Idiomatic English.

Soup's on — means «the food is ready, come and eat». e.g. — When are you going to complete the job? — Soup's on. You can have it any time.

To beef up — means «to add to» or «to make stronger». You beef smth up to make it better.

e.g. If you want to win the championship, you'll have to beef the team up.

If we don't beef the unit up,the whole installation might col­lapse.

When you ham it up,you exaggerate your movements. People usually ham it up to be funny.

For instance, someone always hams it up when people are watching. Actors who are very dramatic and exaggerate their voices and movements are hams. To make a pig of oneself.

People think that pigs are dirty and that pigs eat a lot.

It's not nice to compare a person to a pig.

e.g. If you eat too much, you're making a pig of yourself.

When you have other fish to fry,you have other things to do.

— Would you like to go to the cinema tonight? A new film is on.

— Sorry, I have other fish to fry,maybe some other day.

The expression 'hot dog' can show excitement. When you go ba­nanas because something makes you happy, you might say «Hot dog!»

Hot dog can also describe someone who shows off. Other people don't always like a hot dog.

e.g. James doesn't give anyone else a chance to score a goal. Such a hot dog!

She is a very good tennis player, but a real hot dog, too.

A hot potato on the other hand, means trouble. Imagine taking a baked potato out of the oven with your bare hands. You'd probably put it down quickly! A hot potato is something that you want to get rid of or avoid.

e.g. The new quality requirements are a real hot potato,but we still have to discuss them.

There are idioms about keeping and telling secrets.

When you spill a pot of beans, everyone can see them.

When you spill the beans,you tell a secret. You tell something that you weren't supposed to tell.

e.g. I didn't mean to speak about my new appointment, but my boss spilled the beans.

An egghead is an intelligent, educated person.

Practice 1. What do you say? Tick the correct sentence. David added extra facts to the story.

1. David added extra facts to the story.

a) He has hot potato.

b) He beefed it up.

2. Frank studies all the time.

a) He's a hot potato.

b) He's an egghead.

3. Carla told the secret.

a) She spilled the beans.

b) She hammed it up.

4. Steve ate the whole pie.

a) He had other fish to fry.

b) He made a pig of himself.

5. They added more rice to the soup.

a) They hammed it up.

b) They beefed it up.

6. That actor always exaggerates.

a) He's an egghead.

b) He's a ham.

7. Ruth always has a million things to do.

a) She has other fish to fry.

b) She spills the beans.

8. Everyone argues about this problem.

a) It's a hot dog.

b) It's a hot potato.

|9. Carol acts silly when she knows we are watching her.

a) She hams it up.

b) She beefs it up.

10. The tennis player jumped up and down after he won the game.

a) He's a hot dog.

b) He's an egghead.

11. We wanted Ted to come with us, but he couldn't.

a) He makes a pig of himself.

b) He has other fish to fry.

Practice 2. Complete the sentences with one of the idioms. You may use an idiom more than once.

1. Ellen and Tony don't have time to play cards. They _________________.

2. Please be serious, Bob. Don't always _____________________.

3. You're sick because you ate too much. I told you not to _________________.

4. Liza always overacts. She's _____________________.

5. Ray found out the answers to the text. Do you think he'll __________________ to the other students?

6. The gardens at the museum look terrible. The museum director should ________________ the gardening staff.

7. Bill and Brian never spend time with their family. They always _______________________.

8. Laura always gets high grades. She's ____________________.

9. Timmy always rides his bike «no hands». He's __________________.

10. Nobody agrees about this problem. It's _________________________.

11. Let's ___________________ this soup with some chopped vegetables.

 

XII. Read, translate and discuss the story about a restaurant on Lake Como in Italy.

by Craig Brown

In recent years, the modishly spartan design of the new restaurants has accelerated the decline of the celebrity photograph.

Nowadays, you are unlikely to find a restaurant with pictures of the major stars often accompanied by a personalised message to the restaurateur and a flamboyant autograph.

So imagine my joy when, on a recent trip to Italy, I discovered a treasure-trove of these photos in a restaurant on the edge of a little is­land on Lake Como, all celebrities pictured with their arms around the beaming proprietor, Benvenuto Puricelli. And what celebrities! Arnold Schwarzenegger! Elton John! Bruce Springsteen! Gianni Versace! Sylvester Stallone!

But what had led all these superstars to visit a restaurant on a small island serving only house white and a compulsory set menu that has remained unchanged down to the last of butter since 1984?

The restaurant is the only building visible on the island, though rumour has it there's a house for painters tucked away in the bushes. The building itself is nondescript, like an ungainly Swiss chalet, but its view of Lake Como is spectacular.

Happily, we had fine weather on the evening of our visit, so eve­ryone was eating on the terrace. The inside looks rather ugly and functional, with hundreds of cheap painting hanging on the walls.

We were led to a table for four, sandwiched between two tables for at least two dozen, one of them a wedding party. The Locanda is obviously not only a place for tourists, but a destination for special events for the ordinary inhabitants of Como. In fact, the most striking thing about it was how un-chic it seemed. Our table and chairs were basic, and the house wine was served in glasses more commonly to be seen in the more down-at-heel primary schools.

Within five seconds of being seated, antipasti were arriving at our table from every angle and in huge portions: vast melons, mountains of beetroot, carrots, slices of thick-cut ham, onions roasted in their skins, courgettes, salami, red peppers and fagioli, all of them glori­ously fresh and simple, and served with a long stick of bread.

One might have thought that dishing up exactly the same meal twice a day for 22 years could have staled the enthusiasm of Mr Puricelli and his team, but I could detect no sign of corners being cut. All the antipasti were bursting with taste.

I particularly liked the slices of tomato served on very thin slices of lemon, the clear instruction from the waiters being to eat tomato and lemon all in one go. I had previously associated lemon — eating only with those desperate to elbow their way into the «Guinness Book of Records», but lemons as succulent as Mr Puricelli's could make record holders of us all.

Yet more plates began arriving, this time with grilled trout swathed in salt and lemon and olive oil.

«The thing about this place,» observed one of my companions, «is that most restaurants obscure tastes or make them too complex, but here they make everything taste purely of itself: the ham tastes incredibly hammy, the trout incredibly trouty.»

At about this point, we began to wonder how much more there was to get through: one of the few disadvantages of having no menu is that it is impossible to guess what stage of the meal you are at, so that you don't know whether to save room for later or not. It later emerged that we were halfway through, so we needn't have held back.

After the trout, on came the chicken, an upmarket version of Ken­tucky Fried. If I have one criticism of the menu, it was of this chicken, which is really too pedestrian a meat to serve as a centre­piece. It was followed by a pudding of sliced oranges with ice cream and a dense and delicious orange sauce. While the others were re­covering from the meal over a liqueur coffee, I went inside and had look at the celebrity photos.

Never have I been to a restaurant in a more beautiful location; seldom have I been to one more eccentric, self-confident and compe­tent. And for all its razzle-dazzle, it is not all that expensive: less than £ 40 a head for everything, wine included.

(adapted from «The Sunday Telegraph Magazine») Notes:

rumour has it — по слухам

how un-chic it seemed — насколько не шикарно все это выглядело

the more down-at-heel primary schools — менее обеспеченных детских садах

to elbow one's way into — с трудом протиснуться

it later emerged — nпозже оказалосьt

too pedestrian a meat — мясо слишком явно предназначенное для еды на улице

razzle-dazzle — кутеж; шумное пиршество; (slang)

XIII. Comprehension Check. Read the story again and answer the following questions:

· Why was the writer happy to find a restaurant with celebrity photos?

· Where did he find it?

· Who is the owner of the restaurant?

· What kind of menu does he offer to his guests?

· What does the restaurant look like?

· Why did they have meals on the terrace?

· How were they seated?

· What was the most striking thing about the restaurant?

· What kind of food did the proprietor serve?

· How long did they serve the same menu? Was the food good?

· What did the writer and his companions think about the quality of food?

· In what way was this restaurant different?

· What is the disadvantage of a compulsory set menu?

· Why did the writer criticise the main course?

· What conclusion does the writer make?

Sum up the information about the Locanda restaurant.