08.04.2025

 

  

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Dialogue: “The Big Pitch”

Emma: Hey, you look like you’ve been through the wringer. Everything okay?

Jake: Ugh, I just had a meeting with the big boss. I totally dropped the ball on the sales pitch.

Emma: Seriously? That doesn’t sound like you. What happened?

Jake: I was running late, my laptop died on me, and I couldn’t find the backup file. Long story short, I ended up winging it.

Emma: Ouch. So how did it go?

Jake: Honestly? I think I bombed. The boss gave me that “I’m not mad, just disappointed” look.

Emma: That’s rough. But hey, you’re usually on the ball. One flop doesn’t define you.

Jake: Thanks. I just need to pull myself together and come back swinging next time.

Emma: That’s the spirit! And maybe don’t rely on tech that crashes more than a drunk uncle at a wedding.

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Quiz

Part 1: Multiple Choice — Understanding Idioms and Slang

 1. What does “been through the wringer” mean?

a) Had a relaxing day

b) Experienced something stressful or exhausting

c) Took a shortcut

d) Felt bored 

 2. What does “dropped the ball” mean in the context?

a) Won a game

b) Made a serious mistake

c) Refused to work

d) Told a joke 

 3. What does “winging it” imply?

a) Preparing very carefully

b) Improvising without preparation

c) Following the rules

d) Singing a song

 4. If someone says they’ll “come back swinging,” what do they mean?

a) They will go home

b) They will give up

c) They will try again with energy and determination

d) They will start dancing

 5. What’s the tone of Emma’s last sentence about tech and the drunk uncle?

a) Formal and polite

b) Encouraging and humorous

c) Passive-aggressive

d) Confused

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Part 2: Match the Expression with Its Meaning

https://wordwall.net/resource/90054824

 https://en.islcollective.com/english-esl-video-lessons/listening-comprehension/deep-listening-focus-on-meaning/love-and-dating/sex-and-the-city-talking-about-the-city-relationships/1123996  

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/c1-reading/sustainable-supermarkets

 1 [teacher to school kids] Who broke the window? We are not leaving this room until someone  shows upcatches upowns updraws up . 

2 The fire  died offwent offdied outwent away because we didn't put enough wood on it. 

3 After a heavy meal and three glasses of wine, I  dropped outdozed offdropped awaydozed away in front of the telly. 

4 We always used to copy our homework from each other and the teacher never  caught upcaught onlet offlet up. 

5 We always used to copy our homework from each other. Our teacher probably knew, but she never  let uplet offlet onlet down that she did. 

6 We started off selling our services at a premium, until stiff competition  drove downdrove offpulled downput down the price. 

7 The start of the tennis match was put back twice, before being cancelled for the day when officials realised that the heavy rain wasn't going to  let uplet offlet inlet out . 

8 I can't come today as I'm a bit busy, but I'll try to  drop offdrop bydrop outdrop through tomorrow and see you. 

1. Headline

 2. Source

 3. Bias

 4. Hoax

 5. Misinformation

 6. Propaganda

 7. Censorship

 8. Disinformation

 9. Yellow journalism

 10. Sensationalism

    

Emma: Ugh, I just bombed an interview. The guy asked me where I saw myself in five years, and I blanked. Totally froze.

Jake: Oof, rookie mistake. You gotta have some canned response for that one. Something like, “Leading a team and driving innovation!” Even if you have no clue what you’ll be doing next month.

Liam: At least you got an interview. I sent out, like, 50 applications, and all I got back was radio silence. Not even a “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Sophia: Tell me about it. I applied to this one place, and they ghosted me for weeks. Then, out of nowhere, they hit me up like, “Hey, can you start Monday?” I had already moved on!

Emma: Classic. Companies expect us to be at their beck and call, but when we need a quick response, they take their sweet time.

Jake: It’s a jungle out there. You either play the game or get played.

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Comprehension & Vocabulary Quiz – Job Applications Gone Wrong

Part 1: Comprehension Questions

 1. Why did Emma say she bombed her interview?

a) She arrived late.

b) She didn’t know how to answer a common question.

c) She argued with the interviewer.

d) She had no experience for the job.

 2. What advice does Jake give Emma?

a) To never go to an interview unprepared.

b) To be completely honest about her future plans.

c) To prepare a ready-made answer for difficult questions.

d) To avoid answering future-oriented questions.

 3. What does Liam mean when he says he got “radio silence”?

a) He received automated rejection emails.

b) He was ghosted by recruiters.

c) He attended multiple interviews.

d) He was offered a job immediately.

 4. Why was Sophia frustrated with the company that contacted her?

a) They rejected her at first and then changed their mind.

b) They didn’t tell her she got the job.

c) They ignored her application for weeks and then expected her to start immediately.

d) They scheduled her interview on short notice.

 5. What does Jake mean by “play the game or get played”?

a) You should cheat to get ahead in life.

b) You must adapt to the job market or be left behind.

c) Interviews are like board games where you need strategy.

d) Recruiters only hire people they know.

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Part 2: Vocabulary & Idioms – Gap Fill

Fill in the blanks with the correct words from the vocabulary list:

(canned response, ghosted, bombed, rookie mistake, take their sweet time, at someone’s beck and call)

 1. I completely __ my presentation at work today—it was a disaster.

 2. He didn’t hear back from the recruiter for a month. They justy she bohim.

 3. You can’t say you don’t know where you’ll be in five years! That’s ahension 

 4. I hate when companies Quiz – to respond, but they expect us to answer immediately.

 5. She had a 1: Compready when they asked about her weaknesses—something about turning negatives into positives.

 6. The manager expects his assistant to beview?

a) always available for last-minute tasks.  

  

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/c1-reading/sustainable-supermarkets