Ada banyak cara untuk meningkatkan skor IELTS Speaking, salah satunya adalah menggunakan idiom bahasa Inggris. Di artikel ini, kamu akan belajar beberapa idiom yang sering digunakan para test-taker IELTS yang berhasil mencapai skor tinggi.
Dengan memasukkan idiom dalam percakapan, kamu bisa memperlihatkan ke examiner bahwa kamu punya perbendaharaan kata seperti phrasal verbs dan slang yang luas. Penggunaan idiom juga bikin kamu terdengar seperti native-English speakers.
Tapi jangan salah, penggunaan idiom terlalu banyak malah bisa bikin skormu turun. Harap berhati-hati juga sama idiom yang digunakan di luar konteks alias gak nyambung sama cerita yang disampaikan. Kuncinya adalah pahami penggunaan idiom yang tepat dan gunakan secara natural (jangan maksa, ya!).
Berikut ini adalah daftar idiom yang bisa kamu gunakan saat tes IELTS beserta arti dan contoh penggunaannya, seperti dilansir dari www.ieltsadvantage.com:
Daftar Idiom untuk IELTS Speaking
1. To Bite the Bullet
Arti: maksa diri untuk melakukan sesuatu yang sulit, gak enak, atau menjadi berani dalam situasi sulit.
Q: Why did you choose that career?
“I didn’t really want to study law, but I was the only one in my family ever to get high grades in their A-levels. So my mother sat me down one day and said it was either medicine or law. So I went to a hospital on work experience and fainted when I saw the sight of blood. I’m too squeamish for medicine, so I decided just to bite the bullet and study law.”
2. A Piece of Cake
Arti: melakukan sesuatu yang mudah.
Q: Why did you change careers?
“To be honest, compared to practicing law, teaching English is a piece of cake. To give you a concrete example, to qualify as a lawyer takes around six years of study and work experience. To qualify as an English teacher only takes six weeks. The pay obviously isn’t as good, but the students, the clients are much nicer and friendlier.”
3. Kill Two Birds With One Stone
Arti: Mencapai dua hal dengan melakukan satu hal aja.
Q: Have you ever given jewelry to someone as a gift?
“Yes, I actually bought my wife a diamond ring last Christmas. So my wife’s birthday is in November and Christmas is obviously in December. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone and buy one present for her birthday and Christmas. And she was very happy with that because she got one nice, expensive ring rather than two less expensive gifts.”
4. Once in a Blue Moon
Arti: jarang terjadi.
Q: How often do you go out with friends?
“I used to go out nearly every night, but since I’ve had kids, it’s really once in a blue moon. Most of my friends have either settled down with kids like me, or they have moved away. So it’s quite rare to have an occasion where a group of friends are all together at the same time. Sometimes at Christmas, when a lot of our friends visit Ireland during the Christmas period, or in the summertime when a lot of our friends have time off, I might go out, but it is quite a rare occasion these days.”
5. Cry Over Spilt Milk
Arti: ngabisin waktu merasa sedih tentang sesuatu yang udah kejadian dan gak bisa diubah.
Q: What do you dislike about your job?
“The thing I dislike most about my job is dealing with people who only focus on the negative, especially when they are given negative feedback. That could be students, that could be employees, but people who make mistakes and don’t learn from them. So for example, I give a lot of feedback on student essays, and some students see mistakes and they’re like, great, now I know what my mistakes are and I can improve. Other students will just cry about it for days and they’ll cry about it for weeks. They’re like, I’m going to fail. It’s like, there’s no point crying over spilt milk. You made the mistake, now learn from it.
6. Go the Extra Mile
Arti: berusaha keras di luar ekspektasi.
Q: Who does the cooking in your home?
“My wife does the vast majority of the cooking, not because she’s necessarily a better cook. But the thing I love about my wife is in whatever she does, she goes the extra mile. So if I was cooking steak, I would just cook the steak and eat it with a little bit of bread. But my wife will have three different sauces, and balsamic vinegar, and two different olive oils, and four different types of potato. She really does go the extra mile when it comes to cooking in our house.”
7. Raining Cats and Dogs
Arti: hujan deras
Q: Do you like your neighborhood?
“Yes and no. Where I live is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We’re spoiled for choice in terms of outdoor activities and beautiful places. On our doorstep, we have beaches, forests, lakes, and mountains. But unfortunately, it’s Ireland, so it’s normally raining cats and dogs, so you don’t really get to enjoy it.”
Itu dia daftar idiom yang sering digunakan peraih skor tinggi di IELTS. Semoga bermanfaat untuk tes IELTS kamu ya, Sob!
Jangan lupa, idiom aja gak cukup buat bikin skor IELTS Speaking kamu tinggi, ya. Perbanyak mock up test dan minta evaluasi dari orang yang berpengalaman. FYI, di IELTSpresso kamu bisa belajar bareng tutor-tutor IELTS profesional yang bisa bantu section Speaking kamu, lho! Cek kelas persiapannya di sini:
IELTS Preparation Program
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