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Unit 21 :
“Do not cross your bridges before you come to them”

Upper Intermediate

Objective

To be able to know more about idioms and expressions.

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Vocabulary

Read and know the meaning of the words used in the article.

1. bridge /brɪdʒ/
a structure that is built over a river, road, or railway to allow people and vehicles to cross from one side to the other

We drove across/over the bridge.

2. denote /dɪˈnoʊt/
to represent something

The colour red is used to denote passion or danger.

3. mark /mɑːrk/
a small area on the surface of something that is damaged, dirty, or different in some way

There were dirty marks on her trousers where she had wiped her hands.

4. tough /tʌf/
strong; not easily broken or made weaker or defeated

These toys are made from tough plastic.

5. theorem /ˈθiː.rəm/
(especially in mathematics) a formal statement that can be shown to be true by logic

In this paper we prove the following theorem.

6.  stupid /ˈstuː.pɪd/
used when talking to someone who does something stupid, to refer to them

Don’t lock it, stupid!

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Quick Reading

Read the short passage.

This proverb means that we should not worry about problems until the time when they actually come up.

There is no point in worrying about something till it really happens. We will not lead a happy life if we keep imagining things.

We have to face reality as it happens. Here the word BRIDGE is used to denote problems. Just as we cross a bridge when we reach it, we should tackle problems when we face them.

Archana was never good at Maths more out of fear for the subject than any real difficulty in learning it. She was always very tense before the exams and this time was no exception.

Half-yearly exams were to begin in a couple of days and the mathematics was scheduled as the second exam.

Her first was Science and Archana’s mother was very worried about seeing her daughter being so nervous. Archana’s mother decides to take this matter with Archana directly and goes to Archana to talk to her daughter.

“Archana….don’t you have to start studying for your science paper? Why are you wasting time worrying about your Maths exam? You have prepared well and am sure you will get full marks. When you put in all your efforts the result will always be positive. So please start studying the other subjects.”

“I know mother. But what if my preparation is not enough? What if I get tough sums? What if I forget the theorems?” replied Archana.

“Worrying about it is not going to make things easier is it? If you waste time worrying you will end up losing marks in other subjects.” said her mother.

The day of the exams came. She wrote all the exams. She was not satisfied with her performance in those exams. She did her best.

That is exactly what happened when the results came out. The Maths paper had been very easy and Archana had scored very good marks. But she had wasted so much time in worrying about it that she failed to do well in her Science paper and managed to just pass.

She realized her stupidity and decided that in future she will prepare well for all her exams and stop creating imaginary problems which resulted in her bad performance.

This incident created awareness in Archana and her friends to the effect that worrying about the imaginary problems will help none and such a stupidity will result in waste of time and energy.

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Discussion

Answer the questions with your teacher.

  1. How did the article explained the proverb?
  2. Do you agree with the suggestion of Archana’s mother?
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Discussion for you

Answer the questions with your teacher.

  1. How do you deal with your problems?
  2. Do you think worrying will worsen a problem?