UNIT 3 – NEWS AND MEDIA

I. USEFUL IDIOMS TO EXPRESS FEELINGS:

Part 2 task cards often finish with ‘explain how you felt about it’, therefore it will be better if we
know many ways of expressing our emotion.

1. FEELINGS EXCITED:

- I was raring to go (eager to start): to be very enthusiastic about starting something

‘I had been preparing for the exam for a year and now I was raring to go.’

- I was on the edge of my seat: very excited, and giving all your attention to something, because you
want to know what is going to happen. (when talking about reading a book or watching a movie/a
performance)

‘They were both playing amazing tennis. Everyone was on the edge of their seats the entire time.’ ‘I
was on the edge of my seat watching the horror movie.’

- I was bouncing off the walls: To be very active and energetic to the point of hyperactivity.

‘I was bouncing off the walls as I was waiting for my favourite concert.’ ‘How much sugar did you
give the kids? They're bouncing off the walls!’

- I could hardly wait/ I couldn’t wait to:

‘I could hardly wait to tell my friend about this new film.’

2. FEELING IMPRESSED:

- It blew my mind: to find something very exciting and unusual

‘The concert was so good, it blew my mind.’

‘The music you were playing really blew my mind’

- It blew me away: to surprise or please someone very much, impress someone greatly.

‘The ending will blow you away.’

‘He blew me away with his knowledge.’

- I was bowled over: to surprise and please someone a lot

 ‘She was bowled over when she heard she'd won the competition.’ ‘I was bowled over with his
knowledge.’

3. FEELING ANGRY:

- to be beside yourself (with anger): If you are beside yourself with a particular feeling or emotion,
it is so strong that it makes you almost out of control.

‘I was beside myself with anger because my flight was delayed for 6 hours.’ ‘He was beside himself
with grief when she died.’

- fly off the handle: to react in a very angry way to something that someone says or does. ‘He's
extremely irritable - he flies off the handle at the slightest thing.’

- to go spare: to get very upset or angry

- to go through the roof: to get very angry

‘When I was expelled from school, my parents went through the roof’

- to go ballistic: to become extremely angry

‘If your dad finds out you've been skipping school, he'll go ballistic.’

- to lose my cool:

‘When I feel like I'm about to lose my cool, I just leave the room.’

- my patience was pushed to the limit:

‘When I was waiting for the flight, and it was delayed another hour, and another…my patience was
pushed to the limit.’

- it made my blood boil: to cause someone to be very angry.

‘When I hear stories of cruelty to animals, it makes my blood boil.’

4. FEELING OF BEING FRUSTRATED:

- It got on my nerves: to annoy someone a lot

‘Please stop making that noise! It really gets on my nerves.’

- It drove me up the wall: to make someone extremely angry or irritated ‘His contrived jollity is
driving me up the wall.’

- It drove me around the bend: to make someone very bored or very angry
 ‘Staying at home all day was driving her around the bend.’

- I was banging my head against a brick wall: Repeatedly engaging in a frustrating or hopeless
endeavor.

‘I keep asking her not to park there but it's like banging your head against a brick wall.’ - That was
the last straw: the latest problem in a series of problems, that makes a situation impossible to accept

‘The last straw was when the company fired most of the managers.’

5. FEELING IMPATIENT:

- It tried my patience: to makes someone less patient

‘Little kids get into everything, and it can really try your patience.’

- I was running out of patience:

‘’I've been waiting for almost two hours to be seen by the doctor, and I am nearly out of patience.

- It was at my wit’s end: to be so worried, confused, or annoyed that you do not know what to do
next

‘I'm at my wits' end. I don't know how to help him.’

- I was at the end of my tether/rope: having no strength or patience left

6. FEELING BORED:

- To be fed up:

‘I'm fed up with my job.’

- To be fed up to the back teeth with/of…

‘I'm fed up to the back teeth of being criticized all the time.’

- I’m bored to death/tears:

‘I pretended to listen, but I was bored to death.’

 - To be cheesed off with (bored and little annoyed):

‘She's a bit cheesed off with her job.’

- To have had it up to here: Have no patience left to tolerate something or someone. ‘‘they have
had it up to here with being bossed around’’

7. FEELING HAPPY:

- To be over the moon: to be very pleased

‘She was over the moon about/with her new bike.’

- To be tickled pink: very pleased.

‘I was tickled pink to be invited.’

- To be on cloud nine: to be extremely happy and excited

‘She is on cloud nine since she had a new job.’

- To be thrilled to bits: extremely pleased

‘She was thrilled to bits with her present.’

- It made my day: to make someone happy

‘Seeing Adrian again after such a long time really made my day.’

- It was music to my ears: something you are pleased to hear about

‘When she said they would make a profit, it was music to Richard’s ears.’

- It was just what the doctor ordered: exactly what is wanted or needed ‘A strong cup of coffee
in the morning is just what the doctor ordered.’

8. FEELING THANKFUL:

- To be appreciative:

‘I'm very appreciative of all the support he’s given me.’

- To be eternally grateful
 - To be at a loss for words (thankful and surprised):

‘I was lost for words - it was like a dream to see everyone helping me out.’ - I couldn't thank
him/her enough

9. FEELING NERVOUS:

- To be worried sick:

‘He worried himself sick before the exam.’

- To have butterflies (in your stomach): to feel very nervous, usually about something you are
going to do

‘I had terrible butterflies before I gave that talk in Venice.’

- To get/ to be tongue tied: having difficulty in speaking, usually because of being nervous

‘Barbara was tongue-tied in the presence of her parents’

- To get worked up: upset or very excited about something

‘It's easy to get worked up when you're tired and everything seems to be against you.’ ‘He was very
worked up about seeing his family again after so many years.’ - To tear my hair out: be worrying a lot
about it ‘She's been tearing her hair out over the final chapter of her novel for the last month.’ - To

be on edge: to be nervous or worried

‘Recent events have kept the world on edge, the threat of terrorism a constant hot-button topic.’

10. FEELING RELAXED:

- To chill out: to relax completely, or not allow things to upset you

‘I'm just chilling out in front of the TV.’

- To kick back: to stop doing things and relax

‘I'm about to take a week's annual leave starting next week so I'm going to be able to kick back and
relax a little.’

- To put your feet up: to relax, especially by sitting with your feet supported above the ground
 ‘You go home and put your feet up.’

- To let your hair down: to allow yourself to behave much more freely than usual and enjoy
yourself

‘A short vacation allows you to let your hair down and enjoy natural surroundings with a loved
one.’

- To unwind: to relax and allow your mind to be free from worry after a period of work or some
other activity that has made you worried

‘A glass of wine in the evening helps me to unwind after work.’

11. FEELING SAD:

- To be down in the dumps: unhappy

‘She's a bit down in the dumps because she failed one of her exams.’

- To be down in the mouth: to be sad

‘‘She seems to accept it though and isn't getting too down in the mouth about it.’’ - To be/feel blue
 II. SAMPLE ANSWER

PART 1

1. Do you often read newspapers?

To be honest, I don’t usually buy newspapers because I prefer online news. I keep myself
updated by subscribing to some publications such as Tuoi Tre or Thanh Nien and track the news in
my free time.

• Online news (n): Tin tức trên mạng

• Keep oneself updated (v): Cập nhật tin tức

• Subscribing to some publications: Đăng ký một số ấn phẩm

• Track the news (v): Theo dõi tin tức

2. Do you prefer to read local news or international news?

Well it depends. As long as they are business news and not from yellow journalism, I would go for
it. I am not keen on gossip or sensational news which often invade someone’s privacy.

• Business news (n): Tin tức kinh doanh

• Yellow journalism (n): Báo chí màu vàng – báo chí và các tờ báo liên quan đưa ra ít hoặc không
có tin tức hợp pháp hay được nghiên cứu kỹ lưỡng mà chỉ giật tít bằng các tiêu đề gây sốc.

• Gossip (n): Chuyện phiếm

• Sensational news (n): Tin giật gân

• Invade someone’s privacy (v): Xâm phạm quyền riêng tư của ai đó

3. Do you prefer to read news online or in a newspaper?

I’d rather read online news because it’s convenient for me. I mean I can get access to the Internet
every time or anywhere and read the articles on my phone or my tablet.

• Get access to (v): Truy cập vào

• Tablet (n): Máy tính bảng

 4. What kind of news do you usually follow?

Mostly political news, but I also enjoy reading about crime and science. The only news I don’t like
is entertainment news. It seems like a waste of my time to me.

• Political news (n): Tin tức chính trị

• Crime news (n): Tin tức tội phạm

5. How do you usually get your news?

I typically read online newspapers to stay current. There are many websites on the Internet that
provide a ton of free stuff to read and are often updated. Because of this, I vastly prefer reading news
online to reading newspapers.

• Stay current: Cập nhật tin tức

• Vastly (adv): Nhiều hơn

6. Which is more popular where you live, newspapers or magazines?

These two are equally popular in Vietnam, in my opinion. Even though it may be a little outdated,
newspapers are still the primary daily news source for adults, particularly among elderly individuals.
However, due to their enticing imagery and engaging sections, magazines are drawing more and more
young people.

• Equally (adv): Bằng nhau

• Outdated (adj): Lỗi thời

• Enticing imagery (n): Hình ảnh hấp dẫn

• Engaging sections (n): Phần hấp dẫn

7. Do you think newspapers or magazines will be very important to you in the future?

I believe it depends. I firmly believe that I will pick electronic newspapers over print editions given
that technological advancement never appears to stop. Aside from the obvious convenience that
electronic news may provide, I’m drawn to how much cheaper and more dependable it is.
 • Print edition (n) = newspaper: Báo truyền thống

• Dependable (adj): Đáng tin cậy

8. Do you prefer to read a newspaper or magazine?

I’ll go for reading magazines in my spare time because they have in-depth information on specific
topics and my go-to choice is sports. As for news updates, I prefer watching TV to reading newspapers.

• go for something (phrasal verb): chọn

• spare time /speər/ (noun phrase): thời gian rảnh

• go-to choice (noun phrase): lựa chọn không cần nghĩ, lúc nào cũng vậy

9. Did you read comic books as a child?

Yes, I was a big fan of comic books when I was a kid and my all-time favourite series was
Doraemon – a Japanese series. I believe that almost all Vietnamese children read those comic books
because of their exhilarating storylines and vivid illustrations.

• a big fan of something (noun): fan cuồng

• all-time favourite (adj): lúc nào cũng là thích nhất

• exhilarating storylines /ɪɡˈzɪl.ə.reɪ.tɪŋ ˈstɔː.ri.laɪn/ (noun phrase): cốt truyện hấp dẫn

• vivid illustrations /ˈvɪv.ɪd ˌɪl.əˈstreɪ.ʃən/ (noun phrase): hình ảnh minh họa sống động

10. Are newspapers popular in Vietnam?

I believe that these days, printed newspapers cannot gain as much popularity as they used to in
former days. I mean many of the elderly in Vietnam still read newspapers as a means of news updates
but youngsters tend to read online more.

• popularity /ˌpɒp.jəˈlær.ə.ti/ (noun): sự phổ biến

• in former days (adv): trước đây

• youngsters/ˈjʌŋ.stər/ (noun): giới trẻ

 PART 2

Describe a news story you read/saw

You should say:

- What kind of news story it was

- What happened to the people in the story
- Why the event was important enough to be reported on the news

And explain how you felt about the news story

In all honesty I’m not exactly a down-to-earth person so news isn’t always my thing, but one piece
of news that particularly captured my attention was the pregnancy of Kylie Jenner. It was actually a
coincidence how I came across this story. I was then up to the ears with my schoolwork and in
desperate need of a short break. While I was surfing the internet to blow off some steam, the headline
just jumped out at me. It shouldn’t come as a surprise because everyone takes a natural liking to pop
star’s scandals and gossips.

It started off with a tape recorded with a hidden camera, featuring Kylie Jenner and her noticeable
baby bump. The narrator carried on to quote her tweets and instagram posts, casually dropping hints
about her child’s gender. Comments from her family, including her dad and sisters, were also mentioned.
Generally her pregnancy was only slightly frowned upon by the dad, whereas the females were pretty
supportive.

The reason why this piece of news made the headlines is because Kylie Jenner has been all the
rage among teenagers and young adults. Kylie has made a name for herself as an actor and social
influencer. Her social media accounts enjoy a huge fan base consisting of thousands of people. That’s
why nothing she does is off the radar. Also, the fact that she’s expecting a baby deserves public
attention because she was so young for the time being, and she had only been dating her boyfriend
recently.
 As for me, I’m hooked by the pregnancy because being a teenage mom has still remained a taboo in
my place and it’s fascinating to observe the way Western cultures treat this matter.

Vocabulary highlights:

- My thing: something that one enjoys

- Be up to the ears: to be very busy, or to have more of something than you can manage
- Blow off some steam: to do or say something that helps you to get rid of strong feelings or energy
- Drop a hint: to make a statement that suggests something that one does not want to say in a direct
way
- Frown on/upon: to disapprove of
- Make/Hit the headlines: to become famous by being reported in the news
- Be all the rage: to be very popular at a particular time
- Be off the radar: to no longer be noticed or important