英语词汇学第八单元课后练习

Questions and Tasks

1.  What is an idiom?

2.  What are the major characteristics of idioms? Give examples to illustrate your points.

3.  How are idioms generally classified? What is the advantage of classifying idioms according to their grammatical functions?

4.  What are phrasal verbs? What are the similarity and difference between a verb phrase and a phrasal verb?

5.   Idioms are generally felt to be informal. To what extent is this true?

6.  Match the idioms on the left with the definitions on the right.

    a. hold one s tongue                                      1) have no will power or courage

b.  behind closed doors                                 2) be silent, not to speak

c.  a slap in the face                                  3) insult

d.  a bitter pill to swallow                             4) place all one's money on one risk

e.  have no backbone                                    5)  discourage

f.  rule of thumb                                           6)  something unpleasant that must be endured

g.  throw cold water on                                7)  cause trouble to

h. put all one's eggs in one basket               8)  based on experience or practice, not on theory or principle

i. play havoc with                                        9)  privately

j. as good as one's word                               10)  carrying on one's promise

 

7. Complete the sentences by choosing idioms from the list and using them in their proper forms.

   profit by/from   look into       come up with    stand out against

   put down to     cash in on      go without

   approve of      get over with   comply with

a. The union leaders___the abolition of piece work system.

b. My father did not_____my marriage to Mary.

c.   If we must visit your parents today, let's go early and________it________.

d.  Police are________the disappearance of a quantity of uncut gems.

e.  Scientists will have to________new methods of increasing the world's food supply

f.  When you become a member of a club you generally agree to________the rules.

g.  The shrewd man________ people' s financial difficulties and lent money at a exorbitant rate.

h. There was no time to lose, and they had to________asking for leave.

I.  I hope________your unfortunate experience and not make the same mistake again

j.  His parents________ his failure in examination _______his recent laziness.

 

8.  The following piece of discourse was written in highly figurative and idiomatic language. Read the passage, pick out the idioms and explain their meaning. Then rewrite the passage in standard straightforward idiom-free language, keeping the original meaning.

 

    Sam is a real cool cat. He never blows his stack and hardly ever flies off the handle. What's more, he knows how to get away with things. . . Well, of course, he is getting on, too. His hair is pepper and salt, but he knows how to make up for lost time by taking it easy. He gets up early, works out, and turns in early. He takes care of the hot dog stand like a breeze until he gets time off. Sam's got it made; this is it for him.

 

9.  Pick out the idioms used in the following sentences and restore their original forms.

a.  'Well, it's the old story of the stitch in time, '  he said.

b.  Fleur's head was lost in the tool-box, but her voice was heard saying: 'Too many cooks, better let me. '

c.  But not many other people held that view discerning his finger still very large in every pie — so much so that there    often seemed less pie than finger.

d.  I'm thinking of putting up a 'Silence is golden' placard in his office. Nobody can hear themselves think.

e.  They four had one likeness: their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

f.  He quotes them extensively nevertheless,   together with other equally suspect evidence,  because otherwise he would have no straw with which to make his bricks.

10.  Complete each of the idioms with only one word.

wind and__________

wheeling and__________

__________and strays

town and__________

top and__________

time ___________ time

rules and__________

__________and fall

__________and tatters

puff and__________

__________and shovel

peace and__________

over and______

__________and only

off and _________

neck _______neck

shoulder_ shoulder

moan and __________

milk________water

________ and beast

 

11.  Translate the following proverbs into Chinese.

a.  Curiosity killed the cat.

b.  A bird may be known by its song.

c.  As a man sows, so he shall reap.

d.  Beauty is but skin deep.

e.  Bitter pills may have wholesome effects.

f.  Caution is the parent of safety.

g.  The child is the father of the man.

h.  Discontent is the first step in progress.

i.  Do as they do at Rome.

j.  A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit.

k.  The fire is the test of gold; adversity of strong man.