Advanced English Conversations - Robert Allans, Ahmet Mustafaoglu, Metin Emir 2019
Set (1) - I’ve swallowed the bait
Dialogue
Mike: What’s wrong with you these days John? You have always kept your nose clean!
John: It’s all a hoax. I must admit that I’ve swallowed the bait.
Mike: How come!
John: Unfortunately; I barked up the wrong tree when I counted on Jessie. It turned out that she had also been planning to get rid of me.
Mike: Oh; I don’t believe it. That’s pathetic.
Vocabulary
Keep one’s nose clean: to stay out of trouble.
A hoax: a plan to deceive someone.
Swallow the bait: to respond to someone's actions or words in the way that they intended.
How come: used to ask about the reason for something.
Bark up the wrong tree: to be wrong about the reason for something or the way to achieve something.
Count on: to depend on someone or expect something.
Turn out: prove to be the case.
Get rid of: take action so as to be free of (a troublesome or unwanted person or thing).
Pathetic: making you feel sad or upset.
Exercise;
Fill in the gaps with the appropriate phrases:
keep one’s nose clean
how come
bark up the wrong tree
a hoax
swallow the bait
turn out
count on
get rid of
pathetic
a. Vic made a .......... attempt to apologize.
b. If there's anything I can do, .......... me.
c. So .......... you got an invitation and not me?
d. He described the deception as a cruel ..........
e. The bomb threat .......... to be a hoax.
f. He’s a shrewd fox! He won’t .......... this easy.
g. He shook the blankets vigorously to .......... the dust.
h. Sid's got to .......... or he'll end up back in prison.
i. I .......... when I applied to such good colleges with my average grades.
Answers