英语口语学习练习 Unit5:Helen at home

本单元是关于海伦在家对话

Helen: Hello?
Mum: Hello? Helen? It's mum here. How are you my dear? studying hard? You know how much your degree means to your father and me.
Helen: I was studying before you phoned me! Listen, I need your advice. I'm in love! But he doesn't even notice me. He only has eyes for Alice. What can I do?
Mum: Love? Love! There's plenty of time for that later. Get your head out of the clouds and back into your books. Do you hear me?
Helen: Yes, yes mum.
本单元的语言点是习语，习语是语言比喻的运用，而不是字面的意思，比如：'She put her foot in her mouth' 意思是她说说了愚蠢的话，很尴尬，不是她吃脚趾头。

Idioms use language metaphorically rather than literally. 'She put her foot in her mouth' means that she said something stupid and was embarrassed by it (the metaphorical meaning) not that she ate her toes (the literal meaning).
Idioms are also fixed groups of words so you can't change the wording of an idiom. For example, you can say 'They get on like a house on fire' to describe how much two people like each other but you can't say 'They get on like a hospital on fire'.

Idioms of the head:

Get your head out of the clouds.
Stop daydreaming. Concentrate on what your should be thinking about instead.

I laughed my head off at that film.
That film was very funny and it made me laugh a lot.

I don't know the answer off the top of my head.
I can't answer the question immediately. I don't have the answer memorised.

Don't bite his head off for that tiny mistake.
Don't shout at him for making a small mistake.

We should put our heads together to solve this puzzle.
We should work together to find the answer.

I'm so happy! I'm head over heels in love with that woman!
I'm completely in love!

Idioms of the heart:

Have a heart!

Be sympathetic. Think about other people's feelings, not just your own.

We had a real heart-to-heart and now she knows exactly how I feel about her.
We were completely honest with each other about our feelings.

He seems unfriendly at first but honestly his heart's in the right place.
Although he appears cool and distant, he is a good person.

I really adored my grandmother and when she died, it broke my heart.
I was very sad when my grandmother died.

Some students like to learn irregular verbs by heart.
They like to learn things by rote, by saying or writing them again and again.

He wears his heart on his sleeve, you always know exactly how he's feeling.
He doesn't hide his emotions. If he's angry he shows it. If he's happy, he shows it.

Vocabulary:

To only have eyes for someone (眼中只有某人): To be interested only in that person and to ignore (or not notice) everyone else