1. Peter blames his problems on his parents
It looks like he is barking up the wrong tree.
2. Helen has exhausted herself by attempting to do too much
She has been burning the candle at both ends recently.
3. I know you probably can’t help me but I thought I’d ask just in case there’s a possibility.
I know I can only rely on the off chance.
4.Arthur boasts of entering a golf tournament even though he has never played before.
He will make a fool of himself. He doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell.
5.Nick suffers from knee injury – as many tennis players do.
That’s par for the course, I must admit.
6. We may as well stop trying to achieve victory on this issue – we are just wasting time
The colonel compared it with flogging a dead horse.
7.Who needs to work harder at school?
Ann’s report said she must pull her socks up.
8.The teacher wondered who hadn’t delivered the work on time.
It was George who decided it wasn’t worth breaking his back to meet the deadline.
9.The coach is persuading his team to make an enormous effort to win the game
We’re playing well, but we need to go all out this time.
10.A teacher is telling a student not to spend too long on a question that doesn’t demand more than a few sentences as an answer.
Make the essential points but don’t make a meal out of it
11.Edward is congratulating a friend who has just got a promotion and a new flat, in the same week.
You’ve really landed on your feet this time
12.Jill is complaining about her flat-mate, who is lazy and does no housework
She doesn’t lift a finger.
13.Sara’s boss is explaining to her that she shouldn’t try to get a job done by leaving out certain parts of the task.
It’s no good trying to cut corners.
14.Jim is complaining about how hard it has been to keep his business going.
I’ve been working my socks off for the past two years.
