Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

Today, I'm going to talk about the idiom “to take the plunge" which has the opposite meaning to the one we discussed last week “to get cold feet".

Now, the word “plunge" may remind you of a polar bear plunge. A polar bear plunge is when people jump into cold water for charity.

And the word “plunge" certainly reminds me of the Japanese saying “to jump off the stage of Kiyomizu". Actually, “to take the plunge" means exactly that. If you take the plunge, you decide to do something you really want to do even though it's risky or possibly dangerous.

Let's compare the two idioms: Someone asks you, “Do you still want to do this bungee jumping?" If your answer is YES, you're taking the plunge. You'll do it knowing that it may involve danger. If your answer is NO, you've got cold feet. You get frightened and changed your mind.

Now, would you like to try a quiz? You'll be given three options. Please listen carefully and choose the one that best completes the sentence. Ready?

I've decided to take the plunge and

1.to keep my current job.

2.to start up my own business.

3.to test the water.