Advanced English Conversations - Robert Allans, Ahmet Mustafaoglu, Metin Emir 2019

Set (42) - Dad's illness turned out to be a blessing in disguise

Dialogue

Stephen: Dad's illness turned out to be a blessing in disguise; it brought the family together for the first time in years.

Carl: They say every cloud has a silver lining.

Stephen: He also found out his painting talent. And contrary to all expectations, he announced that he wouldn’t go back to work anymore!

Carl: In spite of his illness, he’s unshaken and still making decisions! I thought his life will turn upside down.

Stephen: At least he’s been able to get over it.

Vocabulary

A blessing in disguise: something that seems bad or unlucky at first but causes something good to happen later.

Bring together: to cause (people) to join or meet; to unify.

Every cloud has a silver lining: every difficult or sad situation has a comforting or more hopeful aspect, even though this may not be immediately apparent.

Find out: to gain knowledge of (something); learn.

Contrary to expectations: although people thought it would be different.

Anymore: to any further extent; any longer.

Unshaken: (adj) not disturbed; steadfast and unwavering.

Turn upside down: to put in disorder, mix or mess up

Get over it: to start to feel happy or well again after something bad has happened to you.

Exercise;

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate expressions;

a blessing in disguise

bring together

every cloud has a silver lining

find out

contrary to expectations

anymore

unshaken

turn upside down

get over it

a. The world is being.......... by the string of multimedia technologies coming down the pike.

b. My car broke down again, but maybe it was ..........; I've been wasting too much time driving around anyway.

c. ..........., the level of retail sales fell in January.

d. But his character remained serene and .......... in dignity.

e. I was curious to .......... what she had said

f. He's trying to .......... various strands of radical philosophic thought.

g. When I'm going through a hard time, I try to remind myself that ..........

h. You need to .......... and focus on winning today's game

i. He's been wrong several times before, so I don't put much stock in what he says ..........