esl-lab easy section

Question 1

crack the books

Answer 1

start studying
“The reason why he isn’t doing very well is that he rarely cracks the books.”

Question 2

cut class

Answer 2

miss school
“Although some of my daughter’s friends cut class a lot, she is at school every day.”

Question 3

run in the family

Answer 3

physical or personality traits that are similar
“All their kids are very athletic; it seems to run in the family.”

Question 4

a balancing act

Answer 4

a difficult situation where you try to do several different things at the same time
“Working and studying at the same time is a real balancing act.”

Question 5

high-and-mighty

Answer 5

self-important and proud
“Sarah always acts high-and-mighty, and she thinks she is better than everyone else because she is a well-known movie star.”

Question 6

vacancy(vacancies)

Answer 6

an unoccupied position or job
empty space

Question 7

read someone like a book

Answer 7

understand someone very well
“My teacher can read students like a book. He knows which students study, and which students don’t.“

Question 8

go by the book

Answer 8

follow rules exactly
“If you always go by the book in your work, your company will trust you more.“

Question 9

no spring chicken

Answer 9

no longer young
“I don’t think he’ll be able to hike to the summit because he’s no spring chicken.“

Question 10

play it safe

Answer 10

be careful and not take chances
“My knee still hurts, so I’m going to play it safe and not go jogging today.“

Question 11

make the best of it

Answer 11

do what you can under the circumstances
“We’ve had to make the best of it ever since dad died last year.”

Question 12

strapped for cash

Answer 12

short of money
“I’m a little strapped for cash, so I can’t eat out very often.”

Question 13

come into money

Answer 13

get money suddenly
“Steve came into money when his father passed away last year.“

Question 14

nose around

Answer 14

look for something private or hidden
“The kids sometimes nose around the house for Christmas gifts.”

Question 15

umpteen (also, umpteenth)

Answer 15

a great number of
“I have umpteen presents to buy before Christmas Eve.“

Question 16

walkie-talkies

Answer 16

small portable radio receiver-transmitters used for communicating with others
“We always take walkie-talkies when we go hiking in case of emergencies.”

Question 17

crack a book

Answer 17

to open books to study (usually a negative meaning)
“Brandon hardly ever cracked a book in high school, but he still was able to graduate.”

Question 18

cut class

Answer 18

to skip school
“Why do you always cut class? You won’t pass the class if you do.“

Question 19

fit in (verb)

Answer 19

feel a part of or belong to a group
“Why didn’t Amanda fit in during high school?”

Question 20

loner (noun)

Answer 20

a person who is often alone or likes to be alone
“I was a loner back in high school, and I didn’t have any friends.”

Question 21

turn someone down (noun)

Answer 21

reject or refuse someone
“James asked many girls out on dates, but they all turned him down.”

Question 22

on the spur of the moment

Answer 22

without planning or preparation
“I decided to go to the party on the spur of the moment, so I threw on some clothes and left.”

Question 23

be decked out

Answer 23

be dressed in formal clothes for nice occasions
“She was decked out in a beautiful dress, and everyone was surprised.”

Question 24

pass with flying colors

Answer 24

pass a class or test with high marks
“Many students passed the test with flying colors.”

Question 25

drop out of school

Answer 25

stop attending school; quit school
“My sister dropped out of school because she didn’t have money to pay for tuition.”

Question 26

up in the air (expression)

Answer 26

undecided
“Our travel plans are up in the air right now until weather improves.”