Collocations 16: People — character and behavior

Jul 13, 2016

Character — Flashcards
1. . . .
  good
  company meaning
  — people enjoy being with you
2. a . . .
  selfish
  streak meaning
  — you sometimes act in a selfish way
3. an . . .
  outgoing
  personality
4. a good . . .
  sense
  of humor
5. to have a . . .
  vivid
  imagination
6. to . . .
  lose
  temper
7. highly . . .
  intelligent
8. . . .
  razor-sharp
  mind
9. to . . .
  set
  high standards
10. . . .
  fiercely
  loyal meaning
  — stronger then extremely
11. aspect of . . .
  personality
12. to . . .
  put
  others first
13. . . .
  painfully
  shy
14. to . . .
  give
  the impression of
15. . . .
  supremely
  confident
16. to . . .
  have
  a tendency
17. . . .
  snap
  decision meaning
  — quick decision
18. . . .
  sense
  of responsibility
19. to . . .
  keep
  word meaning
  — so what you say you will do, keep your promises
20. to . . .
  keep
  secrets
21. . . .
  bear
  a grudge meaning
  — bad things others have done to you
22. to . . .
  keep
  your temper meaning
  — not get angry
23. to . . .
  make
  a fool out of you meaning
  — trying to deceive or trick you
24. . . .
  brutally
  honest meaning
  — honest in a way that may hurt
Don’t take it seriously!
Behaviour — Flashcards
1. to . . .
  play
  a joke
2. to . . .
  play
  a trick
3. to . . .
  take
  a joke
4. to . . .
  swallow
  your pride
5. to . . .
  throw
  a tantrum
6. to . . .
  lose
  patience
7. to . . .
  come
  to terms with
8. to . . .
  reveal
  true character
9. The children . . .
  played a joke on
  the teacher by hiding under their desks before she came into the room.
10. Fortunately, the teacher could . . .
  take a joke
  and didn’t punish them.
11. Jane . . .
  swallowed her pride
  and admitted that she was wrong.
12. The child . . .
  threw a tantrum
  when I wouldn’t buy him any sweets.
13. Finally I . . .
  lost my patience
  and shouted at her.
14. Nick has found it hard to . . .
  come to terms
  with his illness.
15. Jack’s failure to support her has certainly . . .
  revealed his true character
  .
Which of the collocations describe negative aspects of character, which colocations describe positive aspects of character and which of the collocations may describe negative aspects depended on your point of view?
1. a selfish streak
  1. it depends
  2. positive
  3. negative
2. bear a grudge
  1. negative
  2. it depends
  3. positive
3. make a fool out of someone
  1. it depends
  2. positive
  3. negative
4. hurt someone’s feelings
  1. negative
  2. positive
  3. it depends
5. painfully shy
  1. positive
  2. negative
  3. it depends
6. snap decisions
  1. negative
  2. positive
  3. it depends
7. brutally honest
  1. negative
  2. it depends
  3. positive
8. a good sense of humor
  1. positive
  2. negative
  3. it depends
9. highly intelligent
  1. negative
  2. positive
  3. it depends
10. supremely confident
  1. positive
  2. negative
  3. it depends
11. sense of responsibility
  1. negative
  2. it depends
  3. positive
12. to keep word
  1. positive
  2. negative
  3. it depends
13. to keep your temper
  1. it depends
  2. negative
  3. positive
14. good company
  1. positive
  2. negative
  3. it depends
Add the missing words in these letters to magazine where readers are discussing their and others’ characters.
1. I know that I a tendency to a grudge, but I just can’t forget something bad a friend did to me recently. She has a selfish and doesn’t care sometimes how much she my feelings. I am finding it increasingly hard to my temper with her. But perhaps it might be better to I my temper and let her know how I really feel?
  Silvia M.
2. I have always tried to others first and not to think of myself. I believe you should not lose your with your friends, but if someone seems to enjoy a fool out of you in front of other people, do those rules of friendship still apply?
  Stefan P.
3. I’m a little shy, though not shy, but sometimes I think I the impression that I’m unfriendly. How can I convince people that I’m good and worth getting to know?
  Tom W.
4. Should I talk about personal matters to my closest colleague at work? She is not very good at secrets and she has a very imagination. She always promises not to tell other people, but I’m not sure she always her word.
  Jan H.
5. My boyfriend has a really friendly, personality and a great of humor. He’s intelligent and has a -sharp mind. The perfect man. We’ve been together now for a year, and I like him a lot, but don’t love him any more. Should I be honest with him and tell him?
  Lydia T.
6. I think a friend is destroying himself with drugs. I feel a of responsibility towards him. He has always been loyal to me in good and bad times, which is a wonderful of his personality. I feel I ought to contact the police or social services, but I don’t want to make a decision which I’ll regret later.
  Gary J.
Complete the conversation.
1. ‘Bob’s found it hard to accept psychologically the fact that he’s now divorced.’
  ‘Yes, he’s found it hard . . .
  to come to terms
  with his new situation.’
  1. throw tantrums
  2. take a joke
  3. sets high standards for herself
  4. to come to terms
  5. revealed her true character
2. ‘Kevin’s problem is he can’t laugh when people play jokes on him.’
  ‘No, it’s true. He just can’t . . .
  take a joke
  , can he?’
  1. throw tantrums
  2. to come to terms
  3. revealed her true character
  4. sets high standards for herself
  5. take a joke
3. ‘Well, Sara’s behaviour last night certainly showed the truth about her.’
  ‘Yes, it certainly . . .
  revealed her true character
  .’
  1. throw tantrums
  2. sets high standards for herself
  3. take a joke
  4. revealed her true character
  5. to come to terms
4. ‘She always has very high expectations of both herself and her children.’
  ‘Yes, she always . . .
  sets high standards for herself
  .’
  1. take a joke
  2. revealed her true character
  3. to come to terms
  4. sets high standards for herself
  5. throw tantrums
5. ‘Sam started screaming and stamping his feet when I tried to put him to bed.’
  ‘Well, two-year-olds often . . .
  throw tantrums
  .’
  1. revealed her true character
  2. throw tantrums
  3. sets high standards for herself
  4. take a joke
  5. to come to terms

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