TEST

IDIOMS

continued from No. 39, 40

6. CHOOSE THE ANIMAL

Fill in the missing words from the sentences below. Choose from the following, using plural forms where necessary.

01. Turning up half an hour late for the interview really cooked his ___.
02. We were hoping to keep the wedding a secret, but my mother soon let the ___ out of the bag.
03. You’re flogging a dead ___ trying to get Harry to change his mind!
04. I don’t think I’d recognise her now; it’s ___’s years since I last saw her.
05. Harold has really gone to the ___ since his wife died. Looking at him now, it’s hard to believe he was once a successful barrister.
06. It’s not that I mind giving her a lift home every Tuesday, but what gets my ___ is the fact that she’s never once offered to pay for the petrol.
07. As I had to go to Swansea on business, I decided to kill two ___ with one stone and visit my old school as well.
08. Although he had only known her for two weeks he decided to take the ___ by the horns and ask her to marry him.
09. She loved tennis and could watch it until the ___ came home.
10. You’re upset now, I know. But you’ll soon forget her – after all, there are plenty more ___ in the sea.
11. That’s the last time I invite Steve for a meal. He really made a ___ of himself last night.
12. Don’t be fooled. She’s not a bit sad; they’re just ___ tears.
13. When their grandfather died, Robert and his sister got the ___’s share of his money.
14. After years of commuting from Brighton to London, he decided to get out of the ___ race and buy a small farm in Wales.
15. When I tell my parents that Paul and I have decided to call off the wedding they’re going to have ___.
16. We’re off to a ___ party tonight – David’s getting married on Sunday.

7. CHOOSE THE PART OF THE BODY

Fill in the missing words from the sentences below. Choose from the following, using plural forms where necessary.

01. Being retired, he suddenly found himself with lots of time on his ___ but with little to do to occupy it.
02. You need to have a strong ___ to work in a slaughterhouse.
03. He got up very late this morning and then had the ___ to complain about his breakfast being cold!
04. She had a sweet ___ and couldn’t resist buying chocolates and cream cakes.
05. None of the students liked Mr Baker. In fact, everyone was glad to see the ___ of him when he left to teach in Italy.
06. I think I’ll go and stretch my ___. I’ve been sitting down all morning and I’m feeling a bit stiff.
07. I’ve got an essay to write on the history of computing. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about it, so do you mind if I pick your ___?
08. He used to love mountain-climbing, but when a friend of his was killed in the Himalayas he lost his ___ and never went climbing again.
09. The viewers were up in ___. when the television station announced it was going to change the time of the evening news broadcast from 9 o’clock to 9.30.
10 .There’s something wrong somewhere. I can’t put my ___ on what it is exactly, but something just doesn’t feel right.
11. The cruel way some owners treat their pets makes my ___ boil.
12. “Hurry up, Dorothy! The taxi’s waiting!” “All right, keep your ___ on! I’m coming.”
13. Getting a problem off your ___ is the first stage to being able to solve it.
14. She decided to make a clean ___ of everything and confess that she was the one who had stolen the money.
15. You’d better be careful what you say to Samantha. You know how sensitive she is to criticism-she takes everything to ___.
16. I think there’s going to be trouble at the meeting tonight; I can feel it in my ___.
17. David and the new boss seem to have got off on the wrong ___. Poor David! There go any chances for his promotion.
18. Stop putting words into my ___! I never said opera was boring, I just said I preferred musicals.

8. CHOOSE THE COLOUR

Complete the idioms below with a suitable colour. Choose from the box. (You will need to use some words more than once.)

01. In most countries, goods that are scarce are usually freely available on the ___ market – provided you have the money to pay for them.
02. You can argue with her until you’re ___ in the face, but once she’s made up her mind she won’t listen to you, no matter what you say.
03. After several weeks of discussions, the group were given the ___ light, and could finally go ahead with the new project.
04. There’s no point in asking my boss for a day off next week. I’m in her ___ books at the moment so she’s bound to say no.
05. She had only recently had lunch with her cousin, so the news of his death came as a bolt from the ___.
06. Although we got a lot of nice wedding presents, we also got one or two ___ elephants.
07. There is a common prejudice that girls who are very beautiful must automatically be lacking in ___ matter – they are so-called “dumb blondes”.
08. Next Friday is a ___-letter day for my sister and her husband; it’s their 25th wedding anniversary.
09. After sunbathing for two hours every day, Joanna was as ___ as a berry.
10. The managing director’s reference to the forthcoming sales conference was a ___ herring. He just wanted to get off the subject of this month’s poor sales figures.
11. She went as ___ as a sheet when she heard about the accident.
12. If there was a war, I don’t think I’d fight. I’ve got too much of a ___ streak. I’d be terrified of getting killed.
13. I’m sorry, James, I refuse to believe it unless you can show it to me in ___ and ___!
14. Ever since Tom got that huge order from Saudi Arabia he’s been the boss’s ___-eyed boy.
15. Don’t mention the present government in front of my father; it’s like a ___ rag to a bull.
16. I was ___ with envy when my neighbour drove up in a brand-new Jaguar.
17. By the way, Joyce, my husband was tickled ___ at your asking him to judge the flower show.
18. For some reason, Swedish films are often synonymous with ___ films, which is very strange as there is relatively little pornography in Sweden.
19. Sometimes it is better to tell a ___ lie than to hurt someone’s feelings.
20. My wife always goes bright ___ whenever she gets embarrassed.

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KEYS:

6.

01. goose (It really put an end to his plans, hopes)
02. cat (My mother told everyone the secret)
03. horse (You’re wasting your time)
04. donkey (It’s a very long time since I last saw her)
05. dogs (Harold no longer takes care of himself; his appearance etc. has deteriorated)
06. goat (What makes me angry; what annoys me)
07. birds (I decided to make use of one occasion to do two things)
08. bull (He decided to take the bold step immediately of asking her to marry him)
09. cows (She could watch it for long periods of time without getting bored)
10. fish (There are plenty of other people for you to meet and have a relationship with. Used to try to comfort someone who has just lost a boyfriend or girlfriend)
11. pig (He ate far too much)
12. crocodile (Her tears are not real)
13. lion (He and his sister got the largest share)
14. rat (The “rat race” is the constant struggle for success in business or in one’s job, etc.)
15. kittens (They ‘re going to be in a state of panic)
16. stag (A “stag party” is given when a man about to get married has a party for his male friends)

7.

01. hands (He found himself with lots of free time)
02. stomach (You need to be able to see blood, dead bodies, etc. without feeling sick)
03. cheek (nerve) (He then dared to complain about his breakfast being cold)
04. tooth (If you have a sweet tooth, you like eating sweet things)
05. back (They were glad to see him leave)
06. legs (I’ll go for a walk)
07. brain(s) (Do you mind if I talk to you in order to get information to use for my essay?)
08. nerve (He became frightened and could no longer climb mountains)
09. arms (The viewers were very angry)
10. finger (I can’t say exactly what is wrong)
11. blood (It makes me very angry)
12. hair (Keep calm! Don’t panic!)
13. chest (When you get a problem off your chest, you tell someone else about it)
14. breast (She decided to confess)
15. heart (She takes every criticism personally)
16. bones (I can feel it strongly; I am quite sure there is going to be trouble although I cannot explain why)
17. foot (Our relationship has started badly)
18. mouth (To “put words into someone’s mouth” is to pretend that someone has said something that he or she has not actually said)

8.

01. black (The illegal market)
02. blue (It doesn’t matter what you say to her, she won’t listen to you)
03. green (They were given permission to go ahead with the new project)
04. black (Not very popular with her at the moment)
05. blue (The news came very suddenly and unexpectedly)
06. white (Useless, expensive presents)
07. grey (Lacking in intelligence)
08. red (A very important day for my sister and her husband)
09. brown (She was very sun-tanned)
10. red (An attempt to draw attention away from this month’s poor sales figures)
11. white (She went very pale)
12. yellow (I’m too much of a coward)
13. black, white (In writing)
14. blue (He’s been the boss’s favourite)
15. red (It makes him very angry)
16. green (I was very envious)
17. pink (He was really pleased)
18. blue (Pornographic films)
19. white (An unimportant lie, usually so as not to hurt someone’s feelings)
20. red (She always blushes when she gets embarrassed)

Compiled by Elena Kisunko, Moscow, School No. 651