Unit Two Friendship

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Unit Two Friendship
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1. be lost in/lose oneself in

• ---- be absorbed in. be fully occupied with
• Examples
• He was lost in playing computer games so he was
  unaware of my entering the room.
• She was lost in her novel.
• I had lost myself in thought.

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2. available

• ---- able to be used, had, or reached
• Examples
• Since 1990, the amount of money available to buy
  books has fallen by 17.
• If you don't want to buy a kite, you can make
  your own using directions available in the book.
• We have already used up all the available space.

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3. He sounded as if he had a cold or something.

• ---- This sentence implies the sad state of mind
  the taxi driver was in.
• ---- or something used when you are not very
  sure about what you have just said
• Examples
• The air fare was a hundred and ninety-nine pounds
  or something.
• Here's some money. Get yourself a sandwich or
  something.
• Similar phrase or something like that.

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4. go ahead

• ---- continue, begin (sometimes followed by with
  n.)
• Examples
• The board of directors will vote today on whether
  to go ahead with the plan.
• Henry will be late but we will go ahead with the
  meeting anyway.

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5. know/learn by heart

• ---- memorize, remember exactly
• Examples
• You have to know all the music by heart if you
  want to be a concert pianist.
• The pupils are required to learn a classic poem
  by heart every day.

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6. At least they do with me because I'm on the
road so much.

• ---- At least letters from home mean a lot to me
  because I travel a lot in a car for long
  distances

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7. estimate

• ---- form a judgment about (a quantity or value)
• Examples
• I estimate that the total cost for the treatment
  of the disease will go from 5.000 to 8,000.
• Bills personal riches were estimated at 368
  million.

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8. This isn't family.

• ---- This isn't a letter from my family.

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9. might/may (just) as well

• ---- If you say that you might/may (just) as well
  do something, you mean that you will do it
  although you do not have a strong desire to do it
  and may even feel slightly reluctant about it.
• Examples
• Anyway, you're here you might as well stay.
• The post office is really busy -- we'll have to
  queue for ages to get served. We might as well go
  home.

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10. I'm not much of a hand at writing.

• ---- I'm not good at writing.
• not much of a not a good
• Examples
• Some people may think that doing housework for
  others is not much of a career.
• He is not much of a father, but he is all
  outstanding professor.

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11. keep up

• ---- continue without stopping
• Examples
• They risk losing their homes because they can no
  longer keep up the repayments.
• I was so hungry all the time that I could not
  keep the diet up for longer than a month.

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12. correspondence

• ---- 1) the act of writing, receiving or sending
  letters ( ???s,???a, often followed by with n.)
  
• Examples
• His interest in writing came from a long
  correspondence with a close college friend.
• ---- 2) the letters that sb. receives or sends
  (used as an uncountable noun)
• Examples
• Mary really never mentions her step-mother in her
  correspondence.
• Any further correspondence should be sent to my
  new address.

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13. But I take it he's someone...

• ---- But I expect that he is someone
• The sentence pattern "I take it (that)" is used
  to say that you expect someone will do something,
  know something etc.
• Examples
• I take it (that) you've heard that all the
  students in my class have done a very good job
  in CET Band 4.

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14. practically

• ---- almost, but not completely or exactly
• Examples
• He'd known the old man for practically ten years.
• I know people who find it practically impossible
  to give up smoking.

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15. Went to school together?

• ---- You went to school together?
• In colloquial English a declarative sentence with
  a rising tone may serve as a question.

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16. neighborhood

• ---- one of the parts of a town where people live
  
• Examples
• It seemed like an ideal neighborhood to raise my
  children in.
• Houses in a good neighborhood are likely to be
  sold at a high price.

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17. kind of/sort of

• ---- (infml kind of is esp. AmE. sort of
  esp. BrE) a little bit, in some way or degree
  (used before v. or after a link verb)
• Examples
• She wasn't beautiful. But she was kind of cute.
• The boy's description kind of gives us an idea of
  what's happening.

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18. lose touch (with sb.)

• ---- meet and contact sb. less and less often,
  gradually stop writing, telephoning, or visiting
  them
• Examples
• l lost touch with my former classmates after
  graduation.
• In my job one tends to lose touch with friends.

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19. a couple of

• ---- (infml) a few, more than one but not many
• Examples
• Do you have a moment? There are a couple of
  things I'd like to talk to you about.
• They promised the students that they would find a
  substitute teacher in a couple of days.

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20. on one's mind

• ---- in one's thoughts of concern to one (If
  something is on your mind, you are worried or
  concerned about it and think about it a lot.)
• Examples
• Dealings on the stock market have been on his
  mind all the time.
• This travel plan has been on my mind all week.

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21. keep in touch (with sb.)

• ---- If you keep in touch with someone, you
  write, phone, or visit each other regularly.
• Examples
• The old man kept in touch with his children while
  living in a nursing home.
• While doing the research work in the Antarctic,
  the professor kept in touch with his students via
  email.

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22. come up

• ---- I) happen, occur, esp. unexpectedly
• Examples
• "Sorry, I am late ---- something came up at
  home."
• Other projects came up and the emphasis of my
  work changed.
• ---- 2) be mentioned or discussed
• Examples
• The issue of safety came up twice during the
  meeting.
• The term "Project Hope" has come up a lot
  recently in the newspapers.

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23. urge

• ---- try very hard to persuade (often used in the
  pattern urge sb. to do sth. or followed by a
  that-clause. In the that-clause, "should" or the
  base form of a verb is used.)
• Examples
• They urged the local government to approve plans
  for their reform programme.
• I urged my cousin to take a year off to study
  drawing.
• Sir Fred urged that Britain (should) join the
  European Monetary System.

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24. postpone

• ---- delay (usu. followed by n./gerund)
• Examples
• The Russian experts postponed dumping Mir ( ???
  Russia's space station) in the Pacific Ocean
  until March 23, 2001.
• The couple had postponed having children to
  establish their careers.

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25. It had references to things that ...

• ---- The letter made mention of things that ...
• reference
• 1) the act of talking about sb. / sth., or
  mentioning them (usu. followed by to)
• Examples
• It was strange that he made no reference to any
  work experience in his resume.
• His recent book makes references to the political
  events of those days.
• 2) sth. that shows you where else to look for
  information, for example the page number of
  another place in a book
• Example
• Make a note of the reference number shown on the
  form.
• 3) the act of looking at sth. for information
• Examples
• Use the dictionary for easy reference.
• Keep their price list for further reference.

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26. "Like it says there,"... "about all we had to
spend in those days was time."

• ---- "As the letter says there,"... "though we
  didn't have much money we had a lot of free time."

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27. absolutely

• ---- totally and completely
• Examples
• Funding is absolutely necessary if research is to
  continue.
• There is absolutely no difference between the two
  oil-paintings.

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28. reunion

• ---- a party attended by members of tile same
  family, school, or other group who have not seen
  each other for a long time
• Examples
• The soccer club holds an annual/yearly reunion.
• Before she went abroad for further study, the
  whole family had a big family reunion.

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29 .... there are fewer and fewer still around.

• ---- ... fewer and fewer of us are left alive.

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30. go by

• ---- (of time) pass
• Examples
• Her daughter was becoming more and more beautiful
  as the years went by.
• As each month goes by, the economic situation
  gets better.

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31. hang out

• 1) (infml used mainly in AmE) stay in or near a
  place, for no particular reason, not doing very
  much
• Examples
• I often hung out in coffee bars while I was
  unemployed.
• We can just hang out and have a good time.
• That's the comer where all the kids hang out.
• 2) hang clothes on a piece of string outside in
  order to dry them
• Examples
• I was worried that I had no time to hang out mx
  washing.
• What a pain! -- It's raining and I've ,just hung
  the washing out.

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32. every now and then

• ---- sometimes, at times
• Examples
• Every now and then I have a desire to quit my
  tedious job.
• I still see Jane for lunch every now and then,
  but not as often as I used to.

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33. But for the last 20 or 30 years it's been
mostly just Christmas cards

• ---- But generally speaking we have sent only
  Christmas cards to keep in touch with each other
  for the last 20 or 30 years.
• ---- mostly almost all generally
• Examples
• They have invested their money mostly in
  expensive real estate.
• The guests at the wedding party are mostly
  friends of the bride.

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34. awful

• ---- (infml used to add force) very great very
  bad or unpleasant
• Examples
• I have got an awful lot of work to do.
• I can't bear the awful smell of cigarette smoke.

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35. choke up

• ---- become too upset to speak
• Examples
• When he learned the news of his friend's sudden
  death, he was so choked up he couldn't say a
  thing.
• Losing my job left me completely choked up I was
  so upset that I didn't know what to say.

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36. destination

• ---- the place to which sb. is going or being
  sent
• Examples
• Singapore is still our most popular holiday
  destination.
• Only half of the emergency supplies have reached
  their destination because of the bad weather.

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37. skip

• ---- pass from (one point, etc.) to another,
  disregarding or failing to act on what comes
  between
• Examples
• The teacher skipped chapter five and said it
  wouldn't be on the test.
• "As time is limited, we will have to skip some of
  the exercises in Unit 10. "said the teacher.

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38. right away

• ---- (infml) at once
• Examples
• Tom has got a high fever he should go and see a
  doctor right away.
• I wrote him a letter and posted it right away.