语言小点心:Get On Like A House On Fire

1. If people get on like a house on fire, they:

a) argue and fight with each other all the time

b) have a very good, friendly relationship¹

c) are in danger

2) This expression² is:

a) positive

b) negative

Today on Language Snacks we take a look at the expression get on like a house on fire. Let’s listen to the dialogue.

A: Hi, how's it going with your new boyfriend³?

B: Daniel? Oh, great. He met my parents for the first time yesterday actually.

A: Oh really? I bet⁴ you were nervous about that. What happened?

B: Well, they all got on like a house on fire!

A: Really?

B: Yes! Daniel and dad were talking about football for hours! And my mum kept laughing at all of Daniel's jokes!

Although we can sometimes guess the meaning of a new English expression, other times we have to be a bit careful. The expression get on like a house on fire, for example, sounds like it might be negative as most of us associate⁵ fire and burning with danger and destruction⁶. However, some students are surprised to learn that if you get on like a house on fire, you actually have a very close and good relationship with someone.

And that's it for now – join us again for some more Language Snacks.

B A

1 relationship   

n.关系，联系；家属关系，亲属关系

参考例句：

• Is there any relationship between them?它们之间有联系吗?
• Robert has a friendly relationship with his customers.罗伯特和他的客户之间关系处得很好。

2 expression   

n.表达，表示，表现，表情，措辞，词句

参考例句：

• He looked at me without expression.他毫无表情地看着我。
• Her face was without expression.她的脸上没有表情。

3 boyfriend   

n.男朋友

参考例句：

• The girl was so angry that she hung up on her boyfriend.那姑娘一气之下挂断了男朋友的电话。
• My boyfriend gathered some beautiful flowers for me. 我的男朋友为我采来一些美丽的花。

4 bet   

v.打赌，以(与)...打赌；n.赌注，赌金；打赌

参考例句：

• I bet you can't do this puzzle.我敢说，你解决不了这个难题。
• I offered to bet with him.我提出与他打赌。

5 associate   

vt.使发生联系，使联合；把…联想起来；vi.交往，结交；n.合伙人，同事；adj.副的

参考例句：

• I always associate that song with my visit to Hawaii.听到那支歌我就会联想到我的夏威夷之行。
• I don't associate the two ideas.这两个概念我联系不起来。

6 destruction   

n.破坏，毁灭，消灭

参考例句：

• The enemy bombs caused widespread destruction.敌人的炸弹造成大面积的破坏。
• Overconfidence was his destruction.自负是他垮台的原因。