L6 Situational Expression

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

Your cousin is upset since he’s getting no job He thinks his salary is also rather low, so he’s going to resign immediately. You feel he’s behaving foolishly. You advise him caution and say:

A.   You’d better be cautious and resign right away.

B.   This idea doesn’t sound very sensible to me. But if you want it, do it.

C.  I wish I could help you find a job, but I can’t.

D.  I suggest you hang on to this job while you look around for something better, or you may be landed with something worse.

E.  Why don’t we set up our own company?

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

Last weekend you went to a recital given by a very famous pianist with high expectations, but you were very disappointed after seeing his performance. Today at school when asked if you’d enjoyed it, you answer:

A.  It certainly didn’t come up to my expectations.

B.  It was marvellous. I’m going once more this weekend.

C.  It was awful as you didn’t come with me.

D.  The pianist was, in every respect, superb.

E.  I didn’t like it at all since it was too crowded.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

You’re now working in a scientist’s team and doing fieldwork in the Nevertheless, your work has often been hindered by inconvenient weather conditions. You’re now apprehensive that it may not be finished on time. Since this cannot be permitted, you say to your friends:

A.  In my opinion, it doesn’t seem to be rational to carry on with our work

B.  I’m afraid we’re behind the schedule owing to the adverse weather conditions: therefore we must make a much greater effort

C.  In spite of the bad weather, the work goes ahead as planned beforehand.

D.  The unfavourable weather conditions have affected our work very little.

E.  Despite the rainy weather, we’ve done too much so far.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

On your way home, somebody asks you where a certain post office is. You only know vaguely where it is. On the other hand, you want to be as helpful as possible. So you say:

A.  Go ahead the street. Then turn left and you’ll see it on the right.

B.  You’d better not ask everybody such difficult questions.

C.  I’m sorry but I can’t help you since I’m really very busy at the moment.

D.  It’s very near here. You can see it when you take the first turning on the right.

E.  I’m not sure but I don’t think it’s anywhere near here. In fact, it may be in downtown.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

You want to go to the cinema with one of your friends. But he has a project to finish and so doesn’t have time for the cinema. You insist and persuade him in the end. When you watch the film, you realize that the story is meaningless and the acting is bad. You feel you should apologize and say:

A.  I know the film is not good but still, it’s better to be here than be at home, isn’t it?

B.  I seldom go to the cinema so don’t put the blame on me.

C.  I think the story is perfectly good whereas the actors are rather amateur.

D.  I’m really sorry but believe me, if I had known the film was such a nonsense, I wouldn’t have dragged you here.

E.  I can’t understand why you’ve liked this film so much.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

You’ve been waiting for long in a queue in front of the bank on a rainy day.  A large woman pushes you and walks before you in the queue. You really get very furious and you approach the woman and say to her in the loudest and angriest voice that you can manage:

A.  Where on earth did you learn such kind of behaviour?

B.  Is this the right queue for the bills?

C.  Excuse me, but would you mind giving your turn to me?

D.  That really wasn’t a very nice thing you did back there, you know.

E.  It’s really nice to see you again after all these years!

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

Your boss has invited you to his house for a barbecue party which you expect to be extremely boring. You decide to talk to your boss about this. You approach him and say very frankly:

A.  Can I bring my wife too? You know she’s fond of barbecue.

B.  Will you be coming with me or shall I endure all the torture by myself?

C.  I want to apologize to you since on that marvellous day I’ll be out of town.

D.  It was great last time you invited us, why don’t we call the people from other offices?

E.  I know how important this special organization is for you. But it’ll be extremely boring for me.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

You lost your mobile phone in the university dormitory very recently. You don’t care for the phone itself but what’s important for you is the list of telephone numbers that you’ll be needing. Therefore, you hang a paper on the notice wall, saying:

A.  I’ve lost my mobile Please inform me about it.

B.  I’ve found a mobile phone on my way home.  Please, consult me if you want to take it back.

C.  I’ve lost my mobile phone and I’m desperately in need of the numbers in it. Whoever found it will be awarded generously if they bring the numbers to room 325.

D.  I’ve just lost a very expensive mobile phone. It has a spiritual value for me,  since it was a gift. Please, bring it to room 215.

E.  If you’ve found a colourful mobile phone, don’t try to operate it; as soon as you work it, it’ll explode in five seconds!

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

While you’re walking to work one day, you see a blind woman standing at the traffic lights. She obviously wants to walk across the street but she seems to get confused about the car horns and crowd. And nobody helps her. Hoping to help her, you approach and ask in a polite manner:

A.  Excuse me, madam, but I was wondering whether I could be of any assistance.

B.  Why are you still waiting? Don’t you see the cars have just stopped?

C.  The lights are red now, why don’t you stop and wait, you old woman?

D.  You’re too passive. Be active and jump into the street!

E.  You look so miserable! Is it because you’re blind?

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

You’re preparing for the university entrance exams and decided that you want to study foreign languages. But your parents are of the idea that foreign languages don’t promise a wealthy future. Namely, it’s not a good career planning. Nevertheless, you’ve already decided and you’re so determined. You tell them forcefully by saying:

A.  Why are you insisting on science? I prefer engineering.

B.  It’s not yet certain I’ll pass the exams, so it’s no use talking about these.

C.  I haven’t decided yet; if you were in my position, what would you do?

D.  I’m just determined and I’m going to study what I want to study and this is my final decision.

E.  I think you speak too We’ll wait and see.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

One of your friends has asked you to take care of her pet while she’s abroad.  Unfortunately, her dog is a spoiled and noisy one. You actually don’t want to accept but on the other hand, you don’t want to hurt your friend by refusing her. Trying to conceal your reluctance, you say:

A.  I’m afraid I’m not that patient to look after it.

B.  You know I have a husky at home, and it may give harm to yours.

C.  Sorry, but why are you always giving such responsibilities to me? Do I look stupid?

D.  I want to help out you so much but do you have any suggestions for keeping him silent?

E.  You know how busy I am. Can’t we postpone your travel for a while?

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

Your cousin has his second English exam for this term tomorrow. You feel that this exam is very important for him. But he’s been suffering from a headache since the morning and very upset about this. You want to soothe his apprehensive feelings and remind him that he’ll have many other chances during the lessons other than exams. Trying to encourage him, you say:

A.  Your headache seems far from getting well. I’m so sorry for you.

B.  I’m sure you’ll recover from your headache soon and show yourself in class.

C.  What a pity! You’ve studied day and night for this one, now you won’t pass it.

D.  You’d better see a doctor otherwise you can never succeed in the exams.

E.  You must take a lesson from this; if you had looked after yourself, you wouldn’t be sick now.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

You’ve just arranged a job interview with the manager of a well-established fi When you arrive there, you approach the officer at the reception and tell her politely the reason for your presence:

A.  Excuse me, I can’t find the interview room.

B.  Do you know where the other applicants are?

C.  Good morning. I’d like to ask you if  I’m in the right place for the  interview?

D.  I’m sorry but wouldn’t it be better to set up a better organization for the interviews?

E.  Good afternoon. I’m John Melbourne and I’m here for a job interview with Mr Dawson.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

You’ve planned a trip up to the mountains with your wife for Sunday. On Saturday night, you watch the weather report and see that heavy rain is predicted. You get disappointed and you at once talk to your wife and say:

A.  It seems as if we may have to postpone our trip to another day.

B.  If I were you, I’d prepare an umbrella.

C.  Being together is important, then who cares about the rain?

D.  Did you put the jumpers in the suitcase?

E.  Darling, I’ve changed my mind. Under such favourable weather conditions, why don’t we go for a picnic?

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

You’re going to the theatre with some friends who are regarded as the most popular students at school. You have an extra invitation and you want to give it to a newcomer girl who is shy and rather introverted. But your friends are against this. So as to persuade your friends, you say:

A.  This new girl is really weird! And I don’t want to waste my time with her.

B.  Why don’t we give her a chance? Perhaps she can accommodate to the atmosphere.

C.  Do you think we should invite this new girl, too?

D.  What’s your problem? Why do you always object to whatever I say?

E.  Let’s give my ticket to the new girl; I don’t want to come at all.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

You are a university student and you’re staying in a dormitory room with your best friend. One day, in the middle of the night you suddenly wake up because of a nightmare. And since you’re afraid, you ask your roommate to switch on the lights. You say:

A.  Do you mind if I switch on the lights? You seem to be horrified.

B.  I don’t know what my problem is. I’m always like this nowadays.

C.  Would you mind turning the lights on as I’m a bit scared?

D.  Why are you looking at me like that? I just had a bad dream.

E.  If I turn on the television, I’ll feel better. Don’t worry about me.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

Your English literature teacher has given you term homework about  Shakespeare. You don’t know much about him, but you have an aunt who is also a literature teacher, so you go to see her and hopefully you try to learn whether she can recommend any resources. You say:

A.    Have you got any supplementary materials on background reading for Shakespeare?

B.    The teacher has given me a really boring study. What do you think?

C.    Have you heard of anybody called Shakespeare, because I haven’t?

D.    Would you mind writing an essay for me about Shakespeare? I’d be grateful.

E.    My new assignment is Shakespeare’s life, isn’t it interesting?

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

You have an assignment on a pretty new subject You need some original resources. Therefore, you go to the library but discover that the books you’re looking for have been taken out. As you can’t finish your assignment without those books, you say to the library officer:

A.    I can’t find the book I’ve been looking for for some You have to find and bring it to me.

B.    Why did you give my books to a stranger? What will I do now?

C.    I’d better change the subject of my What do you think?

D.    Excuse I’d like to reserve some books for when they’re returned.

E.    You could have found the books I’m looking for if you had wanted

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

You’re attending a private course on Maths. You’re very content with the course and your maths teacher. Your cousin is attending another course downtown. Yours is a little bit far away from your cousin’s house but you persuade her to come to the same course as you. But suddenly the maths teacher changes in your course, instead a terrible one in teaching comes. You know how your cousin feels about this. You try to make a reasonable explanation for this situation defending yourself. You say:

A.   Okay, I’m very guilty.  Now you can do whatever you want to me.

B.   I’m very sorry about this. I know you’re blaming me, but how could I have known there would be such a change in the course?

C.   If you want, we can leave the course and go back to yours so that we can have a fresh beginning.

D.   It’s your fault to have come here. You were always complaining about the low quality of your former course.

E.   Your maths was already terrible.  Even if we find the best teacher, you can’t succeed in maths.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

On your way home, you see a woman who seems to have got lost. You want to help her. So you approach her and say:

A.    Excuse me, ma’am. I thought you were looking a little Can I help you?

B.    No matter how courageous you are, you can’t find your way here.

C.    I wonder why you look so sad!

D.    I’m sorry; could you help me to find my way? I think I’m

E.    Pardon me; I’m very glad that I ran into you today. Shall we have a meal together?

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

Your father has lost his job due to the recent economic He was a successful architect. Now he feels rather sad. You know how qualified he is, so as to comfort and encourage him, you say:

A.    This crisis has made many people homeless or

B.    Why don’t you understand the company’s financial situation? They must have many other problems more important than

C.    If I were you, I would sue the company because of this foolish

D.    I feel pity for you and you should feel it for You’ve lost such a good past for nothing.

E.    Please, don’t be so I’m certain an architect having your qualifications can find a job easily.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

After some hours of studying with you, your student finally managed to get even the most difficult structures in English. You want to compliment her. You say:

A.    I can’t understand why you need so much time to understand these basic things!

B.    Well done Martha. These were really difficult grammatical points but you got them all.

C.    After so many hours with me, it is normal that you’ve learned English.

D.    You have no problem but reading. And you have to study much more to achieve it.

E.    What’s the matter with you? Are you stupid or don’t you study enough?

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

Since your elder son is so much looking forward to owning a pet animal, you decide to buy him one. You go to a pet shop and choose a Siamese cat for him.  After a moment’s consideration, you change your mind about buying a cat, and tell the saleswoman politely:

A.    Well, I really love cats especially beautiful ones, but I have to look for a less expensive one.

B.    Don’t you have the Iranian ones? They’re much prettier than this one.

C.    It may not be a good idea after all. I think he’ll get tired of it in a few weeks.

D.    Is there another pet shop near here where I can find different ones?

E.    I don’t know what I’m doing here. I must be stupid. I can get infected in this little shop.

Select the expression which best fits the situation below.

One of your colleagues is giving a party today. And you’ll go to that party. Your mother is wondering if your girlfriend, Melinda, is coming, too. You are cross with Melinda but you have a hunch that she will be at the party

You tell your mother:

A.    I know she’ll come to the party and we’ll have a wonderful time.

B.    I wonder about it, too. But it’s a weak possibility for me to see her there.

C.    Why do you ask it? Don’t you know I broke up with her?

D.    I don’t care at all and most probably she won’t come.

E.    Mum, I think she’ll be there.  After all, she loves me.