CAMBRIDGE
ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE ADVANCED
UNIT 60
Time: once in a blue moon
A
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Informal
expressions relating to time
He’s spent all his born days in
the village. [all his life]
I’ll be with you in a mo / in
a sec / in a tick / in less than no time / in a
jiffy. [very soon] (mo and sec are short for ‘moment’ and
‘second’)
Clive’s been working here for
donkey’s years / since the year dot. [for a long time]
We can talk about this till the
cows come home, but I’m not going to change my mind. [for ever]
Are you sure she gave you the book for
keeps / for good? [to keep for ever]
She turned up just in the nick of
time – she very nearly missed the train. [only just in time]
He was a famous athlete but now he’s over
the hill / past it. [too old]
She was a child film star but was
already a has-been by the age of 20. [person who is no longer famous]
Sue did her homework in a flash /
at a rate of knots. [very quickly]
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B
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Adjectives relating to the passing of
time
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C
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Other useful time words
Terrorists
carried out simultaneous attacks on three places in the capital. [happening
at the same time]
Schools
were closed for the duration of the President’s visit. [amount of time
that it lasted]
We
shouldn’t prolong the meeting; we’ve already discussed the matter for
an hour. [make it last longer]
I’m
sorry, I can’t change the date at such short notice. [just a
short time before it is due to happen]
The
teacher repeatedly warned the student that she would fail her exam. [many
times]
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EXERCISES
60.1
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Put
the words in the correct order to make sentences.
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60.2
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Which
of the adjectives in B would you be most likely to use to describe the
following?
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60.3
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Match
the adjectives on the left with the words on the right to make collocations.
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60.4
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Rewrite
these sentences so that they keep the same meaning, using a form of the word
in brackets.
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60.5
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Over to you
•
Would you like to work for the same company for donkey’s years?
•
What could you personally do happily till the cows come home?
•
Do you think it’s a good thing to spend all your born days in one place?
•
Can you think of something that you do once in a blue moon?
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ANSWER KEY
60.1
1 They’ve been living in the same
house since the year dot.
2 I’ll be with you in a sec.
3 John gave it to Magda for keeps. /
Magda gave it to John for keeps.
4 Together we can get it done in less
than no time. / We can get it done together in less than no time.
5 He’s never been further than the
nearest town in all his born days.
6 We got to the hospital in the nick
of time.
60.2
1 a lingering scent
2 a transient (feeling of) joy
3 persistent criticism
4 an incipient headache
5 a lengthy process / a protracted
process
6 the inexorable ageing process
7 a fleeting grin
8 a protracted investigation / a
lengthy investigation
60.3
1 d 2 c 3 g 4 h 5 f 6 a 7 e 8 b
60.4
1 We’ll be ready to leave in less
than no time.
2 Most of the members of the band may be in their sixties, but they’re certainly not over the hill. 3 You can argue with him till the cows come home, but he’ll never see sense. 4 Harry promised he’d get here in a flash and he kept his word. 5 I’ve told her repeatedly not to phone me at work. 6 The two events happened simultaneously. / The two events were simultaneous. 7 The hotel staff were very good; they let me cancel the reservation at short notice. 8 I didn’t want to prolong the meeting. 9 He had his moment of fame. Now he’s (just) a has-been. 10 The press were excluded for the duration of the delicate negotiations. |
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