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