IDIOM CONNECTION

lesson 26

Heart Idioms and a Bad Employee

Introduction

Do you know any expressions that use the word heart?

Reading

The employee was a very good person at heart. He seemed to mean well but he was always having problems at work. He could not do his job well. Nobody in the company had the heart to try and talk to him about his job performance. This changed when a new supervisor arrived. The new supervisor knew all of the company work rules by heart and he expected everyone to abide by those rules. The supervisor was not sure what to do about the employee. He went back and forth about trying to find a good solution to the problem. Finally, he decided to have a heart-to-heart talk with the employee so that they could both understand the situation. They could then work together so that the employee would be able to fit in with the company better and improve his job performance.

Reading Questions

Answer the following questions. The answers can easily be found in the reading above.

1. Where has this person been dying to go?

2. What is he warming up to?

3. When was he all ears?

4. What is he open to?

5. Where would this person go at the drop of a hat?

6. He wants to go to Disneyland even if he winds up doing what?

7. What will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

8. What must he take care of?

Making Connections and Idiom Meanings

Some of the idioms have another meaning or are connected to another meaning. Use this information to help you choose the correct meaning for each of the underlined idioms:

1. The library worker is a very good person at heart.
a)   but not often
b)   basically
c)   sometimes

2. To mean no good or to mean bad can mean to have bad intentions about someone or something. The opposite of this is to mean well. What does to mean well mean in the following sentence:

The boy causes much trouble at school but he always means well.
a)   ignores everyone
b)   has bad intentions
c)   has good intentions

3. I do not have the heart to tell the man that he may lose his job.
a)   not have the desire
b)   not plan
c)   not have the time

4. The little girl knows the poem by heart.
a)   does not like the poem
b)   memorized the poem
c)   is trying to learn the poem

5. The construction workers must abide by the company safety rules.
a)   read
b)   ignore
c)   follow

6. The man is going back and forth about the possibility of changing jobs.
a)   decide in a few days
b)   first one way and then the other way
c)   to decide quickly

7. The woman had a heart-to-heart talk with her husband.
a)   had an open and honest talk
b)   had a very brief talk
c)   had a lot of problems

8. The girl was able to fit in with her new classmates.
a)   be in harmony with
b)   meet
c)   not easily understand

Your score is: ___  out of 8


True or False

Choose whether each statement is true or false:

1. A good person at heart is basically a good person.
a)   True
b)   False

2. A person who means well usually has good intentions.
a)   True
b)   False

3. If you do not have the heart to do something then you do not have the desire to do something.
a)   True
b)   False

4. If you know something by heart then you have not memorized it well.
a)   True
b)   False

5. When you abide by a law, you are not following that law.
a)   True
b)   False

6. If you begin walking back and forth, you will not go very far.
a)   True
b)   False

7. If you have a heart-to-heart talk with someone, the talk is not open and honest.
a)  True
b)  False

8. Somebody who does not fit in with a group is probably not similar to the people in the group.
a)  True
b)  False

Your score is: ___  out of 8


Grammar Focus

Choose the word or expression that makes each of the following sentences correct:

1. I did ____________________ to tell my friend the bad news.
a)   not have the heart
b)   not have some heart
c)   not have a heart

2. We had to ________________ the rules at the beach.
a)   abide to
b)   abide over
c)   abide by

3. The man walked ________________ in the airport lobby.
a)   back and forth
b)   back to forth
c)   back over forth

4. I want to have a ___________________ talk with my friend.
a)   heart-over-heart
b)   heart-to-heart
c)   heart-and-heart

5. The boy did not ____________ with the other members of his class.
a)   fit up
b)   fit over
c)   fit in

6. The young man was a very honest person _________________.
a)   to heart
b)   at heart
c)   in heart

7. I know the material _______________.
a)  for heart
b)  in heart
c)  by heart

8. The girl _____________________ but she often fails.
a)  means well
b)  meant well
c)  mean well

Your score is: ___  out of 8




Discussion Questions

Answer the following questions using the idioms from this section:

1. Do you know any bad person who is really a good person at heart?

2. Do you know anyone who seems nice but is actually not a good person at heart?

3. Do you know anyone who means well but always causes problems?

4. Do you know anyone who usually does not mean well?

5. Would you have the heart to fire a bad worker who had a family to support?

6. Do you know someone who would not have the heart to make a difficult decision that may hurt someone?

7. Do you know any poems by heart?

8. What other things do people sometimes learn by heart?

9. Did you abide by all of the rules when you were in high school?

10. Are there any rules that you think are very silly so you do not abide by them?

11. Do you often go back and forth when you are trying to decide something?

12. Do you know anyone who goes back and forth about every small decision?

13. Do you sometimes have a heart-to-heart talk with a friend?

14. Did your mother or father ever have a heart-to-heart talk with you about something?

15. Do you know anyone who does not fit in with the people around him or her?

16. Do you think that there are some companies that you would not fit in with?

Role Play

Student A: You are a supervisor in a fast-food restaurant. You are talking with one of the employees. The employee is a good person at heart and always means well but she always makes mistakes.

Student B: You are the employee in the fast-food restaurant. You try hard to fit in with the other employees and you abide by all of the rules but little mistakes always seem to happen. You are sorry but you do not know what to do.

lesson 26