Communicative Goal: Describing
Honesty
Context: Honesty
in American Society
Part 1, Speaking: Review
and discuss the following idioms, providing your own examples.
1. to
come clean: to
tell the truth (informal, nonseparable, positive, in the sense of “confess”)
Example: Come clean,
buddy!
2. to come forward: to tell the truth (formal, nonseparable, positive,
in the sense of “share information”)
Example: The police are asking witnesses to
come forward.
3.
to lay
[something] on the line: to tell the truth (informal,
separable, negative, in the sense of “being
direct regarding a negative condition or
situation”)
Example: Lay it on the
line for me, doc.
4. to play by the rules: to act honestly
(informal, nonseparable, positive, general)
Example: If you play by the rules,
you will get ahead.
5. to shoot from the hip: to tell the truth (informal, nonseparable, positive,
in the sense of “being direct”)
Example: I am going to
shoot from the hip and tell you how it is.
Part 2, Reading: Complete the passage below with the most appropriately
conjugated idioms.
Honesty is an important value in American
society, instilled in us from an early age. Parents often impart this to their
children through the well-known, probably apocryphal, story of a young George Washington _________
to his father that he had cut down a cherry tree.
Another prominent president admired for
his forthrightness, Lincoln, was nicknamed “Honest Abe” for his fair business
practices. Upon entering politics, however, he soon discovered that he could
not always __________ in order to pass legislation and that he had to resort to
bribery, at times.
Taking a cue from these respected leaders,
American candidates for office often try to portray themselves as unreserved, no-nonsense reformers who __________.
Many, if not most, politicians today are
far from honest, of course. President Nixon, also known as “Tricky Dick,” was
notorious for lying through his teeth to the American public. Although he
eventually stepped down as a result of the Watergate scandal, he never really
______it all_____.
Today, the general public is generally
truthful in personal and business dealings. As a civic responsibility, we are also
expected __________ and report any suspicions of wrongdoing. Indeed, we are now
constantly urged in public announcements to do so with the familiar advice “If
you see something, say something.”
© James Doyle, 2013
English Class:
Are you interested in learning more idioms? Take this great class!
http://www.mylanguagesolutions.com/#!advanced-integrated-english-skills-workshop/c12pt
Are you interested in learning more idioms? Take this great class!
http://www.mylanguagesolutions.com/#!advanced-integrated-english-skills-workshop/c12pt
Answers:
The answers to this exercise are available at the following link:
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