illustrated Everyday Expressions with Stories 2 » Lesson 28 - In the kitchen

Word List
  • come about
    happen
    →
    How did that come about?
    A chance like this doesn't come about every day.
    I I hope a solution to the problem will come about soon.
    A: How did the problem with the stove come about?
    B: I was trying to melt my jewelry.
  • do away with
    end; get rid of
    →
    I must do away with the mouse that lives in my basement.
    The company is going to do away with paid overtime hours.
    I am going to do away with all this old furniture and buy new things.
    A: Why don't we sell the old piano and get a new one?
    B: I could never do away with it! My grandmother gave it to me.
  • in advance
    before; ahead of time
    →
    It looked like a storm was coming, so I wanted to close the windows in advance.
    You should make reservations in advance.
    His girlfriend was coming, so he cleaned the house in advance.
    A: It's a very popular hotel. Are you sure you can get in?
    B: Don't worry. I booked a room three months in advance.
  • from scratch
    from nothing; from basic or simple ingredients
    →
    She made the pastry from scratch.
    This bread was made from scratch, not from a prepared mix.
    We had to start from scratch when the computer disk failed.
    A: These cookies are great!
    B: Thanks. I made them myself from scratch.
  • in the long run
    after a long time
    →
    You will have problems in the long run if you keep drinking so much.
    In the long run, too much beef can cause serious health problems.
    You will make more money in the long run if you go to university now.
    A: Let's fix that leaky pipe right away.
    B: Yes. If we do it now, we'll have less trouble in the long run.
  • on average
    looking at the average case
    →
    On average, the cost of living in the city is higher than in the country.
    On average, the price of computers has gone down.
    Most people eat fast food twice a week on average.
    A: How much sleep do you get on average?
    B: About seven hours a night.
  • set aside
    put apart; place out of the way
    →
    He set aside his book and paid attention to his son.
    I set aside half of the donut to eat later.
    The government has set aside money especially to deal with this problem.
    A: Our trip is coming up fast.
    B: You're right. Let's set aside some time to plan tomorrow night.
  • settle for
    accept instead of something better
    →
    Would you settle for a hamburger instead of a steak?
    There was no soda, so he settled for water.
    We had to settle for the smaller apartment because it was closer to my office.
    A: Sorry, we don't have any red caps.
    B: That's OK. I'll settle for a green one instead.
  • so far, so good
    everything is fine up to this time
    →
    How do you like the new job? So far so good.
    "How is your project going?" "So far, so good."
    "How is your son doing in college?" "So far, so good."
    A: How's life with the new baby?
    B: So far, so good.
  • take over
    take control; take responsibility
    →
    I can take over if you are tired.
    A national bank took over the local bank last month.
    If you are tired from driving, I can take over for a while.
    A: I am getting tired of mowing the lawn.
    B: I'll take over this week so you can have a break.
Practice

Choose the best answer.

  1. I wanted to make sure my friends would be home when I arrived, so I called ________.
    • a. in the long run
    • b. in advance
    • c. on average
  2. It's been 2 weeks since I changed the water pipes. ________.
    • a. On average
    • b. So far, so good
    • c. From scratch
  3. Every month we ________ one weekend to do something special together.
    • a. do away with
    • b. set aside
    • c. take over
  4. He knew that ________, he would have to do something about his leaking roof.
    • a. come about
    • b. from scratch
    • c. in the long run
  5. It would be better to ________ the old design and start again.
    • a. take over
    • b. come about
    • c. do away with
  6. She wanted to find someone to ________ her position as treasurer of the club.
    • a. set aside
    • b. come about
    • c. take over
  7. Some people make the sauce ________, but I prefer to buy it from the store.
    • a. from scratch
    • b. on average
    • c. so far, so good
  8. This celebration could only ________ through the hard work of my wife.
    • a. come about
    • b. do away with
    • c. settle for
  9. ________ we spend three hours cleaning our apartment each week.
    • a. On average
    • b. From scratch
    • c. In the long run
  10. We can't afford real crab meat, so I had to ________ imitation crab made from fish.
    • a. settle for
    • b. do away with
    • c. set aside
Answer Key
Choose the best answer.
  1. b
  2. b
  3. b
  4. c
  5. c
  6. c
  7. a
  8. a
  9. a
  10. a
Answer Key
Dialog

Fill in the blanks.

  • in advance
  • settle for
  • from scratch
  • so far, so good
  • set aside
  • take over

In the kitchen:

Pat: What are you making?

Larry: I'm trying to make bread. We are all supposed to bring something to the party on Saturday. I'll be too busy on Friday, so I'm making it .

Pat: So how is it going?

Larry: . I made the dough and half of it to rise. But now I have to knead this half of the dough. That's a lot of work!

Pat: If you're tired, I can for a while. I have some free time for an hour or two.

Larry: It's a messy job.

Pat: I don't mind. Let me try ... This is hard work! Are you sure you don't want to some bread from the bakery?

Larry: No way! I only eat bread made !

Read the following story

My husband and I just had our first baby. For the first three months, I was breast feeding the baby. Then we decided we would do away with breast-feeding and give the baby formula and solid food. Part of the reason for this change was that I needed sleep. I had been feeding the baby when she woke up at night. That meant I was getting up two or three times each night on average. We knew the change to the new food would not come about easily, but we had to try. Even if it was hard at first, in the long run it was for the best.

My husband likes to eat all natural food, so he wanted the baby to eat home-made food. I told him that unless he was willing to set aside the time to make the food himself in advance, he would have to settle for regular baby food from the store. There was no way I was going to make baby food from scratch!

After we had tried giving formula to our baby for a few nights, a friend of mine asked, "How is the new feeding schedule going?"

"So far, so good," I told her. "I'm getting more sleep now that my husband took over some of the feedings at night. But sometimes I have to push my husband out of bed because he is a heavy sleeper. Last night when the baby started to cry, I woke my husband up and said, 'She's hungry.' He looked confused and asked, 'Who?'"

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