16 Match the proverbs with their meaning.
| I.
| Discontent is the first step in progress.
| (a)
| Whatever your age, you can still increase your knowledge.
|
| II.
| Tell tales out of school.
| (b)
| All brilliant ideas are useless without an aptitude for had work.
|
| III.
| Experience is the mother of wisdom.
| (c)
| People with little knowledge are often unaware of their ignorance and are easily misled.
|
| IV.
| He that would eat the kernel must crack the nut.
| (d)
| If a person is dissatisfied with something, he will take pains to change it.
|
| V.
| A Jack of all trades and master of none.
| (e)
| People learn by their own mistakes.
|
| VI.
| Learn to walk before you run.
| (f)
| A person cannot expect to get anything without working for it.
|
| VII.
| Ninety percent of inspiration is perspiration.
| (g)
| Make public something that should be kept private.
|
| VIII.
| One is never too old to learn.
| (h)
| To get on in the world, a person should concentrate on one thing and learn to do it well.
|
| IX.
| A little learning is a dangerous thing.
| (i)
| Knowledge cannot be acquired all at once. It must be gained step by step.
|
17 Match the idioms that follow with their interpretations.
| 1. (all) in a fog
| a) spoil one's record; behave in such a way as to make people change their good opinion of one;
|
| 2. ancient history
| b) coll. a command to stop doing something, esp. to stop behaving in an annoying way or stop talking foolishly[1];
|
| 3. blackboard jungle
| c) to become familiar with or learn the details of a subject before talking to someone or writing about it;
|
| 4. blot one's copybook
| d) a story that is so foolish or stupid that it is unlikely to be believed;
|
| 5. cannot hold the candle to smb.
| e) a very clear example, e.g. of how to do something, which others should learn from or take as a warning;
|
| 6. cock-and-bull story
| f) a school where the pupils are regarded as violent or uncontrollable;
|
| 7. cover a lot of ground
| g) coll. about to be scolded, esp. by one's employer or someone of higher rank;
|
| 8. cut it out
| h) to be not nearly so good as (someone);
|
| 9. do one's homework
| i) something well known;
|
| 10. go over old ground
| j) coll. not to have much time to do something;
|
| 11. on the carpet
| k) to show great eagerness (to do something or to be free from rules or limits); be impatient;
|
| 12. keep/hold in check
| l) coll. to do as well as is expected; succeed;
|
| 13. make the grade
| m) feeling confused or unsure of what one is doing;
|
| 14. not have all day
| n) coll. without pausing in one's speech;
|
| 15. object lesson
| o) coll. used to suggest that a person is an extreme example of the kind described, holding very strong opinions or having very fixed habits;
|
| 16. parrot fashion
| p) to control or hold back a person, one's feelings, etc., esp. not allow (someone or oneself) to become too excited or active;
|
| 17. pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps
| q) to become successful through one's own efforts, without help from other people and in spite of the disadvantages;
|
| 18. straight off the reel
| r) repeating certain words or ideas without really understanding their meaning;
|
| 19. strain at the leash
| s) to deal with material that is already familiar to the listeners or readers;
|
| 20. the child is father of the man
| t) (esp. of a teacher or lesson, a writer or report) to deal with many different subjects or to deal with one subject very thoroughly;
|
| 21. with a capital T/S/P
| u) the character of a fully grown person is the product of childhood influences;
|
18 Fill in the spaces with relevant idiomatic expressions from the exercise above.
1. When the teacher came into the room, he said, "________! Stop the talking and get on with your work!" 2. Nobody ________ her as far as languages are concerned. 3. This Grammar book ________; any student can use it as a good reference. 4. The TV presenter should have ________ before asking the studio guest questions. 5. The way he handled this situation provided an ________ in how to deal with angered visitors. 6. The teacher told the children to get ready quickly. "We ________, you know", she said. 7. Many of the singers can't speak Italian and have to learn the words ________. 8. He is a teacher ________ T. 9. He is such a bad teacher that the children are completely ________ about their schoolwork. 10. We have all heard about your accident – it's ________. 11. He was the teacher's favourite pupil until he ________ by failing all his examinations. 12. The noisy children had to be ________ by their teachers as they went past the library. 13. He gave me the information I asked for ________. 14. The teacher warned the boy that if she heard any more of his ________ he would be severely punished. 15. My teacher told me not to worry about missing his first three lessons since he would only be ________. 16. His boss had him ________ for arriving late at work. 17. Any girl can apply to join a six-week course – and those who ________ will be issued diplomas. 18. Look at the recently elected leader – a lady who has ________. 19. The teacher realised that the boy disliked school and was ________ to join his older brothers and earn his own money.
