English Course · Level 5 (B2) · Week 10 of 12
Arts and Creativity
Grammar: Collocations with make / do / take / have · common idioms
This week's plan
| Day | Learn | Listen / Watch | Practise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Words: The arts · Sentences 1–2 | BBC 6 Minute English: “Are artistic brains different?” (podcast) | Exercise 1 |
| Day 2 | Words: Creativity · Sentences 3–4 | TED: Steven Johnson, “Where good ideas come from” (video) | Exercise 2 |
| Day 3 | Words: make and do · Sentences 5–6 | British Council B2: “A design presentation” (listening) | Exercise 3 |
| Day 4 | Words: take and have · Sentences 7–8 | BBC 6 Minute English: “Songwriting” (podcast) + BBC The English We Speak: “Throw ideas at the wall” (podcast) | Exercise 4 |
| Day 5 | Words: Idioms · Sentences 9–10 | TED: Ethan Hawke, “Give yourself permission to be creative” (video) | Write & Speak |
| Day 6 | Review all 30 words + 10 sentences | BBC 6 Minute English: “Robot Artists” (podcast) | Redo mistakes |
| Day 7 | Free day ☺ | TED: Tim Harford, “How frustration can make us more creative” (video) | Tick your tracker |
30 minutes a day: review, learn, listen, practise, speak. Day 7 is a free day. Tap a resource to find it.
30 words to learn
Set 1 · The arts
- an exhibitionمعرض فني
- a masterpieceتحفة فنية
- a sculptureمنحوتة / تمثال
- a galleryصالة عرض فنية / جاليري
- a criticناقد
- a performanceعرض / أداء
Set 2 · Creativity
- imaginationخيال
- inspirationإلهام
- originalأصلي / مبتكر
- innovativeمبتكر / تجديدي
- think outside the boxيفكّر خارج الصندوق
- writer's blockتوقّف الإلهام عند الكاتب
Set 3 · make and do
- make an effortيبذل جهدًا
- make senseيكون منطقيًا / مفهومًا
- make a differenceيُحدث فرقًا
- do your bestيبذل قصارى جهده
- do researchيقوم ببحث
- do someone a favourيقدّم خدمة لشخص
Set 4 · take and have
- take part inيشارك في
- take a riskيخاطر
- take something for grantedيعتبر الشيء أمرًا مسلّمًا به
- have a go (at)يجرّب / يحاول
- have an impact onيكون له تأثير في
- have second thoughtsيعيد التفكير / يتردّد
Set 5 · Idioms
- a piece of cakeسهل جدًا / سهلة خالص
- break the iceيكسر الحاجز / يلطّف الجو
- hit the nail on the headيصيب كبد الحقيقة / جاب الكلام صح
- the icing on the cakeمسك الختام / الحاجة الحلوة الزيادة
- in the spotlightتحت الأضواء
- once in a blue moonنادرًا جدًا / كل فين وفين
10 sentences to memorise
- 1The exhibition of Tutankhamun's treasures at the Grand Egyptian Museum is a must-see.معرض كنوز توت عنخ آمون في المتحف المصري الكبير لا بدّ من زيارته.
- 2Art can make a real difference to children's confidence.يمكن أن يُحدث الفن فرقًا حقيقيًا في ثقة الأطفال بأنفسهم.
- 3She took a big risk when she left her job to become a painter.خاطرت مخاطرة كبيرة عندما تركت وظيفتها لتصبح رسّامة.
- 4I've never played the oud, but I'd love to have a go.لم أعزف على العود من قبل، لكني أحبّ أن أجرّب.
- 5The critic hit the nail on the head: the film is beautiful but far too long.أصاب الناقد كبد الحقيقة: الفيلم جميل لكنه طويل جدًا.
- 6Creative people often think outside the box.كثيرًا ما يفكّر المبدعون خارج الصندوق.
- 7We go to the opera once in a blue moon.نذهب إلى الأوبرا نادرًا جدًا.
- 8Taking part in the school play helped me to break the ice with my classmates.ساعدتني المشاركة في المسرحية المدرسية على كسر الحاجز مع زملائي.
- 9Every writer suffers from writer's block now and then.يعاني كل كاتب من توقّف الإلهام بين الحين والآخر.
- 10Winning the award was the icing on the cake after a great year.كان الفوز بالجائزة مسك الختام بعد عام رائع.
Grammar: Collocations with make / do / take / have · common idioms
Collocations are words that naturally go together. English uses make, do, take and have in fixed combinations that must be learned as chunks. Idioms are fixed expressions whose meaning is not literal.
المتعلم العربي يترجم «يعمل» إلى do أو make بشكل عشوائي: do a mistake ✗ (الصحيح make a mistake)، make research ✗ (الصحيح do research)، make a photo ✗ (الصحيح take a photo)، do a shower ✗ (الصحيح have / take a shower). القاعدة التقريبية: make = نُنتج أو نصنع شيئًا جديدًا (make a cake, make a plan, make a noise) · do = نؤدّي نشاطًا أو عملًا أو واجبًا (do homework, do business, do the shopping) · take = نأخذ أو نقوم بخطوة (take a break, take a risk) · have = نعيش تجربة أو نتناول شيئًا (have fun, have a meal). لكن الأفضل أن تحفظها كمجموعات جاهزة. أما التعبيرات الاصطلاحية (idioms) فلا تُترجم كلمة بكلمة، ولا تُكثر منها في الكتابة الرسمية.
| make | do | take | have |
|---|---|---|---|
| a mistake · a decision · an effort | homework · research · the housework | a photo · a break · a risk | a go · fun · a look |
| a difference · sense · progress | your best · business · a course | part in · place · notice of | an impact on · an argument · a chat |
| a complaint · a living · money | someone a favour · damage · harm | advantage of · responsibility for · something for granted | second thoughts · a word with someone · no idea |
Idioms are informal: use them in speaking, stories and informal emails, not in formal essays.
Learn the whole chunk: take something for granted (not take it as granted). Both make a decision and take a decision are used in British English; make is more common.
Keep a collocation notebook: write the verb + noun and an example sentence about your own life.
Exercises
Exercise 1 · Complete with the correct form of make, do, take or have.
- 1) Could you ___ me a favour and post this letter?
- 2) I ___ a terrible mistake in the exam yesterday.
- 3) Don't ___ your health for granted.
- 4) Let me ___ a look at your drawing.
- 5) The new library will ___ a big difference to the town.
- 6) More than two hundred artists ___ part in last year's festival.
- 7) We need to ___ more research before we decide.
- 8) The film ___ a huge impact on young viewers when it came out.
Show the answers
Exercise 2 · Match each idiom with its meaning: a) very rarely · b) receiving a lot of public attention · c) very easy · d) say exactly the right thing · e) make people feel relaxed at the start · f) something extra that makes a good thing even better.
- 1) a piece of cake
- 2) break the ice
- 3) once in a blue moon
- 4) hit the nail on the head
- 5) in the spotlight
- 6) the icing on the cake
Show the answers
Exercise 3 · Correct the mistake.
- 1) I did a big mistake.
- 2) She made her homework after dinner.
- 3) Can I do a photo of your painting?
- 4) The exam was a piece of cheese.
- 5) He took part to the competition.
- 6) It doesn't do sense.
Show the answers
Exercise 4 · Translate into English.
- 1) بذلت قصارى جهدي في المسابقة.
- 2) لا أفهم هذه اللوحة؛ إنها غير منطقية بالنسبة لي.
- 3) هل تريد أن تجرّب الرسم بالألوان المائية؟
- 4) شارك أكثر من مائة طالب في المعرض.
Show the answers
Do each exercise in pencil first, then open the answers to check.
Write & Speak
Example: A night of colour in Downtown Cairo I go to art exhibitions once in a blue moon, so when a friend invited me to “Walls That Speak”, a new street-art exhibition in Downtown Cairo, I nearly said no. I'm very glad I had second thoughts. The exhibition takes place in an old cinema that has been empty for years. More than forty young Egyptian artists have taken part, each painting a wall, a door or even a ceiling. The theme is the city itself: its noise, its traffic, its people and its history. What made the strongest impression on me was a huge mural of a Cairo microbus full of passengers from different centuries: a pharaoh, a Mamluk soldier and a teenager with headphones, all squeezed together. It is funny, but it also makes you think about how the past and the present live side by side. The organisers have clearly made an effort to make art accessible. Entry is free, the descriptions are in Arabic and English, and on Fridays you can have a go at painting a small section of a “community wall”. I tried it, and it was definitely not a piece of cake! If I had to make one criticism, it would be the lighting, which is too dark in the back rooms, so it is hard to take good photos. Overall, the exhibition does a great job of showing that art does not belong only in museums. Don't miss it: it runs until the end of next month.