Idioms and Proverbs on Personal Issues. Учебное пособие

Proverbs

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy – мешай дело с бездельем, проживешь век с весельем.

Better be envied than pitied – лучше жить в зависти, чем в жалости.

It is more pain to do nothing than something – скучен день до вечера, коли делать нечего.

Joy is always trailed by sorrow – за радостью горе по пятам ходит.

Misery loves company – на людях и горе вполгоря.

EXERCISES

3.1 Combine the words from the box below to make seven idioms. Use each word once only.

3.2 Which idioms do the given pictures make you think of?

3.3 Complete each idiom in the following sentences.

1. As Bruce is peppy, playing chess holds …………… for him.

2. Liz got an F at school. That’s why she’s in no ………….. to do the shopping with friends.

3. It’s clear that nobody wants to stay after classes, but lagging behind is much worse. So, you’d better ………….. bear it.

4. As Ivan was sick, his mother didn’t let him go to the theatre with the rest of the class. That’s why he felt ……… dumps.

5. Family occasions and holidays in general made her ………… heart as she had no relatives and was an orphan.

6. Extracurricular activities were a ………….. bore for Jack because he didn’t like spending extra time at school.

7. The process of studying turned out to be very demanding. And Bob was ………….. himself for having taken up violin classes.

3.4 Replace the underlined part of each sentence with an idiom.

1. By her face Paul understood his present was not to her taste.

2. A piece of bad news upset Rose very much.

3. Ron is depressed because the weather’s changing all the time.

4. I don’t want to invite Boris to my birthday party. He’ll ruin all the fun as he’s always unhappy.

5. Mary didn’t like Michael’s look. He told her he was ill.

6. When Laura was on her way to school, she saw her classmate who was the color of a rain cloud. It crossed her mind that something unfortunate had happened to him.

3.5 Match the beginning of each sentence with its ending.

3.6 Correct the mistakes in these idioms.

1. At breakfast I broke my tooth, at lunch I choked, and in the evening I was late for the meeting. All in all, I had a bad hair do.

2. No wonder Tom was black as cloud yesterday; he crashed his dad’s car.

3. I don’t know why, but, every time I share my troubles with my friend, I feel better – misery likes company.

4. Susan is not in mood to talk because she’s just quarreled with her boyfriend.

5. When Peter is down into the dumps, you’d better not bother him.

6. She’s always out of sots on the eve of her birthday.

3.7 Give appropriate and full answers to the following questions.

1. Can you guess when a person is in low spirits? How?

2. What kind of situation is not the end of this world?

3. Under what circumstances do people lose heart?

4. Are there any people who get the blues because of the weather?

5. Which month of the year can put a damper on skiing and snowboarding?

6. Would a piece of bad advice or a piece of good advice knock you for six?

7. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, doesn’t it? Why?

8. Does playing volleyball or dusting the furniture hold no pleasure for you?

9. Will you make a wry face if you hear a sick joke? Why?

10. It is more pain to do nothing than something, isn’t it? Why/ why not?

3.8 Fill in the gaps with the information about you and your environment.

1. It’s sour grapes when ………… say (s) that something isn’t good, but it really is.

2. ………………………….…………….…… is a real misery guts.

3. ……………. kick (s) ……………. for having …………………………

4. When ……………. am (is/are) out of humor, …………….………..

5. ……………. just grin (s) and bear (s) it if ………………. can’t change anything.

6. It’s a frightful bore to ………………………….… for ………………