Vocabulary &speaking.

1. Idioms. Here you are looking at idioms which are linked to the topic of Nature and natural phenomena. Study them and illustrate their use with your own examples.

a drop in the ocean. If an amount is a drop in the ocean, it's a very small portion of the amount that's needed.

a ray of sunshine. Something is a ray of sunshine if it brings happiness to someone.

a voice (crying) in the wilderness. You're a voice in the wilderness, or a voice crying in the wilderness, if you're expressing an unpopular opinion or insight.

at sea / all at sea. If you're at sea, or all at sea, you're confused about something and not sure what to do.

beat around the bush / beat about the bush. If you beat around the bush, or beat about the bush, you don't say something directly, usually because you don't want to upset the person you're talking to.

can't see the wood for the trees. If you can't see the wood for the trees, you can't see the whole situation clearly because you're looking too closely at small details, or because you're too closely involved.

down to earth. If someone is down to earth, they are practical and sensible.

go with the flow. If you go with the flow, you relax and go along with whatever is happening.

in deep water. If you're in deep water, you're in some sort of trouble or in a difficult situation.

make a mountain out of a molehill. If you make a mountain out of a molehill, you make a small problem seem to be a much bigger problem.

neck of the woods (Informal). A neck of the woods is a neighbourhood or a district, usually rural.

reach for the moon / reach for the stars. If you reach for the moon, or reach for the stars, you are aiming to achieve something great, or do something very challenging.

the tip of the iceberg. You can say something is the tip of the iceberg when it's just a small part of something much bigger.

under the weather. If you are under the weather, you're not feeling well.

2. In the end or at the end?(e.G. “However, in the end I decided to stick with my goldfish”, sb p. 39).

NB! When you use the expression "at the end", it needs the preposition "of". When you use "in the end", it doesn't need a preposition. There are also set expressions: to the end of time, to the bitter end.

1. We waited for nearly an hour and ____ the end we went without her.

a) at b) in c) on

2. The teacher set some homework ____ the end of the lesson.

a) at b) in c) on

3. There's an eraser ____ the end of my pencil.

a) at b) in c) on

4. My house is ____ the end of the street.

a) at b) by c) in d) on

5. We were exhausted ____ the end of the journey.

a) by b) in c) on

6. They get killed ____ the end of the film.

a) at b) in c) on

7. I'll love you ____ the end of time.

a) at b) by c) to d) on

8. They couldn't decide which one they liked and ____ the end they didn't bother.

a) at b) by c) in d) to e) on

9. They argue everything ____ the bitter end.

a) at b) by c) in d) on e) to

10. I paid the fees ____ the end of the course.

a) at b) in c) on

11. When do you get paid? — ____ the end of the month.

a) at b) on c) in

12. I couldn't decide what to get Ann for her birthday. ____ the end I didn't get her anything at all.

a) at b) in c) on

13. We waited ages for a taxi. We gave up ______ the end and walked home.

a) at b) on c) in

14. I'll be moving to a new address ____ the end of September.

a) in b) by c) at

15. Tom didn't want to lend us the money at first but ___the end he agreed.

a) at b) in c) to