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Lesson 104 / Humour & relaxation
5 phrases · 12 minutes · Look, listen and try.
Joke, laugh, enjoy a surprise and relax at ease.
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A randomly assigned, fixed male or female synthetic voice for each phrase or sentence · Slow playback at 0.7× preserves pitch.
He clowned around with a paper hat during the break.
He clowned around with a paper hat during the break.
Stop clowning around and listen to the instructions.
Stop clowning around and listen to the instructions.
Informal; often describes silly actions, sometimes at the wrong time. A real clown costume is not required.
Cambridge Dictionary · clown around
I was only kidding around about the pencil being a rocket.
I was only kidding around about the pencil being a rocket.
The friends kidded around while waiting for lunch.
The friends kidded around while waiting for lunch.
An informal way to say something is a joke rather than serious. Write “kidding” with a double d.
Cambridge Dictionary · kid around
We cracked up at the funny puppet show.
We cracked up at the funny puppet show.
That silly voice always cracks me up.
That silly voice always cracks me up.
Here this means laughing a lot or making someone laugh. “Crack up” can also mean have a mental breakdown, but not in this scene.
I was bowled over by the beautiful paper castle.
I was bowled over by the beautiful paper castle.
Her kind message really bowled me over.
Her kind message really bowled me over.
The figurative sense here is being deeply impressed or pleasantly surprised. Nobody is physically knocked down or bowling.
We lazed around at home on Sunday.
We lazed around at home on Sunday.
He likes lazing around with a comic after lunch.
He likes lazing around with a comic after lunch.
Suggests a very unhurried, inactive time and may sound a little lazy in context. It does not necessarily mean sleeping.
The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 23, 73, 29, 13, 77. A2–B1 is the course’s intended level.
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Drag a wire from the dot beside a phrase to the dot beside its matching picture. You can also tap a phrase, then a picture. Drag again to change a pair before checking.
Read the picture descriptions for more context. Similar expressions are accepted when they fit the particular scene.
Phúc clowns around with a paper hat while two friends laugh.
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Phúc kids around about his pencil being a rocket; a thought bubble shows the joke.
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Phúc cracks up at a friend’s funny fox puppet act.
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Phúc is bowled over by a friend’s beautiful handmade paper castle.
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Phúc lazes around on a soft rug with a closed comic book beside him.
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Choose a phrase to begin.
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Read the conversation and find the expressions you have learned.
Are you two clowning around again?
Are you two clowning around again?
Just kidding around while we wait for the others.
Just kidding around while we wait for the others.
That story really cracked everyone up.
That story really cracked everyone up.
When friends are fooling around, both “clown around” and “kid around” can fit. “Clown around” often emphasises behaviour that makes other people laugh.
Try answering before revealing the suggested answer. This practice is not scored.
The answers below are models. Other answers can also work if they preserve the facts, meaning and structure requested in the task.
During a break, two friends perform silly impressions for fun. A third person initially thinks they are serious.
Give one suitable description of their behaviour.
They are clowning around or kidding around.
Both “clowning around” and “kidding around” can describe the friends’ deliberately silly behaviour.
Complete: That funny impression really cracked us ___.
up
“Cracked us up” means the impression made the group laugh; “us” precedes “up”.
Reassure the person who misunderstood.
We are only kidding around; we are not making a serious proposal.
“Only kidding around” corrects the misunderstanding; denying a serious proposal clarifies the friends’ intention.
The usage comparisons are checked against the Cambridge Dictionary entries linked beside the compared expressions. The additional conversations and exercises are written for this course.
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