Advanced English Conversations (2) - Robert Allans, Matt Edie, A. Mustafaoglu 2020

Set 31 - a blurred distinction will undermine your paper

Professor: Okay, so refresh my memory: what’s the point of your talk?

Student: Well; it basically sheds light on competition and cooperation in business. But I don’t think it’s complete; something seems to be going wrong I just can’t put my finger on it.

Professor: As a rule of thumb, a blurred distinction will undermine your paper! Also make it a point to put together a well-organized outline so that the main points of your topic don’t fall by the wayside.

Student: Sure! I’ve taken that point into account and categorized them in tables.

Professor: Okay, good. So let me take a look at your notes here. Wow! you’ve got a lot packed in here. Are you sure you’re going to be able to follow this during your talk?

Student: Just a minute. OK, here ’s the watered-down version. I’ve prepared it just in case.

Professor: Alright then, as long as you’ve got everything ready, let’s go for it. You’ve got my approval.

Vocabulary;

refresh one’s memory: to remind someone; to help one to recall something.

shed light on: to reveal something about something; to clarify something.

go wrong: not progress or develop as well as you expected or intended.

put one’s finger on: to discover the exact reason why a situation is the way it is, especially when something is wrong.

rule of thumb: a general principle; a suggested method or guideline.

blurred: (adjective) difficult to understand or separate clearly.

undermine: to make something weaker.

make it a point: to give one's attention to (doing something) to make sure that it happens.

fall by the wayside: to be forgotten, ignored or discarded.

take something into account: o think about, consider, or keep someone or something in mind for the future.

packed: (adjective) completely full.

watered-down: changed to be is weaker, less forceful or less detailed than its original form.

go for it: go ahead! give it a good try! do it.

Exercise;

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate phrases or words;

1. Their marriage started to go .......... when he lost his job. A few months later they split up.

2. The train was so .......... that I couldn't find a seat.

3. They offered me a chance to explore the area, and I’m willing to .......... for it.

4. They gave the press a ..........-down version of what really happened.

5. As a rule of .........., drink a glass of water or pure fruit juice every hour you are travelling.

6. If you continually criticize children you can seriously .......... their confidence.

7. With the economy suffering, the president's plan for environmental reform has increasingly fallen by the ..........

8. The proposed regulations take into .......... the bad debt reserve on a separate entity basis.

9. Whenever I am a houseguest of a married friend I usually make it a .......... to bring along a girl.

10. Gender differences are becoming more .......... as both sexes become more liberated.

11. I'm sorry, I don't remember our discussion about that. You'll have to .......... my memory.

12. Well, I think you put your .......... on it when you brought up the issue of tax increases for lower earners.

13. These documents we've uncovered .......... some light on how the late author's final book was meant to end.

1. wrong 2. packed 3. go 4. watered 5. thumb 6. undermine 7. wayside 8. account 9. point 10. blurred 11. refresh 12. finger 13. shed