Everyday Idioms 2

Episode 3:

Off to a
Rocky Start
Warm-Up
A. Preview

In the last episode, Kate was forced to tell her dad

that she was moving into a coed residence. Kate’s dad
was not pleased, but she asked him to give her the
benefit of the doubt. In this episode, Kate meets her
new roommate. How do you think Kate will react to
living with a second-year student?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match the idioms on the left

to the correct definitions on the right.

1. off to a rocky start a)  a remark used to show that you find
something surprising, annoying, or unexplainable
2. snatch up
b)  the first person to arrive gets the first opportunity
3. first come, first served
c)  a person or group in first year of university
4. stuck with
d)  a person or thing that is suited or similar to another
5. get off lucky
e)  not starting well, problems from the beginning
6. No offense.
f)  to have to keep
7. frosh g)  to be blessed with good fortune
8. Go figure. h)  to take quickly
9. a pain i)  Don’t take this personally.

10. one’s type j)  something that makes life difficult

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 Off to a Rocky Start
Episode 3 of 15 | Everyday Idioms 2

Listening
Fill in the blanks as you listen. Then read the dialogue with your partner a
few times. Take turns being each character. Practice your intonation and
pronunciation. Underline or highlight any new words or phrases that you
don’t understand. Kate Yuki

Hi, you must be Yuki.

Yeah. Hope you don’t mind that I                 the window side.
It’s                 around here.

That’s okay. I prefer the darker side of the room anyway.

I’m not exactly a morning person. I’m Kate, by the way.

Good luck making it to all of your early classes.

First years always get                 8:00 am’s.

I think I have Monday and Wednesday early classes. The other days, I don’t start until 10:00 or so.

How did you                 ? Last year, all my classes started at 7:00 or 8:00.

You’re in second year?

Yeah.                 , but I can’t believe they placed me with a             .

It is kind of weird. I mean for you. I’m okay with it, though. I’m majoring in English. How about you?

Computer science. I guess we won’t be studying together.                 .

That’s too bad. It would’ve been handy to have a study partner in the same room.

I have a bunch of study partners from last year, but none of them are
living on rez, which is going to be                 .

Well, I guess I should go help my dad grab my stuff. He’s not impressed that this is a coed dorm.

Why not? Doesn’t he trust you?

He thinks I should be concentrating on studying, not dating.

If it’s anything like last year, you won’t like any of the guys around here anyway.
I have some single friends I could set you up with. Doubt you’re                 , though.

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 Off to a Rocky Start
Episode 3 of 15 | Everyday Idioms 2

Comprehension
Answer and discuss these questions in pairs or as a class.
Then write your answers in your notebook.

1. Why does Kate say she prefers the dark side of the room?

2. What is Kate surprised to find out about her new roommate? Where’s the Pronoun?
3. Which subjects are Kate and Yuki majoring in? In spoken English, native
speakers sometimes cut out
4. According to Yuki, why is studying going to be a real “pain” this year? pronouns like “I” or “You” at
the beginning of a sentence.
5. What can be inferred about Yuki’s
experience in the dorm last year? Phrases like “I hope you
don’t mind...” or “I hope it’s
6. Why does Kate have to cut off her conversation with Yuki? okay...” are often reduced to
“Hope you don’t mind...” or
7. Do you think Kate and Yuki are going “Hope it’s okay...”
to become good friends? Why or why not?
You might also hear “wish” or
“though” used this way. For
example, “I wish you’d told me”

Vocabulary Review becomes “Wish you’d told me.”

When spoken quickly, clipped

Some of the words in these sentences are mixed up. phrases like “Coulda tol me!”
(You could have told me!) are
Circle the mistakes and rewrite the corrected sentences in your notebook.
difficult to catch.

1. My roommate and I are up to a rocky finish. The dialogues in this series

contain spoken English. You will
2. No offend, but I can smell garlic on your breath. find incomplete sentences and
imperfect English. This is the
3. The university halls are full of fresh. stuff you hear in real life!
4. Gone figures. There’s no milk for the coffee.

5. I snacked up the last empty chair.

6. It’s a pine that he gives us homework on the weekends.

7. I’ll try to make out to soccer practice, but I have to work until 5:00.

8. Thanks for setting me up with Kyle. Sorry he wasn’t my typing.

9. I got in lucky because my teacher was sick.

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 Off to a Rocky Start
Episode 3 of 15 | Everyday Idioms 2

Discussion
MY LIFE

Discuss these questions with your class

or write your responses in a journal entry.

1. Describe a time when you got off to a rocky start with someone.

2. A morning person is also called an early riser or an early bird.

The opposite is a night owl. Which one are you and why?

3. Are dorms coed in your country?

Discuss the pros and cons of coed facilities, such as gyms.

4. Think of all the people in your life (friends, family members,

classmates). Who would make an ideal roommate and why?

Class Activity
Have a class discussion based on the questions below.  Word List:
Each time one of the words from the word list is • emotional roller coaster • can’t afford
spoken, cross it off. Continue the class discussion • roommate • off campus
until all of the review words have been used. • rocky start • on campus
• Go figure! • comfort zone
1. What are the qualities of a good roommate? • early bird • dorm
• night owl • alone time
2. What are the qualities of a poor roommate? • it pays • ups and downs
• meaning to • count on
3. Have you ever had an ideal roommate? • I swear • deal with
Describe your experience. • benefit of the doubt

Stay Tuned
In Episode 4, Kate tracks down the
Residence Don and requests a room change.

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