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Lesson 15

as soon as = right after; when, as soon as

I’ll be there as soon as I can!

As soon as you delete a worthless file,you’ll need it.

As soon as the sun rises in the morning, the farmer starts working.

Are you coming to lunch?

I’ll be there as soon as I finish this.

attribute A to B = say A is a result of B, attribute A to B

Most people attribute the good economy to the new president.

Scientists attribute the warm weather to pollution.

Many of the deaths in the earthquake were attributed to poor construction.

Why are your shoes in my yard?

I attribute that to your dog!

be apt to = be likely to; will probably, be apt to

He is apt to be late for class because he has a night job.

Without a map, you are apt to get lost on the small, confusing streets.

He is apt to fail the test because he didn’t study.

Let’s go shopping!

It’s a holiday. Stores are apt to be closed.

cut down on = reduce; do/have less, cut down on

After that night, he decided to cut down on alcohol.

We cut down on driving because the price of gasoline is too high.

he cut down on eating snacks between meals.

Why don’t you want some cake?

My dentist told me to cut down on sugar.

end up = finally be; be in the end, end up

The ice-cream ended up on the floor.

They ended up working on the project all night because of the deadline.

The extra food at the party ended up in the garbage.

Let’s climb over the fence and touch the tiger!

No thanks. I don’t want to end up as lunch.

get over = recover from; overcome, get over

Buddy, get over it.

It took her almost a week to get over her jet lag from the long flight.

She got over her old boyfriend very quickly and started dating a new boy.

How did you get over your cold so fast?

I ate 30 oranges a day for 3 days.

get used to = be accustomed to; be familiar and comfortable with, get used to

It will take a long time to get used to her!

After I got used to waking up early, I enjoyed my extra time in the morning.

How long did it take you to get used to living in your new apartment?

It’s almost midnight. Aren’t you tired?

No, I’m used to going to bed late.

in comparison with = looking at in order to see the difference, in comparison with

The weather in the South is usually wetter in comparison with the North.

In comparison with her first book, the author’s second book was not very good.

This rock is heavy in comparison with its size.

Your house is so small.

Yes, but in comparison with my old house, it’s a palace!

in no time = very quickly, in no time

The police arrived in no time.

If you make a few American friends, you can improve your English in no time.

In no time, the firefighters arrived at the fire.

Are we almost there? I am so hungry!

Don’t worry. We’ll be there in no time.

used to = occurring or existing in the past, used to

She used to have straight hair.

My family used to eat dinner together, but now we are too busy.

The excuse for missing homework used to be “the dog ate it.” Now it’s “the disk was erased.”

What is your favorite sport?

I used to like squash, but now I like racquetball.

Dialogue

At school

How do you like our new teacher, Tom?

I don’t like her. She doesn’t teach very well in comparison with Ms. Smith.

Why do you say that?

Ms Smith used to take her time and explain the lesson with lots of interesting examples but our new teacher goes too fast.

Maybe you just need some time to get use to our new teacher’s style of teaching.

I’ll probably end up failing this class. I can’t even do the homework for Monday.

I can help you. I’m sure I can explain the homework to you in no time. It probably won’t even take an hour.

That would be great, Marry. Can we meet on Saturday?

I’m going to see a movie with a friend Saturday afternoon but I can call you as soon as I get back from the movie.

Thanks, See you on Saturday, Marry.

Idioms in context

Research has found that as soon as a man and a woman get married, they start putting on weight. Men usually gain about four pounds. Women gain about five.

Researchers attribute the weight gain to changes in the exercise habits of newly married couples. A newly married man who used to spend several hours each week exercising is apt to stop exercising in order to spend more time with his new wife.

After the couple gets used to their new life together, they may begin to exercise again. However, usually the couple ends up exercising for a shorter time together in comparison with the time they exercised separately before marriage. One way a husband and wife can get over this problem is to begin to exercise together soon after the wedding.

The food a couple eats can also help the couple control their weight. In general, most people need to cut down on the foods which are high in fat. Couples who are used to eating a lot of beef, fried food, and deserts should try to eat more vegetables, chicken, and fish.

Couples who start putting on weight after marriage can get back to their old healthy weight in no time with the proper diet and exercise.