Flashcard - Unit 17

Unit 17: I Can Talk About Work

This unit focuses on advanced work-related idioms. Many of them describe career progress, workplace relationships, reputation, and job security. Strong users of English can recognize both literal and figurative meanings and use the expressions naturally in professional discussions.

Key expressions: get your foot in the door, take things in your stride, pin your hopes on, go it alone, put all your eggs in one basket, keep your options open, keep in with colleagues, keep your ear to the ground, hear something on the grapevine, make a name for yourself, keep your feet on the ground, close on, part of the furniture, face doesn’t fit, take someone under your wing, tricks of the trade, pass something on, dead-end job, take some doing, throw your weight around, get the push/boot/elbow.

Image Placeholder: Young professional starting a career and building workplace connections.

Advanced Notes

Several idioms belong to informal business English. Expressions such as get the boot, get the push, and get the elbow all mean being dismissed. Others focus on networking and reputation. Keep in with people suggests maintaining good relationships for practical reasons. Make a name for yourself emphasizes earning respect through achievement. Keep your feet on the ground reminds people to remain realistic despite success.

Exercise 1 – Complete the Idiom

  1. get your foot in the ____
  2. take things in your ____
  3. pin your hopes ____
  4. keep your ear to the ____
  5. on the ____vine
  6. make a name for ____
  7. go it ____
  8. keep your feet on the ____

Exercise 2 – Match Meaning

  1. go it alone
  2. dead-end job
  3. take sb under your wing
  4. keep your options open
  5. part of the furniture
  6. throw your weight around
  7. tricks of the trade
  8. take some doing

Exercise 3 – Choose the Best Idiom

  1. Starting in a small role at a company
  2. Hearing informal office news
  3. Being realistic after promotion
  4. Depending on one plan only
  5. Helping a newcomer
  6. Being fired
  7. Building a reputation
  8. Maintaining useful relationships
Image Placeholder: Experienced employee mentoring a new worker.

Exercise 4 – Rewrite

  1. Become famous professionally.
  2. Work without help.
  3. Remain informed.
  4. Accept difficulties calmly.
  5. Stay friendly for benefit.
  6. Have a boring job with no future.
  7. Be almost twenty years.
  8. Be dismissed.

Exercise 5 – Error Correction

  1. keep your ear on the ground
  2. make a fame for yourself
  3. go it lonely
  4. part of furniture
  5. take under your arm
  6. throw your size around
  7. get the pull
  8. close by twenty years

Exercise 6 – Discussion Prompts

  1. How can graduates get a foot in the door?
  2. When is it wise to go it alone?
  3. Why keep options open?
  4. What helps people make a name for themselves?
  5. How important is networking?
  6. Can a dead-end job still be valuable?
  7. What workplace gossip travels on the grapevine?
  8. Why keep your feet on the ground?

Further Practice

Focus on accuracy, collocation, and workplace context.

Image Placeholder: Busy office production line and long-term employees.

Exercise 1 – Fill the Gap

  1. She made a _____ for herself.
  2. He got the _____ from his job.
  3. Keep your _____ open.
  4. My face didn’t _____.
  5. They took me under their _____.
  6. Learn the tricks of the _____.
  7. Pass the knowledge _____.
  8. He is part of the _____.

Exercise 2 – Multiple Choice

  1. Which means nearly twenty years?
  2. Which means boss people around?
  3. Which means stay informed?
  4. Which means job with no prospects?
  5. Which means first opportunity?
  6. Which means informal news network?
  7. Which means accept difficulties calmly?
  8. Which means depend on one plan?

Exercise 3 – Sentence Completion

  1. I heard on the grapevine that…
  2. To keep my options open, I…
  3. Someone took me under their wing when…
  4. The task took some doing because…
  5. I would never put all my eggs…
  6. I keep in with colleagues by…
  7. A person throws their weight around when…
  8. You can make a name for yourself by…
Image Placeholder: Employee receiving mentoring and learning workplace skills.

Exercise 4 – Synonym Hunt

  1. dismiss
  2. mentor
  3. reputation
  4. informal news
  5. withdraw
  6. support
  7. independent action
  8. realistic attitude

Exercise 5 – True or False

  1. Go it alone means work with a team.
  2. Dead-end jobs offer many promotions.
  3. Close on means almost.
  4. Part of the furniture refers to a familiar person.
  5. Keep your feet on the ground means be realistic.
  6. The grapevine is formal communication.
  7. Take some doing means easy.
  8. Get the boot means be dismissed.

Exercise 6 – Mini Scenarios

  1. New graduate seeking experience.
  2. Employee hears office rumours.
  3. Worker loses a job.
  4. Manager helps newcomer.
  5. Employee stays realistic after success.
  6. Worker relies on one risky plan.
  7. Long-serving staff member.
  8. Boss behaves aggressively.

Extension and Review

Use the target idioms actively and accurately in realistic business situations.

Image Placeholder: Team meeting discussing careers, networking, and promotion opportunities.

Exercise 1 – Transform the Sentence

  1. He became respected.
  2. She worked independently.
  3. They dismissed him.
  4. I remained realistic.
  5. We heard informal news.
  6. She helped a junior employee.
  7. The company had no prospects.
  8. The task was difficult.

Exercise 2 – Collocation Builder

  1. foot + ?
  2. ear + ?
  3. hopes + ?
  4. weight + ?
  5. tricks + ?
  6. name + ?
  7. options + ?
  8. feet + ?

Exercise 3 – Workplace Dialogues

  1. Promotion advice
  2. Starting a career
  3. Handling setbacks
  4. Learning from a mentor
  5. Office gossip
  6. Job loss
  7. Long service employee
  8. Bossy manager
Image Placeholder: Career ladder showing growth, reputation, and professional development.

Exercise 4 – Category Sort

  1. Career entry
  2. Networking
  3. Reputation
  4. Dismissal
  5. Mentoring
  6. Difficulty
  7. Information
  8. Realism

Exercise 5 – Short Writing Tasks

  1. Describe a mentor.
  2. Describe a dead-end job.
  3. Explain networking.
  4. Describe career success.
  5. Explain office rumours.
  6. Describe independence.
  7. Describe a difficult task.
  8. Describe workplace conflict.

Exercise 6 – Review Challenge

  1. Use get your foot in the door.
  2. Use take things in your stride.
  3. Use keep in with.
  4. Use on the grapevine.
  5. Use make a name for yourself.
  6. Use take under your wing.
  7. Use throw your weight around.
  8. Use get the boot.
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