English Vocabulary in Use Advanced » Unit 12: Relationships: ups and downs

Word List
  • acquaintance
  • ally
  • arch rival
  • be on bad terms
  • behind someone’s back
  • bitter rival
  • break down
  • broken home
  • bumpy relationship
  • business partner
  • casual acquaintance
  • colleague
  • complete loyalty
  • critical
  • deeply critical
  • develop
  • discord
  • dishonest
  • disloyal
  • disloyalty
  • disrespect
  • disrespectful
  • distant
  • family feud
  • feud
  • genuine misunderstanding
  • have its ups and downs
  • honest
  • loyal
  • loyalty
  • partner
  • respect
  • respectful
  • rift
  • rival
  • scrupulously honest
  • see eye to eye
  • split up
  • staunch ally
  • supportive
  • sworn enemy
  • talk behind someone’s back
  • true friend
  • truthful
  • turn sour
  • two-faced
  • unsupportive
  • unswerving loyalty
  • untruthful
Exercises

12.1 ‣ Give the opposites of these adjectives.

  1. loyal _____
  2. truthful _____
  3. honest _____
  4. supportive _____
  5. distant _____
  6. respectful _____

12.2 ‣ Some words in these sentences have been used incorrectly. Rewrite the sentences using the correct word from A.

  1. We both own the company: we’re business rivals.
    _____
  2. I’ve made several casual colleagues since moving to London, but no close friends yet.
    _____
  3. Were Britain and the USA colleagues in the First World War?
    _____
  4. The two companies hate each other: they’re acquaintances.
    _____

12.3 ‣ Fill the gaps with suitable adjectives or adverbs from the opposite page.

  1. You need _____ allies at work who won’t let you down.
  2. His _____ honesty is a quality I greatly admire.
  3. I don’t know why she was so _____ critical of him; it seemed very unfair.
  4. Her _____ and _____ loyalty to him was a mistake. He betrayed her in the end.
  5. Tom and Amy were _____ rivals at work, but seemed to get on well outside the office.
  6. When all my other so-called friends drifted away, Jack always remained a _____ friend to me.

12.4 ‣ Fill the gaps with a suitable preposition.

  1. I know I’m not perfect, but I’ve never been dishonest _____ you.
  2. She’s very critical _____ her colleagues.
  3. Why are you always so disloyal _____ me?
  4. A true friend would never talk _____ your back.
  5. I hate being _____ bad terms _____ people.
  6. I realise that people can often be two-faced _____ their boss.

12.5 ‣ Rewrite the underlined phrases to give the opposite meaning.

  1. Mia and her sister shared the same opinion on a lot of things.
    _____
  2. Carla’s affection for Andrew has grown stronger lately. I expect they’ll get engaged.
    _____
  3. Our relationship stayed firm because we were truthful to each other.
    _____
  4. Henry’s brothers are close friends.
    _____

12.6 ‣ Use expressions from the opposite page to describe these situations.

  1. Harry has phoned – he’s still at the station. He thought I was picking him up and I thought he was getting a taxi. It was a _____.
  2. The kids have been unhappy since their parents divorced. They come from a _____.
  3. Her marriage has been both good and bad at different times. It has _____.
  4. The two union leaders have had a serious disagreement which has split them. A serious _____.
  5. Two of the brothers have not spoken to their other brother for 20 years because of something bad that happened. I think it’s a _____.
Answer Key
A ‣ Friendship

FRIENDSHIP

Friends are people who are much more than mere casual acquaintances1. True friends are always there when you need them, as you are for them. We expect loyalty2 from our friends, despite our faults, and should give it in return, never speaking ill of them behind their backs3. As well as having friends and casual acquaintances, we have relationships with colleagues, allies and partners.

1 people you know, but not very well
2 support in good or bad times
3 when they are not there

Here are some qualities of friendship and their opposites:

qualityopposite
loyal (adj.), loyalty (noun)disloyal (adj.), disloyalty (noun)
supportive [always supports you]unsupportive, critical
honest, truthfuldishonest, untruthful
respectful (adj.), respect (noun)disrespectful (adj.), disrespect (noun)
B ‣ Good and bad relationships

I used to think of Kate as a friend but I now realise she has been two-faced towards me. [insincere; pleasant with someone and then unpleasant about them behind their back]

Russia and America were allies in the war. [countries or people who join together to fight for a common cause]

We were business partners but now we’re bitter/arch rivals. [people who own a business together] [people in competition with each other in a negative, aggressive way] Indeed, I could say we are now sworn enemies. [people who will always hate each other]

Fergus has been disloyal to me on a number of occasions.

OK, I was dishonest with you. I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to hurt you.

Sam has been very distant towards me recently. [not friendly, cold]

Jamie has always been scrupulously honest in his dealings with us.

I would expect complete and unswerving loyalty from a true friend.

Monica has always been my staunchest ally at work. I can always rely on her to support me.

I was amazed that someone who called herself my friend could be so deeply critical of me.

C ‣ Breakdowns: expressions and collocations

Unfortunately, relationships sometimes break down because of genuine misunderstandings. [collapse] [not understanding something correctly]

A rift can develop between two people or groups. [serious disagreement that divides people]

There’s been a lot of discord in the off ice lately. [disagreement and discontent]

My father and I don’t see eye to eye on most things. [have diff erent opinions]

Jack and his sister have been on bad terms for a long time. [have a poor relationship]

His love aff air with Anna has turned sour. I think they’ll split up. [become bad] [separate]

Our marriage has had its ups and downs, but basically we’re OK. [had good and bad times]

a bumpy relationship [up and down like a car on a road with bumps]

a broken home [family split up by divorce]

a family feud [/fjuːd/ quarrel in a family causing bad feeling for many years]

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