ASPECTOS DEL LENGUAJE ORAL

If you tighten your belt you make an effort to spend less money.

Exercise 1

Match idioms A-F with situations 1-3.

1 having a lot of money □ □ 2 having no money □ □ 3 very expensive □ □

A With the rising prices of food and petrol, we all have to tighten our belts these days. B He's got a good job and has inherited money from his family, so he's rolling in it. C It'll cost an arm and a leg to travel there by train.

D I've just been paid, and already I'm in the red.

E I'm sure Matthew will lend you the money - he seems to have very deep pockets. F That trip must have cost them a small fortune.

Exercise 2

Choose the best answer to complete the sentences.

1 I don't earn much so it's not always easy to make____________ meet. a pockets b ends c your belt

2 That meal we had in the hotel restaurant was superb, but it cost________________ a an arm and a leg b deep pockets c the pinch

3 You should do your best not to let your account go into th e_________, or you might get fined by your bank. a red b ends c black

4 They have just received a pay rise. The company they work for has________________ a an arm and a leg b to make ends meet c deep pockets

5 We'll be travelling_______________ as the exchange rate is very bad for us just now. a on a shoestring b out of pocket c in the red

6 Have you seen the size of their house? They must b e _______________ in it. a making b rolling c draining

Exercise 3

Match sentence halves 1-6 with A-F to make complete sentences.

1 I've lost all the money 1 invested in that company. A it's a struggle to make ends meet. 2 They've both lost their jobs so B now that the economy is in recession.

3 We had hardly any money but we managed to C why don't you approach them for sponsorship? travel around

4 You should have expected the hidden charges. D It was just money down the drain.

5 Some of the insurance companies have deep E There's no such thing as a free lunch after all! pockets -

6 We're all feeling the pinch F on a shoestring.

Exercise 4

Read the statements and answer the questions.

1 She had to learn to tighten her belt when she became a student. Did she have more or less money before she was a student?

2 They're feeling the pinch more now because they've moved to the city. Do they find it cheaper or more expensive to live in the city?

3 Laura said 'I'll give you the money for my theatre ticket tomorrow David. I don't want you to be out of pocket.' Who paid for the tickets at the theatre?

4 They'll give us sandwiches and coffee at the meeting but we know there's no such thing as a free lunch. Do they have to buy their sandwiches and coffee?

5 Stefan's piano lessons are just money down the plughole! Is Stefan doing well at learning to play the piano?

6 We are really careful about how much electricity we use in order to make ends meet. Do they find it difficult to pay for their electricity?

Exercise 5

Re-order the phrases to make sentences. Add punctuation where necessary.

1 he should not / he was paid / in advance so / be out of pocket

2 so from now on / he has just lost his job / he will have trouble / making ends meet 3 a swimming pool / be rolling in money / in the garden must / a family who have 4 a small fortune / to take the whole group / it will cost / on a foreign tour 5 it seems to me that / to get around is / money down the drain / paying for taxis 6 has deep pockets and / the organization / to pay well / can afford

7 for tickets / to pay an arm and a leg / to the cup final / we had

8 and even / out of the red / the company / make a profit / hopes to climb

Exercise 6

Choose the most appropriate thing to say A-F in each situation 1-6.

1 We're wasting a lot of money on this project. A We've got deep pockets.

2 We can't expect to get something for nothing. B We're pouring money down the drain. 3 We all have to try and spend less money for a while. C We're still in the red.

4 We can afford to buy it - we've got lots of money. D We need to do it on a shoestring budget. 5 We haven't paid back the money the bank lent us yet. E We need to tighten our belts.

6 We'll have to try and complete the project as F There's no such thing as a free lunch, cheaply as possible.

Exercise 7

Correct the idioms in these sentences.

1 Worsening economic problems mean that ordinary voters are beginning to feel the pinching. 2 The senator says he will continue his on a shoestring campaign in every part of the state. 3 The company was already in the red side, owing more than three million pounds.

4 Freda didn't know much about antiques but she was sure the table was worth a deep fortune. 5 They seem to think they can charge a leg and a foot for their services because we all need them. 6 Business organizations across the land are making up their belts and trying to cut costs. 7 If we don't have results soon, we'll be accused of throwing money into the plughole. 8 You seem to think that all doctors are lying in money!

Your turn!

Have you had to think about money recently? Use the idioms in this unit to describe your experiences. For example:

I've been feeling the pinch since I was a student. It costs an arm and a leg to pay for a Master's degree.