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Book 1 Unit 30
Cats and Secrets

In English, there is a common idiom: "let the cat out of the bag." It means to
tell a secret. But where did this idiom start?

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common a.

idiom n.

e.g., 'Full of beans' is an idiom which means lively and energetic.

It came from a part of England. Long ago, people there went from town to
town to sell things like vegetables, clothes, and pigs. They had strong
beliefs about honesty. They didn't like lying. One day, a man went to the
town's center to sell things.

belief n.

honesty n.

e.g., Honesty is the best policy.

center centre n.

e.g., The center of attention

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"I have a baby pig for sale! It won't cost much," he said. He held the animal
above his head. His style was different from honest people's style. He was a
master of tricking people and lying.

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sale n.

-On sale

cost v. …

-cost an arm and a leg

above prep. …

e.g., a display of fireworks above the town

different

-be different from

master n. ;

e.g., a master’s degree

A woman named Beth looked at his pig. He offered her the pig for one gold
coin.That was a very small amount. Beth gave him the coin. He put it in his
pocket. He walked ahead of Beth to get the pig.

amount n.

e.g., Sport gives an enormous amount of pleasure to many people.

pocket n. a.

e.g., A pocket English dictionary

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ahead adv. …

-be ahead of

e.g., She walked ahead of him along the corridor.

He gave her a closed bag and said, "Here's your pig." He then left very
quickly.

Beth looked at the bag. It was moving. She opened it to let the pig out. A cat
was inside! "He tricked me! That isn't proper," she said.

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inside a.

proper a.

e.g., I don’t think it is proper to cut in line.

-improper a.

Later, the man returned to trick more people. Beth saw him, and the memory
of the cat came back. She told her friends. They stopped him. But no one
knew what to do next.

memory n.

e.g., I have a great memory for faces.

memorise / memorize v.

e.g., There’s no way I can memorize all these formulas before the test.

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Someone said, "We need an independent and fair person to decide that."
They went to the judge. Beth told him about the cat in the bag.

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independent a.

-dependent a.

judge n.

The judge asked, "Is there evidence? Can you demonstrate how he did it?"

"Look in his bag," said Beth. She opened it and let a cat out of the bag. They
learned the man's secret, and he went to jail.

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evidence n.

= a fact or thing you use to prove sth

-evident a.

e.g., It was evident that she was unhappy.

demonstrate v.

= to show or prove something clearly

e.g., She demonstrated her plan to her co-workers.

jail n. prison

go (went) to jail

e.g., He was sent to jail for taking other people’s cars.

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That's how the idiom "let the cat out of the bag" came to mean to tell a
secret.

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come to = begin to
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