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Safari English Academy · Vocabulary · B2 Upper intermediate

Idioms: work and study

ፈሊጣዊ አነጋገሮች፦ ሥራና ትምህርት

Name: ________________________Date: ______________

How it works

These idioms are common in offices, classrooms and meetings. They are still informal, but you can use them with colleagues and in spoken English.

እነዚህ ፈሊጣዊ አነጋገሮች በቢሮዎች፣ በክፍል ውስጥና በስብሰባዎች የተለመዱ ናቸው። አሁንም መደበኛ አይደሉም፤ ቢሆንም ከሥራ ባልደረቦች ጋርና በንግግር እንግሊዝኛ ሊጠቀሙባቸው ይችላሉ።

Change the verb and the pronoun to fit your sentence: "I have a lot on my plate", "She has a lot on her plate", "He bit off more than he could chew".

ግሱንና ተውላጠ ስሙን ከዓረፍተ ነገርዎ ጋር ያስማሙ፦ "I have a lot on my plate"፣ "She has a lot on her plate"፣ "He bit off more than he could chew"።

Some English idioms have an Amharic twin. "Kill two birds with one stone" is "በአንድ ድንጋይ ሁለት ወፍ". When you find a twin, the idiom is easy to remember.

አንዳንድ የእንግሊዝኛ ፈሊጦች የአማርኛ መንትያ አላቸው። "Kill two birds with one stone" = "በአንድ ድንጋይ ሁለት ወፍ"። መንትያውን ሲያገኙ ፈሊጡን ማስታወስ ቀላል ይሆናል።

Words

burn the midnight oilI burned the midnight oil to finish my project on time.እስከ ሌሊት ድረስ መሥራት ወይም ማጥናት
have a lot on your plateI can't take another course this term. I have a lot on my plate.ብዙ ሥራ ወይም ኀላፊነት መኖር
kill two birds with one stoneI listen to English podcasts on my way to work, so I kill two birds with one stone.በአንድ ድርጊት ሁለት ዓላማ ማሳካት
go the extra mileOur teacher always goes the extra mile to help students who are behind.ከሚጠበቀው በላይ ተጨማሪ ጥረት ማድረግ
back to square oneThe computer deleted my essay, so I'm back to square one.እንደገና ከመጀመሪያው መጀመር
cut cornersThe builders cut corners, and now the roof leaks.ጊዜ ወይም ገንዘብ ለመቆጠብ ሥራን በጥራት ጉድለት መሥራት
hit the nail on the headYou hit the nail on the head. The real problem is the price.በትክክል መናገር፣ ዋናውን ነጥብ መምታት
the ball is in your courtI've sent you my offer, so the ball is in your court now.አሁን ውሳኔው (ተራው) የእርስዎ ነው
bite off more than you can chewShe works full time and studies for two degrees. I think she has bitten off more than she can chew.ከአቅም በላይ ሥራ መያዝ
it's not rocket scienceDon't worry about the new software. It's not rocket science.ያን ያህል ከባድ አይደለም

Exercises

  1. "I burned the midnight oil last night." What did the speaker do?

    "I burned the midnight oil last night." ተናጋሪው ምን አደረገ?

    • ☐ a) had a power cut
    • ☐ b) cooked a late dinner
    • ☐ c) worked or studied very late

  2. Which idiom has an Amharic twin: "በአንድ ድንጋይ ሁለት ወፍ"?

    "በአንድ ድንጋይ ሁለት ወፍ" የሚል የአማርኛ መንትያ ያለው የትኛው ፈሊጥ ነው?

    • ☐ a) cut corners
    • ☐ b) kill two birds with one stone
    • ☐ c) go the extra mile

  3. The project failed and we must start again. We're …

    ፕሮጀክቱ አልተሳካም፤ እንደገና መጀመር አለብን። እኛ …

    • ☐ a) back to square one
    • ☐ b) in hot water
    • ☐ c) on the same page

  4. Which is a criticism?

    የትኛው ትችት ነው?

    • ☐ a) She always goes the extra mile.
    • ☐ b) They cut corners on the new road.
    • ☐ c) You hit the nail on the head.

  5. I can't help you this week. I have a lot on my _______________.

    ብዙ ሥራ አለብኝ።

  6. Don't be afraid of the new system. It's not rocket _______________.

    ያን ያህል ከባድ አይደለም።

  7. courtballyourTheisnow.in

    አሁን ውሳኔው የአንተ ነው።

    1. 1. go the extra mile → ___
    2. 2. hit the nail on the head → ___
    3. 3. bite off more than you can chew → ___
    4. 4. burn the midnight oil → ___
    • a) ተጨማሪ ጥረት ማድረግ
    • b) እስከ ሌሊት መሥራት
    • c) በትክክል መናገር
    • d) ከአቅም በላይ መያዝ

Answer key

  1. c) worked or studied very late
  2. b) kill two birds with one stone
  3. a) back to square one
  4. b) They cut corners on the new road.
  5. plate
  6. science
  7. The ball is in your court now.
  8. 1-a, 2-c, 3-d, 4-b

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