Part 3. Keys

I. Writing an informal letter

Exercise 1:

1) I have been extremely busy at work	I was up to my ears at work
2) Look forward to seeing you in summer	Can't wait to see you in summer
3) I apologize for being late	Sorry for being late
4) Give my best regards to your family	Give my love to your family
5) I wonder if you happen to know that…	Guess what?
6) It's beyond my understanding	It beats me
7) Very easy	Piece of cake
8) I was made a fool	The joke is on me
9) We dislike each other	There's no love lost between us
10) Way to go	Good of you! (molodets!)
11) stop criticizing, annoying or behaving in an unpleasant way to someone, or stop saying sth untrue	Give me a break!
12) Very little or no chance that/of	Fat chance that/of
13) No doubt	You bet

Exercise 2: 1D 2B 3E 4G 5C 6A 7 F

Hi Leo,

It's been a while since we wrote, so I thought I'd drop you a line to bring you up to date with what's been happening here.

I suppose the most important thing is that Jane's job is more secure than we thought. At the beginning of the year, when she got the job, we thought it might only be for one semester, but we just found that she has a permanent contract of sorts. Obviously this is great, as it means we can relax a little. I still don't have what I really want work wise, but it will happen soon. You have to stay positive, don't you?

My parents are both fine, and I think they are really happy that we've moved back. For us, it's great to be so close to family again, an extra sense of comfort and security. We see my sister quite often as she's in London, although we're not that bothered about going into the city. So, what about you these days? Are you still stuck in that old job? Since I've been having so much trouble getting a job I understand your reluctance to change. There is nothing worse than filling in endless application forms, with no idea of what it will lead to.

Anyway, I've got another form to fill in so I'll love you and leave you.

Regards

John

Exercise 3: (1) been a while (2) drop you a line (3) bring you up to date with (4) sorts (5) work wise (6) that (7) stuck in (8) endless

Exercise 4. Sentence 6 is inappropriate

Exercise 5

#	Russian phrases	English equivalents
1	Молодец!	Way to go!
2	чушь, ерунда	bullshit
3	Шутить	be kidding
4	намереваться сделать;	be up to
5	догнать, настичь, наверстать	catch upwith sb
6	давай!, пошли!; 2) кончай!, брось!; и др	come on
7	кончить, закончить; попасть, оказаться	end up
8	не отставать; 2) продолжать; 3) поддерживать	keep up
9	сообразить, выяснить, понять, разобраться	figure out
10	Подвести кого-либо	Let sb down
11	Пристраститься к чему-либо	Take to sth
12	держи(те)сь!; 2) подожди(те); 3) держаться	hold on
13	двигаться вперед; 2) начинай!, действуй!	go ahead

Exercise 6

A coward; someone who is not daring or willing to take risks; a person with little self-confidence.	a chicken
Loud advertising and promotion	hype
An overly intellectual person with poor social skills; an unfashionable and unpopular person.	a nerd
A social outcast or misfit; a strange person	a freak
A mean or unlikeable person	a jerk
A person who has great wealth and power; a tycoon.	fat cat.
Someone who gives unwanted advice; someone who tries to run things even though they don't have the power/authority to do so.	a back-seat driver.
One who sits in front of the television for long periods of time, with little or no physical activity	couch potato
An informal network of gossip or unofficial news; an unnamed source of information	the grapewine
Letters sent through the post office; mail that is carried, as opposed to e-mail.	snail mail
Something that is perfectly obvious; easy to do, requiring very little effort.	no-brainer
A large amount of money; very expensive or costly.	an arm and a leg.

Exercise 7

1 nerd 2 freak 3 couch potato 4 chicken 5 fat cat 6 jerk 7 hype 8 no-brainer 9 snail mail 10 arm and a leg 11 screw-up 12 back seat driver

Exercise 8

1D 2C 3B 4G 5F 6E 7A 8I 9H 10K 11J

Phrase	Slang equivalent
1 pass time idly; loaf with pleasure, be at ease.	hang out
2 be extremely tired; lack energy; be worn out from working too much	be burned out
3 wear fashionable clothing; be dressed in a most stylish and sophisticated way	be dressed to kill
4 become infatuated with somebody; develop intense feelings for someone; become romantically attached to sb; 2) be fooled; believe a false story	fall for sb
5 spend time relaxing, doing nothing at all.	veg out
6 lose or waste something; do very poorly or fail miserably	blow it
7 be irrational and wild; lose control; be wildly enthusiastic about sth	go bananas
8 be addicted to sth; like something so as to need it every day.	be hooked
9 lose all concentration; slip out of normal consciousness, have nothing on one’s mind	zone out
10 find or catch someone doing something wrong	nail sb
11 be indecisive or not reliable	be wishy washy

Exercise 9.

1. burned out 2. would go bananas 3. nailed .4. fall for 5. went bananas 6. blow 7. zoned out 8. wishy-washy 9. fell for 10. blew it. 11. hooked 12. dressed to kill 13. hang out 14. veg out 15. hooked