Improve your ability to use the idioms in conversation with a couple of your classmates by acting out one or more of the roleplays below:

1.(2-3 friends)

Both/All of you have different ideas about time. One of you is always late; the second is always very early (the third is always exactly on time). These different ideas always cause trouble when you are having parties or meeting to go out. Tonight is the «last straw». Everybody arrived at the "wrong" time to go to dinner and nobody is happy.

This might be the end of the friendship!

Argue about this situation using the following idioms:

so far	ahead of time	from now on
on time	for good	in time
every now and then	once in a while	day in and day out

2.(a teacher and a student)

There was a big test today. You missed the test because your car broke down on the highway. You must now convince the teacher that you tried to come to the test but couldn’t. You want the teacher to allow you to take the test now. The teacher is not very willing to give you another chance at first.

Discuss this situation using the following idioms:

ahead of time	from now on	in time
so far	for the time being	for good
	once in a while

Exercise 3. Find an appropriate definition of the idioms

1.	who’s who	people’s problems	people’s identities	troublemakers
2.	pull strings	cause trouble	collect for future use	get help from someone important
3.	put an end to	put in jail	make a law against	stop
4.	call the shots	use a gun	give orders	obey
5.	toe to the	line behave correctly	walk straight	wait
6.	go through proper channels	call on the radio	follow established procedures	wait for instructions
7.	red tape	colorful decorations	loss of freedom	complex procedures
8.	take that up with	remove from	give to	discuss with
9.	throw the book at	punish strongly	make you study	be smarter
10.	crack down on	break	become angry	be strict with
11.	get out of line	cause trouble	forget	wait too long

Exercise 4. Mark each sentence T for true or F for false

___ 1. Parents should encourage their children to talk back to their teachers as often as they can.

___ 2. People would vote for a leader who promised to put an end to war.

___ 3. People who enjoy calling the shots would be happy working on assembly lines in factories.

___ 4. Soldiers in the army must be prohibited from toeing the line.

___ 5. Red tape is useful during a New Year celebration.

___ 6. Police in many countries are trying to crack down on drug sales.

___ 7. It’s not a good idea to get out of line when visiting a foreign country.

___ 8. People who are included in a book called Who’s Who are probably very influential people.

___ 9. A person who doesn’t know many people will probably be able to pull string easily.

___ 10. People with influential friends don’t always have to go through proper channels.

___ 11. Artistic people are likely to go by the book when they are creating new works.

___ 12. Parents who often throw the book at their children are not strict enough with their children.

___ 13. We might be happy if government leaders call for lower taxes.

___ 14. Some diseases can be alleviated by thinking happy thoughts, according to some health professionals.

___ 15. When we think there is too much homework, we might take it up with the teacher.

Exercise 5.

You are a well-respected lawyer in your country. People travel long distances just to get your advice. Read the summaries of their problems below and write a sentence giving advice, using the idioms in the list.

pull strings	throw the book at him	go through proper
crack down on them	toe the line	channels
who’s who	red tape	call for
take it up with	call the shots	talk back

1. My son applied to the best university in our country. His grades were very good in high school, and his teachers wrote good recommendation letters for him, but he wasn’t accepted by the school. I asked the director, a good friend of mine, why not. He said there were many qualified applicants, but the school could only accept a limited number. We really want him in that school. What should we do?

________________________________________________________

2. Our police department has a good reputation for maintaining order in the city. Last week, one of our officers chased a car that was driving too fast on a residential street. The driver almost hit a group of children playing near the street. When the officer finally caught the car, he discovered the driver was the mayor’s son, who had drunk a little alcohol. What should we do? ________________________________________________________

3. My aunt and her family want to immigrate to your country very much. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to get official permission for this. It would be very easy for them to enter your country without permission, and they have plenty of money. What do you recommend?

________________________________________________________

4. My apartment is terrible. Sometimes the heat doesn’t work, very often the water doesn’t work, and there are holes in one wall. I’d like the problems to be repaired. Who should I talk to first?

________________________________________________________

5. I hate my college. It’s one of the most prestigious schools in my

country, but it’s much too strict. Last week they threatened to expel me because I argued with a teacher about a grade she gave me. I’ll be graduating at the end of this year, and I know my future will be assured with a degree from this college, but I can’t tolerate this situation until then. I want to have fun. What should I do?

________________________________________________________

6. We just had an election in our neighborhood for the Community Council. According to the «official» results, a certain man won. But I happen to know that the election results were «fixed». The election wasn’t honest. There are a few people who know about this. What should we do?

________________________________________________________

7. Some teenagers in our neighborhood stay out late at night, make a lot of noise, and sometimes threaten people. We’re becoming afraid to go out of our homes at night. We’ve called the police, and they chase the kids away, but the kids always come back later. What should we do?

________________________________________________________

8. My wife and I want to borrow money from the bank to start our own business. Because the loan is insured by the government, there are dozens of forms and applications to fill out. Isn’t there a simpler way? We don’t want to handle all of that paperwork if we can avoid it.