English Audio Request

SET 1:

1. big deal (noun): [singular] (spoken) used to say that you do not think something is as important as someone else thinks it is

• It’s just a game. If you lose, big deal.
• It’s no big deal. Everybody forgets things sometimes.
• What’s the big deal? It’s only a birthday, not the end of the world.

2. to break into something (phrasal verb): to become involved in a new job or business activity

• It’s a profession that is very hard to break into.
• Many British firms have failed in their attempts to break into the American market.
• She made an attempt to break into journalism.

3. the cream of the crop (idiom): the best people or things in a particular group

• The medical school’s graduates are considered to be the cream of the crop and can get jobs wherever they want to.
• There were many good candidates for the job, but he was the cream of the crop.
• These three students are very bright. They are the cream of the crop in their class.

4. to foot the bill (idiom): (informal) to pay for something, especially something expensive that you do not want to pay for

• He ordered drinks and then left me to foot the bill!
• His parents can’t afford to foot the bill for his college education.
• You paid for dinner last time. Let me foot the bill for lunch today.

5. to get it (idiom): (informal) to understand something

• Don’t you get it? Your company is about to go out of business!
• He got it and began having success.
• I don’t get it – why would she do a thing like that?

6. to be out of it (idiom): (informal) slightly unhappy because you feel different from the rest of a group of people and cannot share their fun, conversation etc.

• I felt a bit out of it because I was the only one who couldn’t speak French.
• We’ve only just moved here so we feel a little out of it.
• When my old friends turned up, my wife felt quite out of it.

7. spending money (noun): [uncountable] money that you can spend on activities you enjoy, entertainment, personal things, etc.

• My parents give me $10 a week for spending money.
• She earned spending money at an after-school job.
• We had a small fund saved to use for spending money on vacation.

8. to wine and dine (somebody) (idiom): to go to restaurants, etc. and enjoy good food and drink; to entertain somebody by buying them good food and drink

• The firm spent thousands wining and dining potential clients.
• The survey concludes that most women like to be wined and dined on the first few dates.
• The town offers many opportunities for wining and dining.

9. to be on a winning streak (idiom): a period of time when you win every game or competition

• After winning a couple of bets, he thought he was on a winning streak.
• Brian is on a winning streak. He won more than one Fantasy Game in a row.
• Our son-in-law has been on a winning streak with his investments.

10. to wrap something ↔ up (phrasal verb): (informal) to complete or stop doing something

• It’s late and I have to get home, so let’s wrap it up and finish tomorrow.
• The teacher quickly wrapped up her lecture toward the end of class.
• We ought to wrap up this meeting and get back to work.