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Lesson 90 / Projects & reflection
5 phrases · 12 minutes · Look, listen and try.
Reduce unfinished work, agree on details and learn from the project before planning the next one.
Match words to pictures →Play What is She/He doing? →
A randomly assigned, fixed male or female synthetic voice for each phrase or sentence · Slow playback at 0.7× preserves pitch.
Do not let unfinished tasks pile up.
Do not let unfinished tasks pile up.
My messages piled up while I was away.
My messages piled up while I was away.
Here tasks or messages accumulate because they have not been dealt with; it does not necessarily describe someone physically stacking objects.
Cambridge Dictionary · pile up
We narrowed the choices down to two designs.
We narrowed the choices down to two designs.
Try to narrow down the list before the meeting.
Try to narrow down the list before the meeting.
This emphasises reducing the number of possibilities. Use “to” to state how many choices remain.
Cambridge Dictionary · narrow down
We need to iron out the final details before the show.
We need to iron out the final details before the show.
A short meeting helped us iron the problems out.
A short meeting helped us iron the problems out.
Figuratively, this means resolving disagreements or difficulties so things go smoothly. Here it does not mean ironing clothes.
After the project, we reflected on what we had learned.
After the project, we reflected on what we had learned.
Take a moment to reflect on your progress.
Take a moment to reflect on your progress.
This means thinking carefully about an experience or past event, rather than reflecting an image in a mirror. Do not separate the phrase.
We mapped out the steps for our next project.
We mapped out the steps for our next project.
Map your plan out before you start building.
Map your plan out before you start building.
This usually means planning a clear sequence or route of action, rather than necessarily drawing a geographical map. With a pronoun, say “map it out”.
The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 97, 90, 67, 106, 86. A2–B1 is the course’s intended level.
One step forward every day
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Sentences using suggestions are counted as needing more practice. Review schedule based on each phrase's meaning.
OBSERVE · UNDERSTAND · MATCH
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.
Khoa looks worriedly at a growing pile of unfinished task cards on his desk.
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Khoa selects two sketches from six on the table and sets the other sketches aside.
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Khoa and a friend compare two conflicting schedules and agree on a final version.
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Khoa reviews photos of the finished project and reflects beside his notebook.
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Khoa draws a sequence of steps and arrows on paper for the next project.
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Choose a phrase to begin.
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Read the conversation and find the expressions you have learned.
The unanswered messages are piling up.
The unanswered messages are piling up.
Let us narrow down the urgent ones first.
Let us narrow down the urgent ones first.
Then we can map out how to finish the rest.
Then we can map out how to finish the rest.
“Pile up” means accumulate; “narrow down” means reduce the possible choices. When work accumulates, clear criteria help select priorities.
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.
Messages accumulate while a manager is away. She must select urgent ones before planning replies.
Describe the accumulating messages.
The messages are piling up.
Unanswered messages accumulate, so they are “piling up”, without forming a physical stack.
Replace “the options” with “them”: Narrow the options down.
Narrow them down.
“Them” replaces the options being reduced and goes between “narrow” and “down”.
Write the next planning step.
Let us map out a reply schedule after selecting the urgent messages.
Select urgent messages first, then “map out” a reply schedule, preserving the order of selection and planning.
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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