Lesson 15 Turning Over a New Leaf


BJ: Hi . . . Excuseme. Could you tellme where the nearest subway stop is?
Keith: Uhh, yeah . . . Four blocks that way, and a block to the left. Fourteenth and First Avenue.
BJ: Thanks. Uff. Do youmind if I take a load off? I’ve been walking forever.
Keith: No . . . Go ahead. Are you new to the city?
BJ: Yeah. I just moved here two weeks ago.
Keith: What brings you to NewYork?
BJ: Well, in a nutshell, I guess I wanted to make a clean break, you know, start over.
Keith: I hear ya. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf myself.
BJ: Really?What is it you do?
Keith: Well, actually, things are a bit up in the air at the moment. I was just fired from my job.
BJ: Oh no. I’m sorry to hear that.
Keith: No big deal really. I wanted to leave that job ages ago. I kept putting it off out of laziness.
BJ: Wow, you lost your job? So what did you do?
Keith: I was working for amagazine. I wanted to be a writer when I got out of college. I took this job as the assistant to an editor, thinking it would be a foot in the door. I was wrong.
BJ: Do you mind me asking why you got fired?
Keith: I showed up for work late one too many times, I guess.
Actually, they were already unhappy with me before. Showing up late was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.
BJ: So what do you have in mind now?
Keith: I was thinking of going back to school or taking writing classes.
BJ: Ya know, I want to start taking some classes too. Right now, I teach.
Keith: What do you teach?
BJ: Dance.Mostly salsa these days. But it’s just to get on my feet until I get a break in performance.
Keith: I’ve always been interested in learning salsa, but I’ve never been sure I’d be good at it. You see, I have two left feet.
BJ: Oh, come on. I’m sure you’re being hard on yourself. You should come by the studio sometime and check out our classes. The truth is, since I’m new, I don’t have many students yet. The old students stick to the teachers they had before. So I have to find new ones.
Keith: Wow, dance classes. I’ve never considered that before! Why not? I might do that. In any case, I have nothing but free time now, right?
BJ: Here’s my number at the studio.My name is BJ, by the way.
Keith: I’m Keith.Nice tomeet you.
BJ: Likewise.Well,guess I better hit the road. Lots to do today!
Keith: Good luck.Hope it turns out well for you.
BJ: Nice talking to you. Give me a call.Maybe we can have coffee sometime.
Keith: Yeah, that would be great. I’ll call you.
BJ: Cool. See ya.
Keith: Gee, I guess things are already looking up . . .
 
1. To take a load off. To rest by sitting down.
2. In a nutshell. Concisely and quickly explained.
3. Tomake a clean break. To forget about something in the past, to start fresh.
4. To turn over a new leaf. To begin a new project or period in your life.
5. To be up in the air. To not have direction or definite shape.
6. No big deal.Not important.
7. To put something off. To delay something, to postpone something, to procrastinate.
8. To have a foot in the door. To be in a situation that could lead to better opportunities.Notice that youmay also “get a foot in the door” or “give someone a foot in the door.”
9. To show up. To arrive.
10. The straw that broke the camel’s back. An event or thing that by itself is insignificant, but added to other problems is just enough to leave a big impact or cause a big change.
11. To have something in mind. To have an idea or conception about something.
12. To get on your feet. To become stable financially, emotionally, socially, etc.
13. To get a break. To be given an opportunity to do something you want to do.
14. To have two left feet. To be ungraceful, to move in a clumsy or awkward way, especially while dancing.
15. To be hard on someone. To be strict or difficult with someone, to be demanding, to be overly critical or disciplinary.
16. To stick to someone or something. To stay with someone or something.
17. By the way. This expression introduces an afterthought. It is used before saying something that is somehow related to what’s already been said.
18. To hit the road. To begin to travel or move. To set off on a trip.
19. To be looking up. To seem positive, to suggest a positive outcome or improvement.

Source: Easy American Idioms