در یتیم خانه

Lesson 21

amount to

The list amounts to twelve dollars.

All of the money we collected amounts to two hundred dollars.

Sales during the Christmas season amount to half of the store’s yearly profits.

All our work today doesn’t seem to amount to much.

Yeah. I don’t think we’ll ever finish painting this house!

at (the) most. at most I can only drink, at most, 4 or 5 shots of whiskey before I get sick.

I plan to study for two hours at the most.

At most, the boat can hold ten people.

How long will this flight take?

Four hours at the most.

be broke

He couldn’t go to the movies because he was broke.

He was broke, so he borrowed money from his roommate.

How can you be broke already? You just got paid!

Hey, let’s go out to eat tonight.

I can’t. I’m broke.

come to an end

When the party came to an end, there was a big mess to clean up.

We left before the movie came to an end.

The war came to an end soon after the bomb was dropped.

It’s been raining for a week! I’m going crazy!

Don’t worry. It will come to an end tomorrow.

deal with

I don’t think I can deal with this every day!

How do you deal with all the stress at work?

She is avoiding him because she doesn’t want to deal with him.

I can’t deal with all this noise!

I Maybe you should get a different job.

either A or B

With any main dish, you can choose either soup or salad on the side.

I will go to either Mexico or Canada for my vacation.

You can have either cheese or sour cream on your baked potato.

You can either ride with me or with your mother.

I’ll go with Mom. She’s a better driver!

fall short of

The team fell short of their dream of winning the championship.

The movie really fell short of my expectations.

Although the runner’s time was good, it fell short of the world record.

Business is not as good this year.

Yes. We fell short of our goal of selling 1000 pizzas.

in need (of), in need of

After trying that spicy dish, he was in need of some water.

This apartment is in need of a good cleaning. Our club is in need of a new president because the old one quit.

Hey, I can see your toes!

I am in need of some new socks.

or so

Remember to stir the spaghetti sauce every 15 minutes or so until it is ready.

There were fifty or so people at the wedding.

Cook the chicken for twenty minutes or so.

When will Bob arrive?

He’ll be here in about an hour or so.

pay back

Now I can pay back my loan!

He still hasn’t paid back the money he owes me.

Thanks for the money! I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.

Why are you working three jobs?

I have to pay back the money I borrowed from the bank.

Dialogue

At the orphanage

A: Hi. I’m from the newspaper. Do you mind if I ask you some questions about the orphanage? It will only take a minute or so.

B: I’m just a volunteer here, but I’ll try to answer your questions.

A: Great. First, how many kids do you have here?

B: I think we have about 45 kids here, now. But the orphanage can hold 60 kids at most.

A: Wow! That’s a lot of kids to take care of. How do you deal with them all?

B: One by one.

A: Is the orphanage in need of anything? I can put that in the article I’m writing.

B: The kids can always use extra clothes.

A: Anything else?

B: Well, we would be grateful to anyone who can give either their money or their time through donations and volunteer work. Even a little work can amount to a big help.

Idioms in context

My parents give me money each semester for my expenses at college. I try to live for a whole semester on what my parents give me, but I usually fall short of my goal. Before the end of the last semester, I was broke! I’m sure my parents would have been happy to send more money if they had known I was in need. However, I didn’t want to have more to pay back. Besides, I wanted to deal with the situation myself.

First, I tried to go without lunch every day, but I was too hungry to study after that. There was only a week or so left before the semester came to an end. I thought about selling my books to make a little money. I knew my books would not amount to much. At most, I could only get twenty dollars per book, but it was better than nothing. I could either sell my books or starve. I chose to sell my books.

When I went to take my final exam in history, the professor said, “This test is especially difficult. If you brought your book, you can use it during the test.”

Somehow I managed to get a “B” on the final exam without the book. I guess everything worked out in the end, but from now on I’m not going to sell back my books until all of my classes are over.