ill at ease uncomfortable or worried in a situation.
4. To put up with To tolerate, to accept unwillingly
5. To get on one’s nerves To annoy or disturb someone
To surrender, to stop doing something because of the great effort it
6. To give up caused.
7. To put down To criticize or make a person appear foolish.
8. To cheer someone up To make happier.
9. To get away with To do sth bad and not to receive a punishment for it
10. To keep one’s head to remain calm during a stressing session or an emergency.
11. On edge To be irritable, nervous, anxious, upset
12. To go off the deep To do or experience something in extreme
end

b) Examples

1. Every time she wants something she throws a fit until she gets it, she is a
spoiled child.
2. My brother has such a terrible personality that he is usually carried away by
anger and he can tell you the most dreadful words you could ever imagine.
3. I was ill at ease when my family in law stayed for three weeks in my
house.

1
4. I’ve been putting up with my husband’s family trouble for a long time, but I
think it’s time to stop tolerating something that has nothing to do with me.
5. My friend Rita gets on my nerves when she starts talking non stop and
interrupts everyone who dares to interfere with her monologue.
6. After trying to learn Japanese on my own means for almost five years I
finally gave up and hired a professor.
7. I hate it when a coworker puts me down in front of my boss as if I was
invisible and my job indestructible.
8. Having a friend is so nice! You know that they are there to cheer you up in
the bad times and be happy with you in the good times…you´re never alone.
9. After stealing the money and commiting other crimes he finally got away
with it and is free again as if nothing had happened
10. I don´t know how he manages to keep his head even in the most difficult
and annoying situations, he´s such a cool guy!!!!!!
11. Don´t talk to me because I´m on edge! I could tell you things that I don´t
mean to!
12. I went off the deep end when she died.

d) Write two examples with each Idiom

1. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________

2
 _________________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
6. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
7. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
8. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
9. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
10. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
11. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
12. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

b) Vocabulary Practice

 Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct position in

the passage below:

Disagreement friction nag resentment aggressive

Row troublemaker jealous

3
I´ve always had a feeling of ____________ towards my older brother, John,
because he always received more attention from our parents. There has
always been ____________ between us. And now that I´m more successful
than he is in my job , he is ___________ of me. We´ve never actually had a
_____________, just the occasional ______________, but we´ve never got
on well. And his wife likes to make things worse. She´s a real__________, a
nasty, argumentative, quarrelsome , ____________ woman.I´ve heard her
___________John continually to get a better job, a bigger house, a nicer
car.

Sob heartbroken withdrawn grief recover loss tears miss

Sleepless comfort

When Susan´s cat was killed by a car she burst into __________ and began
to___________ so loudly that the neighbours next door heard her.
She was _________ by the __________. Her mother tried to __________
her, but Susan´s _________ was so great that it was three days (and three
__________ nights) before she begamn to ___________ enough to eat
normally. Even then she talked to no one and was silent and __________
for weeks.I think she´ll always ___________ her pet.