Работы участников

Результаты по индивидуальным заданиям по курсу:

Ваша, Юлия Леонидовна

1) «out of the frying pan and into the fire» means «getting yourself out of a bad in situation into an even worse one».
Phrase origin:
It is believed to be derived from England in the 1500s. A piece of food being fried in a pan is hot enough, but falling out of the frying pan and into the fire is even worsse. Sometimes people work so hard to get out of one situation that they end up in a worse one. So people say «be careful not to jump out of the fireplace into the fire» to encourage them to plan ahead and make sure they don’t give up something bad for something much worse.
2) «in a nutshell» means «without pretense or long explanations».
Phrase origin:
Used commonly when you can’t be bothered making an in-depth explanation. The idiom is used when you want to say that the description you’re giving is concise, to-the-point and brief. It is the information boiled down to its simplest form. The question is: where do nuts enter this equation?
3) «the cream of the crop» means «the best of the lot» .
Phrase origin:
The phrase refers to the person who is at the top of his or her profession, class, or art. The origins of the idiom are at least five centuries old. The actual idiom was first used in the 16th century, though using the word cream to figuratively refer to the best is likely even older. Cream is usually seen as the most desired part of the milk. It is the sweetest part and rises to the top of the milk. From that meaning of cream, the phrase entered common language to describe the best of the harvest and quickly passed into figurative use to describe the best in any category.
4) «cool as a cucumber» means «extremely calm».
Phrase origin:
The idiom is relatively transparent, conjuring a person who remains cool, calm, and collected in a difficult situation just as a cucumber’s inner flesh remains cool even if it’s just been plucked from a hot garden. It simultaneously draws upon sensory details of sight and touch. Regardless of specifics, nearly every speaker of English not only knows what a cucumber is but has direct experience. That direct experience almost certainly supports the image of a cucumber as being cool to the touch, whether it’s found in the crisper or the garden.
5) «a bad egg» means «someone or something that disappoints expectations».
Phrase origin:
When someone is referred to as a bad egg, it means that he or she has turned out to be bad, despite early signs of being a decent person. Terms like “bad apple” and “bad seed” are also used in the same way. The term often comes with an implication that the individual in question does not have a chance at redemption; like a rotten egg, he or she is simply bad to the core.

Пенкина Мария

Nutty is a fruitcake
Phrase origin:
Crazy, idiotic, as in Mary’s nutty as a fruitcake if she thinks she can get away with that . The adjective nutty meaning «insane» was first recorded in 1821; the similarity to fruitcake , which literally contains nuts as well as fruit, was first recorded in 1935.
A hot potato
Phrase origin:
To quickly stop being involved with someone or something because you stop liking them or you think they will cause problems for you:
to sell like hotcakes
Phrase origin:
With-profits bonds have sold like hot cakes to older people looking for a low-risk, high return for their money.
to chew the fat
Phrase origin:
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, «Chew the fat» first appeared in 1885 in a book by J Brunlees Patterson called Life in the Ranks of the British Army in India. He implied it was a kind of general grumbling and bending of the ears of junior officers to stave off boredom, a typical part of army life. Patterson also uses «chew the rag» in the same sentence he used «chew the fat», but it is not the oldest occurrence. Prior to the adoption of metallic cartridges, most ammunition was composed of powder and a ball wrapped in paper or cloth soaked in animal fat, which was bitten open during musket drill. Soldiers were known to chew on these ends to pass the time and reduce nerves, and in some cases to stave off cravings for chewing tobacco. Though long-since replaced by 1885, the idea of biting or chewing on fat-soaked rag ends may well have entered military parlance in this fashion prior to Patterson’s recording
to eat one’s words-
Phrase origin:
This expression refers to having to admit you were wrong and perhaps take back what you said. «He insisted President Obama would never be elected, but once the election results came in, he had to eat his words.»
Кузнецов Андрей

Nutty is a fruitcake

Phrase origin: нет значения!

Crazy, idiotic, as in Mary’s nutty as a fruitcake if she thinks she can get away with that . The adjective nutty meaning «insane» was first recorded in 1821; the similarity to fruitcake , which literally contains nuts as well as fruit, was first recorded in 1935.

Origin: This expression originated in America in the 1920s. «Nutty» was slang for crazy; a nut was an eccentric person. Fruitcakes are made with plenty of nuts — get it?

A hot potato нет значения!

Phrase origin:

To quickly stop being involved with someone or something because you stop liking them or you think they will cause problems for you:

A problem so controversial and sensitive that it is risky to deal with. For example, Gun control is a political hot potato. This term, dating from the mid-1800s, alludes to the only slightly older expression drop like a hot potato, meaning «to abandon something or someone quickly» (lest one be burned). The idiom alludes to the fact that cooked potatoes retain considerable heat because they contain a lot of water.

to sell like hotcakes нет значения!

Phrase origin:

With-profits bonds have sold like hot cakes to older people looking for a low-risk, high return for their money.

The term “hotcake” is an American invention, dating back to the late 17th century (“pancake,” meaning the same food, is older, first appearing in England around 1400). To “sell like hotcakes” has meant “to be in great demand” since about 1839, and there doesn’t seem to have been any particular “hotcake fad” leading to the origin of the phrase. But hotcakes have always been popular at fairs and church socials, etc., often selling as fast as they can be cooked, so they make a good metaphor for a very popular product that sells quickly and in great numbers.

to chew the fat нет значения!

Phrase origin:

Also, chew the rag. Chat in a friendly, leisurely way, as in Let’s get together for coffee and chew the fat, or John and Dave spend hours just chewing the rag. Before the 1880s in Britain, chew the fat meant «to grumble or complain,» and chew the rag also has been used in this way. Today both expressions are largely synonyms for a friendly talk or gossip session. Why this idiom uses fat and rag is not known, but some speculate that fat refers to juicy items of gossip and rag to ladies’ sewing circles and the cloth they worked on while chatting.

to eat one’s words- нет значения!

Phrase origin:

This expression refers to having to admit you were wrong and perhaps take back what you said. «He insisted President Obama would never be elected, but once the election results came in, he had to eat his words.»

Be forced to retract something one has said, as in The incumbent won easily, so I had to eat my words. This expression was already proverbial in John Ray’s English Proverbs (1670). [Second half of 1500s]

Кузнецов Андрей

“to cut the mustard” means “to succeed; to come up to expectations”
Phrase origin:
Apparently at some point in time, mustard was held in a high enough regard that people were being compared to it. Why? Probably because it’s delicious. If someone failed to live up to expectations, then they were failing to be like mustard, thus, they weren’t «cutting the mustard”. An early usage of the phrase is recorded by an American writer named O. Henry, who wrote many stories near the beginning of the 20th century. In one of these tales, supposedly written around 1909, it simply reads: «She cut the mustard.»

“to cry over spilt milk” means “to remain upset about a past loss”
Phrase origin:
James Howell, a historian and writer, used the phrase in one of his literary works in 1659, called Paramoigraphy (Proverbs). It says: «No weeping for shed milk.» The basis of it, is that spilled milk cannot be gathered up and put back in the container.» It is usually said as «it’s no use crying over spilt milk,» which implies that being sad over certain things, like spilled milk, is not going to fix it.

“to be a nut to crack” means “a difficult problem to solve”
Phrase origin:
The idiom “to be a (hard) nut to crack” describes a person who is difficult to understand, or a problem that is hard to solve. The origin is from the actual process of opening a nutshell, which often requires a special tool or substantial force to accomplish.

“piece of cake” means “something easy to do”
Phrase origin:
Referring to something as a «piece of cake» is often used to describe a situation that was easy, or required little effort. How did the term cake come to mean easy?

The idea of cake being “easy” originated in the 1870’s when cakes were given out as prizes for winning competitions. In particular, there was a tradition in the US slavery states where slaves would circle around a cake at a gathering. The most “graceful” pair would win the cake the in middle. From this the term “cake walk” and “piece of cake” came into being, both meaning that something was easy to accomplish.
The term was first used in print in 1936 by Ogden Nash who wrote, “Her picture’s in the papers now, and life’s a piece of cake.” Today the term is commonly used to describe tests at school, or friendly competitions.

“fish and chips” means “ a take-away food which consists of battered fish and deep-fried chips”
Phrase origin:
Fish and chips became a stock meal among the working classes in Great Britain as a consequence of the rapid development of trawl fishing in the North Sea, and the development of railways which connected the ports to major industrial cities during the second half of the 19th century, which meant that fresh fish could be rapidly transported to the heavily populated areas. Deep-fried chips (slices or pieces of potato) as a dish may have first appeared in Britain in about the same period; its earliest usage of «chips» in this sense the mention in Dickens‘ //A Tale of Two Cities// (published in 1859): «Husky chips of potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil».
The modern fish-and-chip shop originated in the United Kingdom, although outlets selling fried food occurred commonly throughout Europe.

“smart cookie” means “someone who is clever and good at dealing with difficult situations”
Phrase origin:
The term “cookie” may have referred to women as far back as the 1700s, and “smart cookie” may have been a comment on women’s intelligence. The expression “smart cookie” meaning a “bright, intelligent, shrewd, opportunistic person, a sagacious judge of things, first appeared in the 1940s . ”A SMART COOKIE, that Wilkins.”—‘Murder Can Be Fun’ (1951)

Гавашелашвили Аня 18 апреля 2013

Ломтик лимона, связка бананов, кусочек сахара — we come across such word expressions every day, but are you sure you know their equivalents in the English language? On this page you could prove the knowledge you’ve already had and find some more English expressions of food quantifiers.

A cup of – чашка

• coffee
• tea
• cocoa
• hot water

A lemon wedge– долька лимона
A lump of sugar – кусочек сахара

-Do you prefer tea with milk or with a lemon wedge?
-Generally, I drink tea with milk but today I’d like cup of strong tea with a lamp of sugar, please.

A slice of lemon — ломтик лимона
His whole face screws up when he sees someone eat a slice of lemon.

A glass of milk – стакан молока
A bottle of milk – бутылка молока
-Mum, may I have a glass of milk, please?
-Sure, help yourself! There is a new bottle of milk in a fridge.

A mug of – кружка

• coffee
• tea
• cocoa
• hot water

How many mugs of coffee do you usually drink a day?

A pot of — банка

• coffee
• tea
• cocoa
• hot water

A loaf of bread – батон хлеба
A loaf of French bread – французский багет
Two loaves of rye bread – два батона ржаного хлеба
-We are run out of bred, only half- loaf of French bread.
-OK. I’ll buy a loaf of rye bread, if you don’t mind.

A piece of bread — кусок хлеба
-Which bread would you like for soup, brown or wheat one?
— A piece of wheat bread, please.

A slice of bread — (тонкий) кусочек хлеба
Abowlofcereal / soup – миска/глубокаятарелкакаши, хлопьев/супа

Slice of bread with strawberry or apricot marmalade with a cup of tea or coffee and sometimes a bowl of cereal is typical breakfast of young people in Britain today.

A slice of pizza – ломтик/кусочек пиццы
The waiter cut the pizza into 6 slices.

A bar of chocolate – плиткашоколада
If we divide this bar of chocolate in 5 equal pieces, everyone can try it.

A package of candies – пачкаконфет
A pack of chewing gum – пачкажвачки
In duty-free people usually buy some packages of sweets, packs of chewing gum and of a lot of souvenirs.

A spoonful of honey – ложкамеда
A spoonful of honey every day can prevent flu.

A hand of bananas – связкабананов
In the banana industry, a «bunch» is used for a much larger cluster of 200 or so bananas, composed of several «hands».

Bunch of grapes – гроздьвинограда
Bunch grapes require frequent and thorough spraying to avoid diseases and insects.

Peapod –стручок гороха
-How many peapods do I need for a pea soup?
-I don’t know in peapods, I always count in spoons

A bunch of carrots – связка моркови
A dozen eggs – десятокяиц
We need a bunch of carrots and a dozen eggs for our lunch, could you go to the market?

A can of sardines – консервная банка сардин
A can of sardines is a real delicatessen while you are camping.

A box of matches – коробока спичек
Now boxes of matches are replaced by electric lighters.

Александрова Ксения

1)»not my cup of tea» means «Something or someone that one finds pleasing»
Phrase origin:
‘My cup of tea’ is just one of the many tea-related phrases that are still in common use in the UK, such as ‘Not for all the tea in China’, ‘I could murder a cup of tea’, ‘More tea vicar?’, ‘Tea and sympathy’, ‘Rosie Lee’, ‘Storm in a teacup’ and so on.
The change from the earlier positive ‘my cup of tea’ phrase, to the dismissive ‘not my cup of tea’ doesn’t reflect the national taste for the drink itself. Tea remains our cup of tea here in the UK. According to the United Kingdom Tea Council (of course, there had to be one) 60 million of us down 160 million cups of the stuff each day.

2)»with a pinch of salt» means » to accept it but to maintain a degree of skepticism about its truth.»
Phrase origin:
The idea comes from the fact that food is more easily swallowed if taken with a small amount of salt. Pliny the Elder translated an ancient antidote for poison with the words ‘be taken fasting, plus with a pinch of salt’.

3)»to be full of beans» means » to have a lot of energy and enthusiasm»
Phrase origin: ГДЕ?

4)»Big Apple» means «Nickname for New York, USA.»
Phrase origin:
There is no definitive source for this. As so often, there are several theories. One is that it derives from the translation by jazz musicians of the Manzana area as ‘apple orchard’. Another explanation has it that jazz musician’s slang for engagement was ‘apple’ and that a date in New York was the ‘big apple’. The phrase was certainly current in jazz music circles in the 1930s.

5)»Hot potato» means «a situation or issue that is difficult, unpleasant, or risky to deal with.»
Phrase origin:ГДЕ?

6)»Big cheese» means «The most important person.»
Phrase origin:
In earlier times the cheese didn’t have to be big — ‘the cheese’ alone was a synonym for quality. We now use cheesy to describe anything second-rate, artificial or even smelly. Going back to the 19th century the meaning was just the opposite. ‘Cheese’ or ‘cheesy’ is listed in John Camden Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary, 1863 as:
«Anything good, first-rate in quality, genuine, pleasant or advantageous»

7)»out of the frying pan and into the fire» means «Going from one bad situation into a worse one. Also used to define a choice as being less than optimal.»
Phrase origin:ГДЕ?

8)»in a nutshell» means «In a few words; concisely stated.»
Phrase origin:
The first text that was supposed to be enclosed in a nutshell was far from small. Pliny the Elder recorded an event, which he apparently believed to be genuine, in Natural History, the original of which was written in AD 77 and was translated into English in 1601 by Philemon Holland, who included explanatory notes.
Squeezing books as long as the Iliad into a nutshell was beyond the capability of an ancient Greek with a stylus, but modern nanotechnology has made it straightforward. The Bible seems to be the book that people favour these days for microminiaturization. Many versions exist that would fit inside a walnut shell, and some readable (with a microscope) texts can fit on a pinhead.

9)»the cream of the crop» means» the best of all»
Phrase origin:ГДЕ?

‘Cream of the crop’ was undoubtedly adopted for its alliterative appeal and probably borrowed from the French ‘la crème de la crème,’ the cream of the cream, the best of the best, which was well-known in English by about 1800. But exactly when and where the ‘cream of the crop’ first came into use is unknown.

10)»cool as a cucumber» means»Calm and unruffled.»
Phrase origin:
Cool here means imperturbable rather than having a low temperature. Cucumbers are cool to the touch.

First recorded in John Gay’s Poems, New Song on New Similies, 1732:

«I … cool as a cucumber could see The rest of womankind.»

11)»a bad egg «means «Someone or something that disappoints expectations.»
Phrase origin:
The allusion is clearly to the disappointment felt when cracking or shelling an egg, only to find that it is bad. The earliest use of the phrase in that context that I have found is in the Milwaukee Daily American, September 1856:
«Mayor Wood is moving heaven and earth to procure his renomination. One of his dodges is, to get up letters in the newspaper, pretending to emanate from ‘distinguished citizens,’ including merchants, mechanics and working men, soliciting him in the most pathetic terms to present himself to the dear people. There are also on the list a number of notorious blacklegs whom Woods keeps in pay. He is a bad egg.»

12)»nutty as a fruitcake»means»Crazy, idiotic»
Phrase origin:
The adjective nutty meaning «insane» was first recorded in 1821; the similarity to fruitcake, which literally contains nuts as well as fruit, was first recorded in 1935.

13)»to sell like hotcakes»means»to sell quickly»
Phrase origin:ГДЕ?

14)»to chew the fat»means»To talk about unimportant things.»
Phrase origin:
The Inuit (different from Eskimos) used to chew on pieces of whale blubber almost like chewing gum. The blubber took quite a while to dissolve, so it just sort of helped pass the time while they were doing something else.
Some other cultures may have used bacon fat in a similar way.

15)»to eat one’s words»means»to admit being wrong in something that one has said»
Phrase origin:ГДЕ?

16)»to cut the mustard»means»To succeed; to come up to expectations.»
Phrase origin:
Why cutting mustard was chosen as an example of high quality is unclear. As always in such circumstances, there are no shortage of guesses. Some of these allude to the literal difficulty of cutting mustard in its various forms; for example:

— Mustard seed, which is hard to cut with a knife on account of its being small and shiny.
— Mustard plants, which are tough and stringy and grow densely.
— Culinary mustard, which is cut (diluted) and made more palatable by the addition of vinegar.
— Dried mustard paste, which was reputedly used to coat meat and then dried to form a crust.

There is no evidence to support these derivations and they give the impression of having been retro-fitted in an attempt at plausibility.

17)»to cry over spilt milk «means»to be unhappy about what cannot be undone»
Phrase origin:ГДЕ?

18)»to be a nut to crack»means» difficult person or problem to deal with»
Phrase origin:ГДЕ?

19)»piece of cake»means»A straightforward task that can easily be accomplished.»
Phrase origin:ГДЕ?

This phrase is of American origin. At least, the earliest citation of it that I can find is from the American poet and humorist Ogden Nash’s Primrose Path, 1936:

«Her picture’s in the papers now, And life’s a piece of cake.»

The choice of cake or pie as a symbol of ease and pleasantry is well represented in the language. Other phrases along the same lines include ‘as easy as pie’, ‘a cake-walk’, ‘that takes the cake/biscuit’.

20)»fish and chips»means»a take-away food which consists of battered fish and deep-fried chips, sometimes accompanied by mushy peas and tartar sauce.»
Phrase origin:
Fish and chips became a stock meal among the working classes in Great Britain as a consequence of the rapid development of trawl fishing in the North Sea, and the development of railways which connected the ports to major industrial cities during the second half of the 19th century, which meant that fresh fish could be rapidly transported to the heavily populated areas. In 1860, the first fish and chip shop was opened in London by Joseph Malin

21)»smart cookie»means»someone who is clever and good at dealing with difficult situations»
Phrase origin:ГДЕ?

1)a slice of something — кусок чего-либо

slice of bread-кусок хлеба
Cut the bread in thin slices.

slice of pizza-кусок пиццы
Would you like a slice of pizza?

slice of lemon-кусочек лимона
We always put two slices of lemon in tea

*slice up something

Did you slice up all the ham?

2)lump of sugar- кусочек сахара

Please put a lump of sugar in my coffee.

3)Segmemnt of something- долька чего-либо

Give me a segment of orange,please

water-melon segment-долька арбуза
Give me please a plate with a water-melon segment

garlic segment-долька чеснока
пример?

Пайтян Лилит

How I use the Internet while working and relaxing.

In 21 century almost everybody has his/her personal computer. The problem is that most of us just waste our time on completely useless things like games or social networks.

I try to use my computer mainly as a tool in my studies or work but sometimes I surely watch some films or videos just to cheer me up. I don’t have any games or other entertainments on my computer; I prefer to use my mobile for it instead.

As for the Internet, of course I have some accounts in social networks but I use them as an easy simple means of communication. However sometimes I like watching some films online or listening to the music I have on my page. Also I check my email on a daily basis and use some online dictionaries. I find useful some sites where I can download some books, films or music, which thanks to our poor network control is yet possible. I frequently use Google while searching for everything I need, from the information for my homework to some prices on mobile phones. Thanks to technological development, now it’s possible to find a timetable or some news on our faculty page. Some teachers even have their pages where we can watch/follow our course plans, home tasks, marks etc. So I visit such pages as well.

Well, I suppose computers and the Internet have facilitated our live dramatically. Most of us now can’t imagine sending a letter by post or sitting in a library to prepare a report on biology. I hope that our technology will evolve but people won’t rely only on some gadgets but also on their own brain.

Александрова Ксения 24 марта 2013

Dear Ksenya, I like your story, I value the ideas and both word-choice an phrasing seem to be OK!
JL

How do I use the Internet?

As we go further, more and more innovations and latest technological trends of technology are coming up. The Internet is one of those and I am thankful for this state-of the-art technology.

The Internet is always a part of my daily activities, all day long. I use it in a different ways that seem to me pretty beneficial and useful. So the Internet can serve me as a means of communication with the whole world, also as a medium of gathering all the necessary information which is very easy and quick to do. What’s more, with the help of the Internet I can do shopping online which saves my time and sometimes money. What I like most of all about it is that you can find practically all the books, pieces of music, videos, programs, etc. available on the Internet for free. When studying I can’t do without the Internet, for example, checking my e-mail on a daily basis in order to share files with my classmates is inevitable. Though sitting long hours in front of the computer may cause damage to my health, I prefer it to libraries, especially, when I am pressed for time.

Summing up, I should say that the Internet is a very powerful tool,which I perceive incredible to find any issue that you are looking for. Moreover, It is awesome to obtain knowledge of different cultures around the world without leaving your home.

Гавашелашвили Аня 25 марта 2013

Dear Ann, I am quite impressed by your correct way of expressing your thoughts as wel as the good comand of some idioms and set expressions! I promise that in these pages you will increase your knowledge of different cultures!
JL

I cannot live without the Internet.

The Internet is essential in the life of any youngster nowadays. I am not an exception.

I use the Internet quite a lot for a bunch of reasons. First of all, it is an amazing source of information. I even cannot concentrate on my studies without knowing that I have the access to the Internet at the moment. Especially when it comes to the assignments for my language classes. I always use online dictionaries, as they help me save my time and usually provide a lot of useful information about the word I am looking up (synonyms, antonyms, prepositions, examples). I also like to check the compatibility of words by googling the phrase.

Apart from that I have my accounts in a few social networks. Despite the fact that the Internet is claimed to have some negative influence on people’s real-life communication, I believe it helps me to establish and develop relationships with other people. It often happens that I know the person I need to contact not well enough to call them or send a text message on the phone. In that situation the Internet is the best way for me to get through to them. Moreover, I use the Facebook and Skype to stay keep in touch with my friends from abroad.

Thus, the Internet plays a very important role in my life. I use it for studying and socializing with other people.

Таня Ершова. 25 марта 2013

Dear Tanya, your approach is just like mine!
JL

The Internet is a virtual reality with a lot of useful information.
Today I would like to tell you about my Web life. I use the Internet practically every day not only for searching information but also for posting some presentations (Slideshare.net, Blogger.com, facebook.com). I also use the Internet to communicate with foreign students, friends using famous social networks such as Vkontakte or Facebook.
I do not use the Internet for searching the definitions of unfamiliar words or synonymes for them. I search for example different books, musical compositions. I also check my Email through the internet on my mobile phone.
These are my personal activities in World Wide Web.

Андрей Кузнецов 25 марта 2013

Let’s see, Andrew, we might expand your use of the Internet in the course of our project!
JL

How do I use the Internet?
Now it is quite impossible to imagine our life without the Internet. I do a lot of things online. But sometimes I feel that I am not very good at it. Some people laugh at me because of that fact that it is difficult for me, for example, to download a film or a book in FROM the Internet. Fortunately, I have a friend, who always helps me to search for everything. I have AN I-Phone and I-Pad, but I do not manage to make friends with them. I work at it and I hope that our course will help me to get rid of the shortage of my skills to work and study in this sphere.
On a daily basis I use Vkontakte to chat with my friends, watch films online and listen to music. Here my MATES colleagues from my group and I created a special page, where we discuss our homework and prepare for our exams AT in the university. I use online dictionaries every day and try to find necessary information for my study.
Sometimes when I have no Internet I begin to understand that I am lost without it. I realize that Mail.ru and Vkontakte are not a limit. There is a great number of possibilities to make my work and study easier with the help of the Internet.

Пенкина Мария

Mary, now I am more than happy as your essay seems to be a very sincere and valid attempt to describe the relations between the modern student and World Wide Web. Well done! JL