در اداره

At the office

at times = sometimes; there are times when, at times .

At times, I feel different.

At times, I wish I had studied something other than medicine.

At times, he can be very cruel.

How do you like working in the circus?

It’s OK. But, at times, I feel a little bored.

be likely to = will probably, be likely to.

It’s likely to rain this afternoon.

It is likely to snow this afternoon. Drive carefully.

Someone is likely to ask for your business card. Do you have any?

Let’s order some pizza.

It’s not likely to be open this early in the morning.

be opposed to = against; not for; not in favor for, be opposed to.

I’ve always been opposed to eating beef.

My mother was always opposed to my father’s smoking.

I am not opposed to his joining us for the weekend.

Why does Bill only shower once a week?

He is opposed to wasting water.

by accident = without planning; by luck (good or bad)by accident.

It happened by accident.

By accident, he hit the wrong button on the keyboard and lost his file.

She walked into the bathroom by accident while he was in there.

What happened to my car?

I scratched it by accident. Sorry!

come from = originate in some place, come from.

Where did it come from?

Where did your ancestors come from?

These bananas come from Brazil.

Where did all these books come from?

The library was selling its old books.

feel for = have sympathy for, feel for

I feel for those guys.

She felt for the people starving in Africa, so she sent money to the charity.

I really feel for homeless people.

Poor Tom! His pet iguana died.

Yeah. I really feel for him.

for the sake of = to benefit or improve something, for the sake of.

He works hard for the sake of his family.

For the sake of time, we won’t discuss the new budget at this meeting.

He had to quit smoking for the sake of his health.

Please don’t try to cook anymore.

OK. I will stop for the sake of our relationship.

get away with = avoid punishment, get away with.

You’ll never get away with this.

He thought he could get away with hiding a card in his sleeve, but he got caught.

She pretended she was a student to get the discount and she got away with it!

Did you hear that Sarah cheated on the test and got an A?

I can’t believe she got away with it!

stand a chance = have an opportunity to succeed, stand a chance.

He doesn’t stand a chance.

The players on the other team are all over six feet tall. We don’t stand a chance!

I really want to ask her on a date. Do you think I stand a chance?

I can build the house by myself!

Hah! You don’t stand a chance without me!

without question = for sure; for certain, without question.

Without question, that was the best meal I’ve had all this year!

Without question, that is the best movie I have ever seen!

The test was, without question, the most difficult test of the year.

What do you think of my painting?

You are, without question, the most talented painter I know.

Dialogue, at the office

Come in Bob. I wanted to talk to you about this memo regarding staff meetings.

Sure. Is there a problem?

Maybe. But first, do you know where this memo came from? It says, the staff, but I think one person may have written it.

I don’t know who wrote it but almost no one is opposed to the suggestion of only having one meeting every two weeks.

I think it’s a good idea too. But if the idea is going to stand a chance of being accepted by management, we need to add one thing to the proposal.

What is that?

At times, it might be necessary to have an emergency meeting. Do you think the staff is likely to accept the suggestion that we have meetings every two weeks with possible emergency meetings once in a while?

Without question. That should be OK with every one.

Idioms in context

I often play golf with my father. Since I play golf on a college team, my father doesn’t stand a chance of beating me. He is, without question, one of the worst golfers I’ve ever played with! In fact, I think even a beginner could beat him.

At times, my father will cheat at golf. He’ll kick the ball to put it in a better position. I’m not opposed to his occasional tricks. Even when I see him cheat, I still let him get away with it for the sake of the game. It helps keep the game interesting for both of us.

My father often hits the ball in the wrong direction. I remember one time my father hit a duck with his ball by accident! I really felt for the duck. My father’s ball hit it right on the head! It quacked angrily and flew away.

“Don’t worry, Dad,” I said. “The duck is likely to make a full recovery.”

My father asked, “Where did that duck come from? It shouldn’t be on the golf course.”

“The duck wasn’t on the golf course, Dad,” I pointed out to my father.