APPENDIX C: Idioms LONGMAN COMPLETE COURSE FOR THE TOEFL

LONGMAN COMPLETE COURSE FOR THE TOEFL

APPENDIX C:

Idioms

Directions: Each of the following sentences contains an idiom in italics. Read the sentence and try to understand the idioms. Then, find the meaning of the idiom in the list that follows, and write the letter of the answer on the line.

EXERCISE C1

___________	1	He’s holding down two jobs and attending school. He’s really burning the candle at both ends.
___________	2	She’s buying a lot of new furniture before she even has a job. She’s putting the cart before the horse.
___________	3	Every time he opens his mouth, he immediately regrets what he said. He’s always putting his foot in his mouth.
___________	4	He’s not telling me exactly what happened. He’s beating around the bush.
___________	5	She wanted to get that man’s phone number, but she wasn’t sure of his last name or where he lived. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
___________	6	He’s always too fast and out of control on his motorcycle. He’s playing with fire.
___________	7	She keeps asking if I was the one who was spreading rumors about her, but I wasn’t. She’s barking up the wrong tree.
___________	8	He took the best portions for himself and didn’t leave enough for the others. He’s just looking out for number one.
___________	9	She’s been working on that assignment for over two months, and I don’t think she’s ever going to finish it. She’s taking forever and a day.
___________	10	She has to go to the bank, and while she’s out she’ll stop and visit her friend. She’s killing two birds with one stone.
___________	11	He was admitted to Harvard, and he would have gone there but he forgot to send in the appropriate form in time. He has really missed the boat.
___________	12	I know that you thought that this part of the program was difficult, but wait until you see the next part. You’re jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

DEFINITIONS-Exercise C1
A.	making a mistake	G.	missed an opportunity
B.	accomplishing two things at once	H.	saying embarrassing things
C.	doing something dangerous	I.	speaking indirectly
D.	doing things in the wrong order	J.	doing something difficult
E.	going from bad to worse	K.	taking a really long time
F.	doing too much	L.	thinking only about himself

EXERCISE C2

___________	1	His only two choices are to give up his free time or to pay a lot of money, and he doesn’t like either choice. He’s between a rock and a hard place.
___________	2	She got 100 percent on the exam and the other students were below 70 percent. She’s head and shoulders above the rest.
___________	3	Every day he fixes meals, cleans the apartment, and goes to the market. It’s all in a day’s work.
___________	4	She’s a well-known lawyer, a good skier, a great cook, and a painter. She’s a jack-of-all-trades.
___________	5	Every time he puts the toys away, the children just take them out gain. Keeping the house clean when the children are there is like trying to swim upstream.
___________	6	Anytime I need help I go to her because I know she’ll help me any way she can. She’s one in a million.
___________	7	He thought he was going to have to come into the office and work on both Saturday and Sunday, but now he doesn’t have to. He’s off the hook.
___________	8	She and her classmates all have to read five chapters, write a paper, and prepare for an exam this week. They’re all in the same boat.
___________	9	He and his brother have the same hair, the same eyes, the same smile, and the same expressions. They’re like two peas in a pad.
___________	10	When I saw him with an older man, I just knew that the man had to be his father. He’s a chip off the old block.
___________	11	She’s had so much to do to get ready for the trip that she’s been running around all day. Now she’s on her last legs.
___________	12	I can’t think of the answer, but I will come to me in just a minute. It’s on the tip of my tongue.

DEFINITIONS-Exercise C2
A.	very tired	G.	in the same situation
B.	the best	H.	nothing out of the ordinary
C.	exactly alike	I.	accomplished at many things
D.	really wonderful	J.	an idea that is not in words
E.	really difficult or frustrating	K.	not responsible any longer
F.	just like his father	L.	without any good options

EXERCISE C3

___________	1	Do you think you could help me out with the math homework? Two heads are better than one.
___________	2	What was it like when the announcement of the disaster came over the radio? You could have heard a pin drop.
___________	3	We could either go out to dinner tonight or stay home and cook. Six of one, half dozen of the other.
___________	4	I know you like the food at this restaurant, but I just don’t care for it. To each his own.
___________	5	I got to the bank just one minute after closing time. Just my luck.
___________	6	My boss has asked me to respond immediately to his fax. No sooner said than done.
___________	7	Don’t worry about what the boss just said to you. His bark is worse than his bite.
___________	8	It seems impossible for me to go to graduate school because I just can’t afford it. But I’m going to try. Where there’s a will there’s a way!
___________	9	Everything seems to be going the way that it should. So far, so good!
___________	10	Just think that because you locked your keys in the car, you got to meet that nice, handsome, young locksmith. Every cloud has a silver lining!
___________	11	I’ve got to accept the fact that it’s going to take more than seven years of school if I want to become a doctor. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
___________	12	She loves my wardrobe, but I wish I had her clothes. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

DEFINITIONS-Exercise C3
A.	It was really quiet.	G.	Bad things are accompanied by good.
B.	It’s good to work together.	H.	You always want what you don’t have.
C.	It’s been going well up to now.	I.	Everyone has a different opinion.
D.	I’m not so fortunate.	J.	His words are worse than his actions.
E.	It doesn’t matter.	K.	If you want something, you can do it.
F.	It will be done immediately.	L.	Everything takes time.

EXERCISE C4

___________	1	He finally got a job; he couldn’t continue to sit around doing nothing. He had to turn over a new leaf.
___________	2	When he told his mother that he didn’t need to study for the exam because he knew he would get a good grade, his mother responded, “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.”
___________	3	When I asked my friend to do some of my work for me, she replied that I would have to stand on my own two feet.
___________	4	You’ve been offered this job, and the offer may not remain on the table for too long, so you’d better take this one while you have the chance. You need to strike while the iron is still hot.
___________	5	When you guessed that I would get the promotion, you hit the nail right on the head.
___________	6	Before you accept the position, you should find out everything you can about the company. You should look before you leap.
___________	7	She was appointed to the environmental protection committee, and she’s really excited because this something she’s been interested in for some time. This is something she can sink her teeth into.
___________	8	If you want to be the one who gets noticed at work, you need to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s on every task that you do.
___________	9	You need to learn to relax. Every time there’s a lot of work to do, you just run around like a chicken with its head cut off.
___________	10	I really prepared for that exam. It should be a piece of cake.
___________	11	She thinks she should confess what she did, but no one really seems interested in knowing. Instead, she decides to let sleeping dogs lie.
___________	12	He never has to work for anything because his parents will give him anything he asks for. He seems to have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

DEFINITIONS-Exercise C4
A.	start over again	G.	were exactly right
B.	be extremely easy	H.	depend on something you don’t have
C.	do it myself	I.	be spoiled
D.	pay attention to every detail	J.	get really involved in
E.	think before you act	K.	take advantage of a good opportunity
F.	leave something alone	L.	act overly nervous and excited

ANSWER KEY

EXERCISE C1
1	F	7	A
2	D	8	L
3	H	9	K
4	I	10	B
5	J	11	G
6	C	12	E

EXERCISE C2
1	L	7	K
2	B	8	G
3	H	9	C
4	I	10	F
5	E	11	A
6	D	12	J

EXERCISE C3
1	B	7	J
2	A	8	K
3	E	9	C
4	I	10	G
5	D	11	L
6	F	12	H

EXERCISE C4
1	A	7	J
2	H	8	D
3	C	9	L
4	K	10	B
5	G	11	F
6	E	12	I