Coming Back to the Topic

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In this lesson, we’ll take a look at some phrases that will help you come back to the topic when your conversation gets sidetracked. Materials level: B2+

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Watch those clips and fill in the gaps. You can try guessing the words missing in some gaps. Their definition is in the parentheses.

Clip 1

"All right, see, 038 is not the number for this store." "Pepper?" "None for me" "Okay, sorry." "I'm sorry. As I …. …, the store number is wrong.”

Clip 2

"Mr Stark, could we … now where we …? Mr Stark. Please." "Yes, dear?" "Can I have your attention?" "Absolutely" "Do you or do you not … (synonym for ‘have’) a specialised weapon?" "I do not.”

answers

pick up, left off, possess

Clip 3

"What is wrong with all of you? He is sleeping with my mother!" "I don't think there's a whole lot of sleeping going on." "Let's get back to the ..." "Whatever. You know. Sleep with my mom, sleep with everybody's mom.”

answers

matter at hand

Clip 4

"Might I ask whу didn't уоu take ... (suitable or right for a particular situation) steрs tо knоw mоre that first night? ... ( considering a particular thing) уоur reputatiоn for undercover work, I won't take..."

"What reрutatiоn are you talking about Bill?"

"Alright, let's ... ."

"I like to know what reputation he's referring tо?"

"Let's ... it!" (stop talking about something)

answers

appropriate, Given, get back оn track, drop

Clip 5

"So, why doesn't somebody tell me what they think is going on here?" "Mr. Tuld, … (synonym for ‘coming back to the topic’), if you compare the … (a drawing, often with a number, in a document) at the top of page 13..." "Jared, it's a little early for all that. Just speak to me in … (clear to understand) English." "Okay." "In fact, I'd like to speak to the guy who … this …." (to prepare a piece of work by collecting several ideas and organising them)

answers

as I mentioned earlier, figure, plain, put together

Clip 6

"You were ... (given by a doctor as treatment) multiple courses of benzodiazepines, but according to the ... (a formal written statement made or used in a law court) of one of our witnesses, you've been procuring, off-prescription, a course of psycho-stimulants, with the ... (intend) of keeping you awake a little longer. Is this true?"

"Upon the advice of counsel, I must respectfully ... (refuse) to answer your question, based on my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution."

"Okay. ... (synonym for "let's get back to the topic") this business of the Asian Republic of Indonesia..."

"I am not a drug addict, and this line of questioning has no ... (noun form of 'relevant') in this case."

answers

prescribed, deposition, aim, decline, Getting back to, Relevance

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Interesting vocabulary course - a fixed number of regular medical treatments e.g. My doctor's put me on a course of antibiotics. benzodiazepines - (ben·zo·di·az·e·pine) drugs which lower brain activity, they are prescribed to treat conditions such as anxiety, insomnia, and seizures. procure - formal, to get something, especially after an effort e.g. She's managed somehow to procure his phone number. deposition - a formal written statement made or used in a law court e.g. Our lawyer took a deposition from us. counsel - one or more of the lawyers taking part in a legal case e.g. Counsel for the defence (= the lawyer giving advice to the accused person) argued convincingly that his client was not guilty.

Let’s practise!

Read the phrases, choose a few you like and try using them with a partner. Use ideas from the exercise on the right and make up some additional situations.