On the Fence | Call It a Day | Curiosity Killed the Cat | From Scratch

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

on the fence

Phrase

ɔn ðə fɛns

to avoid supporting one side in a dispute; to be undecided

You can't sit on the fence any longer; you have to say whether you're for or against the idea.

call it a day

Phrase

kɔl ɪt ə deɪ

to decide to stop doing something, especially working

I'm going to call it a day, go home and make dinner.

Everyone else in the office had called it a day.

We've been at this spreadsheet for six hours; let's call it a day and come back to it tomorrow.

curiosity killed the cat

Phrase

ˌkjʊriˈɑsəti kɪld ðə kæt

being too curious can get a person into trouble (usually said as a warning)

Curiosity killed the cat. So stop asking me so many questions!

from scratch

Phrase

frəm skræʧ

to start something from the beginning; from nothing

I didn’t buy the cake base. I made it myself from scratch.

I lost all my work in the fire and had to start from scratch.

head to toe

Phrase

hɛd tə toʊ

completely; covering one's whole body

He was dressed in black, head to toe.

Exercise 2

Dialogue Practice

Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.

Alex	I don’t feel very well...
Camille	You don’t look well, either! You should call it a day and go home.
Alex	I'm on the fence whether I should go or not. If I go, I'll have to write this report from scratch tomorrow. But you're right, I should probably go. I think I ate something bad yesterday.
Camille	What did you eat?
Alex	Well, a friend took me to a restaurant yesterday. He said that they have really good shellfish there, and I was curious to see how good it was. But... to be honest, it did smell a bit strange.
Camille	Curiosity killed the cat, you know. Anyway, you should get some medicine on your way home!
Alex	I’m shivering head to toe. I will go to the drugstore on my way home.

Exercise 3

Article

Read the passage aloud with your teacher.

They say: “Curiosity killed the cat.” Although I am a careful person, I can’t help being curious about other people’s affairs.

It was just another Friday evening. I decided to call it a day and head home. I left the office and on my way to the elevator, I heard some laughter. Thereupon, I heard other noises coming from one of the rooms. I sat on the fence for a moment; I didn’t know whether I should enter the room or not. After a while, I decided to go in, and as I opened the door, I got covered in paint head to toe.

Some of my office co-workers were making huge Christmas decorations from scratch. When I opened the door I hit a ladder and Christine, who was on the ladder, dropped a bucket of paint right on my head.

Once again my curiosity got me in trouble.

Exercise 4

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks with the correct idioms to complete the dialogue.

Sophie and Liam are studying together at Sophie's place.
Liam	How about we (1)? I don't think I can study any longer.
Sophie	Yes, me neither. And I still have an essay to write. This morning, when I got up, I realized that my cat had destroyed my essay. So, I'll have to write it again (2)!
Liam	No! You'll have to stop leaving your homework around the house. This is the second time your cat has done that.
Sophie	Yeah, she just loves playing with paper. Anyway, do you have any plans for the weekend?
Liam	I’m leaving town on Friday.
Sophie	Where are you going?
Liam	(3)!
Sophie	You’re not doing something illegal, are you?
Sophie chuckles.
Liam	Of course not! Nathan is taking me to the beach. Actually, I'm still (4) about whether I should go or not.
Sophie	Well if you decide to go, you’d better be covered (5) in sunscreen! It's going to be scorching hot this weekend!
Liam	Yes, I don't want to get sunburned. If you want, I can ask Nathan to take you with us.
Sophie	Thanks! I'd love to go.