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 Idioms
American English Idioms - Letter B
Today learn 10 idioms beginning with the letter B. |
| back on one's
feet |
recovered |
He is back on
his feet after his company went out of business. |
| back out |
withdraw from |
The company tried to
back out of the agreement. |
| back to the
drawing board |
back to the beginning
and start over |
Since the project was
unsuccessful, the company had to go back to the
drawing board. |
| bail out |
provide assistance to |
The government has
decided to bail out the troubled bank. |
| bank on |
trust |
You can bank on
anything the company promises. |
| bark is worse
than one's bite |
attitude is worse than
his actions |
Even when he is angry,
his bark is worse than his bite. |
| barking up the
wrong tree |
making incorrect
assumptions |
The police are
barking up the wrong tree in their investigation. |
| beat someone to
the draw |
was faster than him |
She beat him to
the draw and arrived at the interview first. |
| beat someone to
the punch |
was faster than him |
She beat him to
the punch and arrived at the interview first. |
| beating around
the bush |
speaking indirectly |
Stop beating
around the bush and give us your final decision. |
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 From
YOUR Teacher: Barking
up the Wrong Tree
A good way to look at this idiom is with a real dog. For
example say a dog is running after an animal and it goes
up a tree. Then the dog begins barking at the base of an
adjacent tree thinking the animal is up there while in
fact the animal is in the other tree. This is an example
of an incorrect assumption....barking up the wrong tree. |
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Additional Lessons |
 About These
Lessons
The following classroom lessons are great for
students who want additional conversation, listening,
and reading practice. Please post a comment at the
bottom of this page in the
Facebook Comments window with your thoughts about
these lessons. |
- 60 Second
News - Beginner
Level.
A one minute video of recent world news.
The
English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great listening and reading practice.
News stories are posted on weekdays only.
- Learning
English - Beginner
Level. A 30 minute audio broadcast of recent
world news. The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed. Great
listening practice.
-
Conversation Lesson -
Beginner Level. Let's
Learn English conversation lesson
with a conversation video, a video script, audio
listening practice, video speaking practice, video
pronunciation practice, a new
words section, and a writing activity.
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60 Second News
(Beginner - Listening,
Reading)
February 14, 2019
A one minute video of recent world news.
Great reading and listening practice.
The
English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
News stories are posted on weekdays only. |
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Learning English
(Beginner - Listening)
February 14, 2019 - A 30 minute audio broadcast of
recent world news. The English is spoken at 75% of normal
speed. Great listening practice. |
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 Conversation Lesson
45 - This Land is Your Land
(Beginner -
Conversation, Listening, Reading)
In this lesson Anna and Marsha are going on a road trip!
Follow them across the United States as they see the
sights. Will they still be friends when they finish the
trip? |
Lesson Video
Watch the video and then do the activities on this page. |
Video Script
Anna: You know I love Washington, D.C. But I want to see more of the United
States. My roommate Marsha and I will be on vacation at the same time. So, we
are going on a road trip together!
Hi, Marsha!
Marsha: Hi!
Anna: I packed my bags and I am ready to go!
Marsha: Did you make a list of all the places you want to see?
Anna: I did. I want to see New York City and the Statue of Liberty!
Marsha: And I want to see Mount Rushmore!
Anna: (Anna writes) Mount Rushmore.
Marsha: And don’t forget the Grand Canyon!
Anna: (Anna writes) Let’s not forget California’s redwood forest! There are so
many places to see!
Marsha: We will be driving for a long time. So, we might get bored.
Anna: Bored? No way! We can talk.
Marsha: Or not talk.
Anna: We can play word games. We can sing! You know, our trip is like that
famous American song. (sings) "This land is your land, This land is my land …"*
Marsha: (sings) "…from California to the New York island ..."
BOTH: “... to the redwood forest to the Gulf stream waters ... this land was
made for you and me!”
Marsha: Will we be stopping soon?
Anna: We won’t be stopping soon.
Marsha: I’m hungry.
Anna: Marsha, we just left D.C.! We’ll be eating lunch in about 2 hours. Can you
wait?
Marsha: I guess.
Anna: Here, have an apple. It’s organic!
(Anna throws the apple. It goes out the window.)
Marsha: Thanks.
Marsha: Okay, we will be arriving in New York City very soon!
Anna: I can’t wait to see The Big Apple! Marsha, look! There she is!
Marsha: The Statue of Liberty!
Anna: She is awesome!
Anna: Marsha, in ten minutes, guess what we’ll be seeing?
Marsha: What?
Anna: The largest rocking chair in the world!
Marsha: No, we won’t be seeing that.
Anna: Marsha, it’s on my other list -- Best Roadside Sights.
(Marsha grabs the paper and throws it out the window.)
Anna: Oh no! We littered! And my list is gone. Don't worry. I brought the book.
(lifts up large book, starts reading)
(Later)
Anna: … and that is why I am so afraid of sheep.
Marsha: (snores a little)
Anna: Wow, I feel better. Marsha, you are a great listener.
Marsha: (waking up) Where are we?
Anna: We will be entering North Dakota any minute now!
Marsha: North Dakota! We are going in the wrong direction! We want to go to
South Dakota!
Anna: No problem. I will just exit the highway. We will be going south … in just
a minute. There. Done! We're going south! Okay, we will be stopping for gas and
a bathroom break in about an hour.
Marsha: Then we will be very near to Mount Rushmore!
Anna: Yay! Dead presidents’ heads on the side of a mountain!
Anna: We did it, Marsha! We made it to California! It’s beautiful!
Marsha: And we saw everything on the list!
Anna: Well, we saw everything on page 1 of the list.
Marsha: What do you mean "page 1?"
Anna: Oh. Here are pages 2, 3 and 4! We’ll be very busy driving back to
Washington, D.C. Until next time … !
* This Land is Your Land was written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. |
Listening
Now practice listening to only the audio portion of the conversation. |
Speaking
In this video, learn how to say the new words. Then learn about using the future
continuous verb tense to talk about planned events. |
Pronunciation
Use this video to learn about the reduced form of "will" in the future
continuous tense. |
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New Words |
- break -
n. a brief period of time during which someone
stops an activity
- direction -
n. the course or path on which something is
moving or pointing
- enter -
v. to go or come into (something)
- exit -
v. to go out of a place or situation
- highway -
n. a main road that connects cities and towns
- land -
n. the solid part of the surface of the Earth
- litter -
v. to throw or leave trash on the ground in a
public place
- pack -
v. to put (something) into a bag or suitcase so
that you can take it with you
- place -
n. a specific area or region of the world
- ready -
adj. prepared to do something
- road trip -
n. a long trip in a car or truck, etc
- rocking chair -
n. chair that moves back and forth on rockers
that are attached to its legs
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 Activity
In this lesson, Anna and Marsha take a road trip. Did
you ever take a road trip or a journey with a friend?
Where did you go and what did you do there? Did you see
any sights along the way? If you have not taken a road
trip, tell us about where you would like to go on a road
trip. Write about it in the Facebook Comments section
below. Then practice predicting what will happen on your
road trip across the United States.
Click
lesson activity to get the printable PDF version. The
page opens to a new window. |
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Conversation
Lessons
Study all 52 English conversation lessons. Let's Learn
English conversation lessons each with a conversation
video, a video script, audio listening practice, video
speaking practice, video pronunciation practice, a new
words section, and a writing activity.
These
lessons are for beginners. |
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Source:
Voice of America |
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Additional Information |
Study Tips
(Beginner - Listening)
Avoid Ineffective Study Methods. An audio lesson to help
you study English more effectively. The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed. Great English study tips.
Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this
audio program. |
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Cool Stuff |
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Confused?
Found a word in Fun Easy English you do not know?
1. Type
the word in the Online Reference window
2. Click
Look it up
(opens to a new window) |
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Top Hits
Listen to American music while you study.
1. Click
The ► button
2.
Enjoy some great music |
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Resources
These links contain many
English learning resources. Some are for students, some are for teachers. If you
find information not on Fun Easy English, please post a comment below, and I
will make every effort to add it to the site. Thanks. |
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