Safari English Academy · Vocabulary · C1 Advanced
Idioms: work, power and success
ፈሊጣዊ አነጋገሮች፦ ሥራ፣ ሥልጣንና ስኬት
Name: ________________________Date: ______________
How it works
At C1 level you meet idioms in serious places too: business reports, interviews and news articles. "The tip of the iceberg" is not about ice: it means that only a small part of a problem can be seen.
በC1 ደረጃ ፈሊጣዊ አነጋገሮችን በቁም ነገር ቦታዎችም ያገኟቸዋል፦ በንግድ ሪፖርቶች፣ በቃለ መጠይቆችና በዜና ጽሑፎች። "The tip of the iceberg" ስለ በረዶ አይደለም፤ የችግሩ ትንሽ ክፍል ብቻ እንደሚታይ ያሳያል።
Several of these idioms are fine in a meeting or a work email ("think outside the box", "the tip of the iceberg"). Others sound critical ("move the goalposts", "pull strings"), so use them carefully when you talk about real people.
ከእነዚህ አንዳንዶቹ በስብሰባ ወይም በሥራ ኢሜይል መጠቀም ይቻላል ("think outside the box"፣ "the tip of the iceberg")። ሌሎቹ ግን ትችት ያዘሉ ናቸው ("move the goalposts"፣ "pull strings")፤ ስለ እውነተኛ ሰዎች ሲናገሩ በጥንቃቄ ይጠቀሙባቸው።
Words
| move the goalpostsWe met every target, but then the manager moved the goalposts and asked for twice as much. | ሥራው ከተጀመረ በኋላ ደንቡን ወይም መስፈርቱን ኢፍትሐዊ በሆነ መንገድ መቀየር |
| a double-edged swordSocial media is a double-edged sword for small businesses in Addis Ababa. | ጥቅምም ጉዳትም ያለው ነገር |
| call the shotsShe may be young, but she calls the shots in this company. | ዋና ውሳኔዎችን የሚሰጥ መሆን፣ ማዘዝ |
| cut to the chaseWe only have ten minutes, so let me cut to the chase: the project needs more money. | ዙሪያ ጥምጥም ሳይሄዱ በቀጥታ ወደ ዋናው ጉዳይ መግባት |
| a drop in the oceanThe donation was generous, but it was a drop in the ocean compared with the cost of the new hospital. | ከሚያስፈልገው አንጻር በጣም ትንሽ መጠን |
| learn the ropesIt took me about a month to learn the ropes at the bank. | የአንድን ሥራ መሠረታዊ አሠራር መማር |
| back to the drawing boardThe investors rejected our plan, so it's back to the drawing board. | የቀድሞው ዕቅድ ስላልተሳካ እንደገና ከመጀመሪያው ማቀድ |
| think outside the boxTo reach farmers without internet, the team had to think outside the box. | ከተለመደው ውጭ በአዲስና በፈጠራ መንገድ ማሰብ |
| pull stringsHe didn't pass the interview; his uncle pulled strings to get him the job. | ጉዳይን ለማስፈጸም የሚያውቋቸውን ባለሥልጣናት ወይም ዘመድ አዝማድ መጠቀም |
| the tip of the icebergThe few complaints we received are just the tip of the iceberg. | የአንድ ትልቅ ችግር የሚታየው ትንሽ ክፍል ብቻ |
Exercises
"Halfway through the contract, the client moved the goalposts." What did the client do?
"Halfway through the contract, the client moved the goalposts." ደንበኛው ምን አደረገ?
- ☐ a) changed the requirements unfairly
- ☐ b) moved to a new office
- ☐ c) paid the money early
Which idiom means "something that has both advantages and disadvantages"?
"ጥቅምም ጉዳትም ያለው ነገር" የትኛው ፈሊጥ ነው?
- ☐ a) a drop in the ocean
- ☐ b) a double-edged sword
- ☐ c) the tip of the iceberg
"I'm new here and still learning the ropes." What does the speaker mean?
"I'm new here and still learning the ropes." ተናጋሪው ምን ማለቱ ነው?
- ☐ a) I'm still learning how the job works.
- ☐ b) I'm training to be a sailor.
- ☐ c) I'm looking for a new job.
"Let's cut to the chase." What does the speaker want?
"Let's cut to the chase." ተናጋሪው ምን ይፈልጋል?
- ☐ a) to talk about the main point directly
- ☐ b) to run after someone
- ☐ c) to stop the meeting early
The new design failed every test, so it's back to the drawing _______________.
አዲሱ ንድፍ በሁሉም ሙከራ ወደቀ፤ ስለዚህ እንደገና ከመጀመሪያው ማቀድ አለብን።
Everyone knows who calls the _______________ in this office: the director.
በዚህ ቢሮ ዋናውን ውሳኔ የሚሰጠው ማን እንደሆነ ሁሉም ያውቃል፦ ዳይሬክተሩ።
theThisofistipjusticeberg.the
ይህ የትልቁ ችግር ትንሽ ክፍል ብቻ ነው።
- 1. pull strings → ___
- 2. think outside the box → ___
- 3. a drop in the ocean → ___
- 4. learn the ropes → ___
- a) የሥራውን አሠራር መማር
- b) የሚያውቋቸውን ሰዎች መጠቀም
- c) በጣም ትንሽ መጠን
- d) በፈጠራ መንገድ ማሰብ
Answer key
- a) changed the requirements unfairly
- b) a double-edged sword
- a) I'm still learning how the job works.
- a) to talk about the main point directly
- board
- shots
- This is just the tip of the iceberg.
- 1-b, 2-d, 3-c, 4-a
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