2023-01-04
14 分钟Hi there.
This is Harry.
And welcome back to advanced English lessons with Harry, where I try to help you to get a better understanding of the english language.
Whether you're trying to improve your basic knowledge in English, conversational English, or perhaps you're preparing for that job interview, whatever it is, you've come to the right place.
And in the advanced English lesson today, we're talking about a new start.
First of all, I'd like to take the opportunity to wish you a very happy new year.
New year is all about New Year's resolutions, new goals, and new targets.
Your New Year's resolutions may be about staying healthier, spending more time with your family, or indeed learning another language, or trying to improve your English.
Then this is well known and popular vocabulary and expressions related to a new start.
I'll go through them, and I'll give you some examples as we go through them.
First, to clear the decks.
Well, clear the decks is a shipping expression.
To clear the deck of a ship is to make sure there's nothing to obstruct you.
So when we want to make a new start, we say, let's clear the decks.
Let's have a blank piece of paper.
Let's start afresh, go to the very beginning.
So if you want to make a new start at the beginning of a new year, then you clear the decks and you're ready.
Get rid of all the old habits that you had and introduce new habits.
So, to clear the decks, the second expression is to have a clean slate or a clean sheet, or to wipe the slate clean.
You can use it in that way as well.