语言小点心:Get On Like A House On Fire
1. If people get on like a house on fire, they:
a) argue and fight with each other all the time
b) have a very good, friendly relationship 1
c) are in danger
2) This expression 2 is:
a) positive
b) negative
Today on Language Snacks we take a look at the expression get on like a house on fire. Let’s listen to the dialogue.
A: Hi, how's it going with your new boyfriend 3?
B: Daniel? Oh, great. He met my parents for the first time yesterday actually.
A: Oh really? I bet 4 you were nervous about that. What happened?
B: Well, they all got on like a house on fire!
A: Really?
B: Yes! Daniel and dad were talking about football for hours! And my mum kept laughing at all of Daniel's jokes!
Although we can sometimes guess the meaning of a new English expression, other times we have to be a bit careful. The expression get on like a house on fire, for example, sounds like it might be negative as most of us associate 5 fire and burning with danger and destruction 6. However, some students are surprised to learn that if you get on like a house on fire, you actually have a very close and good relationship with someone.
And that's it for now – join us again for some more Language Snacks.
B A
- Is there any relationship between them?它们之间有联系吗?
- Robert has a friendly relationship with his customers.罗伯特和他的客户之间关系处得很好。
- He looked at me without expression.他毫无表情地看着我。
- Her face was without expression.她的脸上没有表情。
- The girl was so angry that she hung up on her boyfriend.那姑娘一气之下挂断了男朋友的电话。
- My boyfriend gathered some beautiful flowers for me. 我的男朋友为我采来一些美丽的花。
- I bet you can't do this puzzle.我敢说，你解决不了这个难题。
- I offered to bet with him.我提出与他打赌。
- I always associate that song with my visit to Hawaii.听到那支歌我就会联想到我的夏威夷之行。
- I don't associate the two ideas.这两个概念我联系不起来。
- The enemy bombs caused widespread destruction.敌人的炸弹造成大面积的破坏。
- Overconfidence was his destruction.自负是他垮台的原因。