Orderly fixed phrases

You may be worried that the people you’re talking to are impatient and would like you to say what you want as promptly as possible. First of all, it may not be true people often prefer a well-thought-out answer to a rushed one. So just relax. Another practical thing you can do is equipping yourself with fixed phrases you can use when remaining silent doesn’t seem to be an option.

Here’s an example: Why is there so much violence on TV? That’s a good question. Let me think for a moment, I haven’t really thought about it earlier. Well, I guess… Here the speaker gains considerable amount of time to reflect just by repeating the question and adding a few sentences. If you do the same, you’ll sound more fluent and won’t feel the pressure of having to say something before you’re ready.

Fixed or set phrases are phrases whose words are usually fixed in a certain order. They can be verb patterns, idioms, collocations basically anything we always say in one particular way. For example, during the day, in the meantime, It’s been a long time since..., Sorry to bother/trouble you, but…, Would you mind if…?, Oh, come on!, I’m just kidding!, For what it’s worth…, To be right/wrong about..., Tit for tat/an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, etc.

Small Talk:
Defective items !
Dattu Shruthi, we lately received a complaint from a customer about the stationery.
Shruthi Oh, what's the problem ?
Dattu It's about the poor quality. Can you replace them ? Or they'll hand-inspect and remove the defective ones and charge you back.
Shruthi I'm sorry for the defective items. The replacement will be prepared and shipped by sea in four days.
Dattu This is not acceptable. They need the items and goods very urgently. You gotta air-freight them.
Shruthi But the air freight would be too expensive to afford. After all, we're making little money on this item in order to support your customer.
Dattu I understand. Airship the replacement anyway. I'll ask them to share the cost.

Notes:
Defective -
Describes something that has a fault in it and does not work correctly

Example :
I think that hypothesis is defective.

Know Your Vocabulary
Choose the closest meaning and tick it.
1. precede
a) go before b) come after c) fall between
2. chaos
a) roaring fire b) great confusion c) destruction
3. conglomerate
a) broken apart b) water-soaked c) clustered together
4. evacuation
a) terror b) withdrawal c) accumulation
5. merge
a) bet b) combine c) separate
6. simile
a) image b) sure thing c) comparison
7. differentiate
a) make useless b) make distinction c) make similar
8. detract
a) take away b) make shorter c) change abruptly
9. flabbergasted
a) embarrassed b) misled c) astonished
10. progression
a) forward movement b) helpful suggestion c) successful action

Key:
1-a; 2-b; 3-c; 4-b; 5-b; 6-c; 7-b; 8-a; 9-c; 10-a

Quote of the Week
“If the announcer can produce the impression that he is a gentlemen, he may pronounce as he pleases.” -George Bernard Shaw
(George Bernard Shaw, 26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950, known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic and polemicist who became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.)