About the Crow and the Fox

If your friend has a good sense of humour but does not know the fable about the Crow and the Fox, there is no problem. The fable can be retold.

Well... One day the Crow sat on a tree and had a piece of chee­se in her mouth. At that moment the cunning Fox ran nearby. (Even people say that someone can be "as cunning as a fox.") Unfortunate­ly, the Fox was not cunning in the Crow's eyes. Even if the Crow had been a bit wiser she still would never have guessed that the Fox wanted to take her for a ride.

The Crow saw the Fox and thought: " What fair wind has brought the fox here?" But we know the reason why. If it were any

closer it would have jumped up and bit you. The Fox liked the smell of the cheese very, very much and was racking his brain how to get it.

The cunning Fox was in the know that the Crow admired flattery. (People also know that flattery is able to open all the do­ors.) As for the Crow, flattery was her Achilles' heel. So, the Fox began to flatter the Crow saying that she was the most beautiful birdie in the world. Of course, the Crow opened her mouth to say "Thank you." The cheese dropped down. The Fox grabbed the cheese and ran for it.

The poor Crow was raging and fuming for a long time. She was very upset, indeed. Since then she has always met at dagger-po­int any flattery and even praise.

AnswerKey

Animals

4.11. straight from the horse’s mouth 2. for the birds 3. let the cat out of the bag 4. beating a dead horse 5. got off his high horse 6. his bark is worse than his bite 7. other fish to fry 8. took the bull by the horns 9. gone to the dogs 10. call off the dogs 11. horsing around 12. putting the cart before the horse 13. bird’s-eye-view 14. in the doghouse 15. fish or cut bait.

4.21. b 2. e 3. i 4. h 5. c 6. j 7. d 8. g 9. a 10. f

4.31. beating a dead horse 2. the cat is out of the bag 3. got other fish to fry 4. for the birds 5. straight from the horse’s mouth

4.4abird’s-eyeview; horse around; take the bull by the horns; (put) the cart before the horse; beat a dead horse; (straight) from the horse’s mouth; have bigger / other fish to fry; for the birds; in the doghouse; someone / something has more bark than bite; get off your high horse; go to the dogs; call off the dogs; let the cat out of the bag; fish or cut bait.

4.51. c 2. a 3. b

СЕМИНАР 2

Exercise 1. Read the short texts. Write out the idioms and the transcription. Learn the idioms.

SAYINGS

Alpha and Omega

Alpha and Omega are two letters of the Greek alphabet. Alpha Is the first letter and Omega the last one. When people refer to the Alpha and Omega of anything, they mean the beginning and the end, the whole of it

In the arms of Morpheus

In classical mythology, Morpheus was the god of dreams - and the son of Hypnos, the god of sleep. To be in the arms of Morpheus is to be asleep or dreaming

The corner-stone

The corner-stone is the stone which lies at the corner of two walls, and unites them; hence it is used figuratively to denote something of great importance.

Crocodile tears

The phrase is applied to a person who falsely puts on an appearance of grief. In fact crocodiles do shed tears while swallowing their prey, but they do it for purely biological reasons.

To cross the Rubicon: the die is cast

To cross the Rubicon means to take a final step which may have dangerous consequences. The phrase was used by Julius Caesar, a famous Roman general, statesman and writer. The Rubicon was a small stream in northern Italy which separated the province in which Caesar was the governor, from Italy proper, Caesar's political rivals at Rome had passed a law ordering him to disband his army. Caesar marched to the river and stood at the bank undecided whether to cross it and thereby precipitate civil war. Then he exclaimed: «The die is cast» and dashed across the river.

A doubting Thomas

The phrase denotes a sceptic, a person who is not easy to convince. The story of the doubting Thomas appears in the Gospel. Thomas was one of the Twelve Apostles, He doubted the fact of the resurrection of Christ after the crucifixion.

The horn of plenty

The horn of plenty is the symbol of abundance. According to the myth, when Jupiter was a baby he was nursed by nymphs with the milk of Amalthea, the goat. Once Amalthea broke her horn. One of the nymphs found it and filled it with fruits and flowers and brought to Jupiter. Jupiter presented the horn to the nymphs promising that it would become filled with whatever they wished. On this account it was called the horn of plenty.

The hub of the Universe

The phrase is used to denote any centre considered to be very important. It is also said, ironically, of a man, who imagines himself the central figure. The metaphor is derived from the Talmudic concept of the structure of the universe-the centre of Jerusalem is the temple, the centre of the temple — the Holy of Holies, and the centre of that — the sacred stone, the hub of the universe. According to the legend, it was the first stone with which God began creating the world.

Judas kiss: thirty pieces of silver

These phrases come from the Gospel story about the betrayal of Jesus by one of his disciples, Judas. He was the twelfth apostle. The story runs thus: Judas was present with the other apostles in the room of the Last Supper- But he left the room and hurried to the chief priests and offered them his assistance in arresting his master. The chief priests promised Judas to pay him thirty pieces of silver. They went through the dark streets of Jerusalem. « Whomsoever I shall kiss», said Judas, «that same is Jesus. » When they came up to the place in the garden where Jesus was standing, Judas ran to Jesus and kissed him. The guardsmen took Jesus and led him away.

So the expression « A Judas kiss» denotes a treacherous action and the words «thirty pieces of silver» symbolizes a payment for an act of betrayal.

To be in the seventh heaven

This phrase means to be supremely happy. The phrase takes its origin in the belief of the Mohammedans (recorded in the Koran) that there'are seven heavens around the earth, each more blissful than its immediate inferior, the seventh heaven containing God himself and his angels.

Swan song

According to an old legend, a swan at the very end of its life sings his last and very sweet song. Brehm, a German scholar, writes that the legend is founded on the real fact for the last sounds uttered by a mortally wounded swan really resemble a song,

An unwritten law

The Romans divided their law into unwritten law and written law, By unwritten law they meant custom, popular 'practice, by written law, that derived, from legislation.

To wash one's hands (of)

«To wash one's hands» means to refuse all responsibility for a matter or person». The phrase comes from the Bible story of the trial of Jesus. Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea, found no fault in Jesus, but yet yielded to the clamour of the mob for his crucifixion. He took water and washed his hands, saying that he was innocent of the blood of that just person. V. Read out the sentences that contain the idioms under study from the text.

Exercise 2. Put in the sayings: Alpha and Omega, In the arms of Morpheus, the corner –stone, Crocodile tears, to cross the Rubicon, a doubting Thomas, the horn of plenty, the hub of the Universe, Judas kiss, to be in the seventh heaven, swan song, an unwritten law, to wash one’s hands of.

1. You’ve fallen out with your best friend, you’ve not been on speaking terms with her for days on end and at last you’ve made up your mind to make it up Both of you must be…

2. Grammar and phonetics are … of any language.

3. If someone who seemed to mean nothing but good by you betrayed you, you have all ground to say …

4. No one will punish you if you break them but you will surely be considered an ill-bred person.

5. If you are about to take some very important decision which is likely to influence your life, you might say that you are ready to ….

6. After you’ve passed your exams with flying colors you must be feeling …

7. We have given him every conceivable proof, we have tried to persuade him that our business is anything but a house of cards for weeks on end, but so far we’ve got nowhere, he is truly a ….

8. It is next to impossible for him to get used to living in reduced circumstances, his father’s home has always been…

9. He is so conceited, must be imagining himself … one would hardly wish to have anything to do with him.

10. I’ve warned you time and time again that computer needs careful handling, now you will have to pay for the damage done, I …

Exercise 3. Write the idioms down into your own vocabulary. Make up a short story using at least 8 of the idioms

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