Opinions
A. Read the idioms and their meanings:
- put your two cents in/say your piece/speak up= express your opinion
- beat around the bush= talk a lot but not go to the point
- play the devil’s advocate= take a deliberately contrary position to force people justify their positions
B. Find the idioms in the paragraph:
The teenage girl was asking her parents to go camping with her girlfriends. First, her older brother said his piece. He said she was too young to go camping with friends. Then she sounded out her mom, and so her mom put her two cents. She wasn’t feeling comfortable either. They were obviously worried about her. The girl turned to her dad who had been beating around the bush and didn’t give her a clear answer. Finally, the dad decided to play the devil’s advocate and asked a lot of tough questions which made her think about the details of the plan. It was a tough conversation, but the girl was convinced that her friends and she would not be ready to camp alone at that time.
C. Let’s watch a cool video about these idioms and more:
D. Match the idioms with their meanings:
|
Expression |
Meaning |
|
1.Put your two cents in |
A.Express your opinion |
|
2.Say your piece |
B.Share your thoughts |
|
3.Speak up |
C. Express your opinion |
|
4.Beat around the bush |
D.Avoid getting to the point |
|
5.Play the devil’s advocate |
E.Take a contrary position to challenge others |
E. Fill in the blanks with the correct idiom.
1.
Rachel: We need to make a decision soon, but no one is speaking up.
Mark: Maybe people are afraid to ________________________ and share their thoughts.
Rachel: Well, they should speak up!
2.
Alex: I’ve been waiting for 10 minutes for you to get to the point!
John: Sorry, I tend to ________________________ sometimes.
Alex: Just tell me directly!
3.
Lara: Do you have any suggestions for improving the project?
Tom: Sure, I’ll ________________________ once everyone else has shared their ideas.
Lara: Thanks for your input!
4.
Simon: I don’t agree with everyone here, but I’m going to ________________________ to encourage debate.
Jessica: Interesting approach, Simon!
5.
Amy: I think we should invest in the new software.
Ben: I agree, but let me first ________________________ and point out the potential risks.
Amy: Good idea—let’s weigh both sides.
F. Write your own sentences using these idioms.
Answers: D. 1. A 2. B 3. C 4. D 5. E
E. 1. Speak up. 2. Beat around the bush 3. Put your two cents in 4. Play the devil’s advocate. 5. Say your piece
