1. State which of the italisized units are phraseological units and which are free word combinations. Give proof of your answer.

1) Simon presents his story in a typically heroic manner, so I have to read between the lines. 2) The prisoners read the hidden messages made in milk ink between the lines of the books. 3) She was acutely aware that she had burnt her bridges. 4) When the French sieged the castle, its people burnt their bridges. 5) The new factory will give the local economy a real shot in the arm. 6) You might say that I really needed this shot in the arm. 7) We knew that it wouldn’t just go away if we swept it under the carpet. 8) He swept all the dirt under the carpet. 9) The CEO took the dealership to the cleaners at the meeting. 10) The mother took the fur coat to the cleaner’s. 11) He was never more than a B-movie actor, playing second fiddle to actors like Errol Flynn. 12) He used to play the second fiddle in the local symphony orchestra. 13) Man cloning for transplant purposes is on our doorstep. 14) He stood on the doorstep, straightening his tie.

2. Translate the phraseological units, giving their literal and figurative meaning.

1) Always ready to knock on wood, throw salt over my shoulder, bite my tongue, cross my fingers. 2) That’s a horse of a different color. 3) The difference is that you were left holding the baby. 4) I am dining with Duke Humphrey tonight. 5) That kind of behaviour can give us all a black eye. 6) He did not hang his fiddle up when he came home. 7) Out in the pasture, the princess let her hair down. 7) He was busy with window dressing. 8) The deal was cut in a smoke-filled room. 9) You’d better step aside then – you’re standing in my light. 10) You shouldn’t have stirred up that hornet’s nest. 11) She measured her length.

3* Complete the following similies, using words from the opposite column. Analyze their structural invariability. State cases when various changes (such as componental extension, substitutions, or grammatical ones) are possible. Translate them into Russian.

as dead as as cold as as bold as as pale as as ugly as as true as as sure as as neat as as plain as as mad as

a March hare ice a post eggs is eggs brass a ghost sin day a pin I stand here

as light as as different as as large as as hard as as quick as as flat as as fresh as as good as as cool as as dry as

nails life a feather a pancake chalk and cheese a cucumber a bone a daisy a flash gold

4.* Make up five phraseological paradigms united by thematic features: 1) people’s qualities; 2) people in the classroom; 3) feelings or mood; 4) praise; 5) using language.

a heart of gold, to be head and shoulders above smb, to talk down to smb, teacher’s pet, to talk behind smb’s back, a cold fish, top of the class, to be streets ahead of, small talk, to  talk shop, an awkward customer, a real know-all, to give a talking to smb, a pain in the neck, to put it in an nutshell, to knock spots off, quick off the mark, a big-head, to be on cloud nine, a lazy bones, out of this world, to jave a good head for figures, to be a dab-hand at smth, to talk rubbish, to be long-winded, a slowcoach, to have a head like a sieve, to be in high spirits, to keep one’s chin up, first-rate, a fast worker, top-notch, to talk sense, an odd-ball, to look down in the dumps, to get to the point, to be in a black mood, to be really on the ball, to speak one’s mind, round the bend, like a bear with a sore head, to wrap up the discussion, middle-of-the-road, to be over the moon, to feel as pleased as Punch, to have the gift of the gab, over the top, to feel browned off, to talk at cross purposes, to get a word in edgeways; don’t ‘lets’.