III. Vocabulary exercises. Body language. From head to toe

English has many colloquial expressions to do with the body — from head to toe! Here are some of the most common ones.

To keep your head is to remain calm, but to lose is to panic and do something foolish. If something is above or over your head it is too difficult for you to understand.

An egghead is an intellectual, and someone who has their head screwed on is very sensible.

If you split hairs you are very pedantic, but if you don't turn a hair you are very calm. To be scatterbrained is to be veiy forgetful, but to have a brain-wave is to have a very clever idea. If you have something on the brain, you can't forget it, and if you pick someone's brains, you talk a problem over with them to see if they have any good ideas.

To pay through the nose is to pay a very high price for something, but if you turn up your nose at something you despise it. If you 're all ears, you listen veiy attentively, and if you keep your ear to the ground you listen and watch out for signs of future events. To see eye to eye with someone is to agree with them, and if you don't bat an eye, yon show no surprise or excitement.

If you are down in the mouth, you are rather depressed. A stiff upper lip is the traditionally British quality of not showing any emotion in times of trouble. To have your tongue in your cheek is to say one thing and mean something else. To have a sweet tooth is to have a taste for sweet food, and to do something by the skin of your teeth is to just manage to do it.

To stick your neck out is to do something risky or dangerous, and to keep someone at arm's length is to avoid getting too friendly with them. To be high-handed is to behave in a superior fashion, but to lend someone a hand is to help them. If you have a finger in every pie, you are involved in a lot of different projects, and if you have a green thumb you are very good at gardening. To be all fingers and thumbs is to be veiy clumsy, and to be under someone's thumb is to be under their influence.

If you have a heart to heart with someone, you have an intimate talk, and if you learn something by heart, you learn it completely. To be half-hearted is to be not very enthusiastic about something, but to be whole-hearted is to be totally committed.

To be thick-skinned is to be insensitive to criticism, but to be thin-skinned is to be oversensitive. If your blood boils, you are furious about something, and if it freezes in your veins, you are terrified. If something puts or gets your back up, it makes you annoyed, but if you put your back into something, you put a lot of effort into it.

If you pull someone's leg, you tease them, and if you haven't a leg to stand on, you have no reason or justification for what you do. To put your foot down is to insist on something and to land on your feet is to be very fortunate. To find your feet is to become used to a new situation, but to get cold feet is to become frightened or nervous about something. If you put your foot in it, you say or do something to upset or annoy someone else, and if you tread on someone's toes you do the same without meaning to.

Ex. 3. Find in the text equivalents to the following words and phrases.

Paragraphs 1 and 2: вдаваться в частности, заниматься ловлей блох; вне (выше) чьего-либо понимания; вскружить кому-либо голову; глазом не моргнуть, ничуть не смутиться; иметь голову на плечах; интеллектуал (отвлеченно мыслящий); испугаться так, что волосы стали дыбом; легкомысленный, ветреный; присваивать чужие идеи; растеряться; сохранять спокойствие; страстно увлекаться чем-либо; счастливая мысль, осенившая идея.

Paragraphs 3 and 4: быть подавленным; быть сладкоежкой (сластеной); говорить неискренне, говорить с насмешкой, иронически; держать ухо востро (прислушиваться к общественному мнению); и глазом не моргнуть, и ухом не повести; относиться к чему-либо презрительно; платить бешеную цену; сохранять присутствие духа, проявлять выдержку; сходиться во взглядах с кем-то; умудриться что-то сделать, еле-еле сделать что-то (с большим трудом).

Paragraphs 5 and 6: быть неловким; быть у кого-то под башмаком, всецело под влиянием у кого-то; быть хорошим садовником; властный, высокомерный; говорить по душам с кем-либо; держаться на расстоянии; идти на что-то нехотя, относиться с нежеланием; искренне, от всей души; учить наизусть, помогать, подставлять свою голову; участвовать во всем, вмешиваться во все.

Paragraphs 7 and 8: быть в бешенстве; вкладывать душу во что-либо; влипнуть, сесть в лужу; задеть чьи-либо чувства, наступить на больную мозоль кому-либо; кровь стынет в жилах (от этого); морочить, одурачивать кого-либо; настаивать на чем-либо; не иметь оправдания; нечувствительный (к критике, оскорблениям и т.п.), толстокожий; привыкнуть к новой ситуации; разозлиться, ощетиниться; раскусить человека; струсить, смалодушничать; счастливо отделаться, удачно выйти из трудного положения; чрезмерно чувствительный.

Ex. 4. Match expressions having the same meaning.

	keep one's head	a	put one's back up
	keep a stiff upper lip	b	think about something all the time
	have one's hair stand on end	с	not to turn a hair
	blood boils	d	not to bat an eye
	be down in the mouth	e	be in bad mood
	have something on the brain	f	move away because of fear
	get cold feet	g	make blood freeze in one's veins
	put one's feet in it	h	do or say the wrong thing
	Match expressions with opposite meanings.
	get cold feet	a	have one's tongue in one's cheek
	be half-hearted	b	look at smth as if it is not good enough
	speak whole-heartedly	c	high handed
	have a heart-to-heart	d	lend someone a hand
	lose one's head	e	pull someone's leg
	under someone's thumb	f	fall on one's feet

Ex. 5. Give Russian equivalents to the following:

1) brave; 2) simple-minded; 3) unreasonable; 4) industrious; 5) unreliable; 6) frank; 7) trustwothy; 8) unfair; 9) broad-minded; 10) persistent; 11) obedient; 12) trait; 13) quick-tempered; 14) selfish; 15) greedy.

Ex. 6. Match the following words and expressions from column A with those in column B.

	А		В
1.	cheerful	a.	славный малый
	a good sport	b.	относиться к кому-л. с недоброжелательностью
	hypocrite	c.	быть способным на что-то
	to bear smb ill-will	d.	болтушка
	witty	e.	противоречивый характер
	chatter-box	f.	тактичный
	split-personality	g-	трус
	coward	h	веселый
	tactful	i.	остроумный
	to be capable of (doing) smth.	j	лицемер
	generous	k	неуклюжий
	awkward		щедрый

Ex. 7. Give the English equivalents to the following:

1) чувство юмора; 2) сдержанный, даже скрытный человек; 3) скромная простодушная девушка; 4) мудрый старец; 5) лентяй; 6) зануда; 7) романтическая натура; 8) материально обеспеченный мужчина; 9) неуравновешенный честолюбивый юноша; 10) медлительный туповатый человек.

Ex. 8. Give the opposite to:

1) sincere; 2) a person who is really what he wants to pass for.3) a person who doesn't see a joke; 4) stingy; 5) villain; 6) boastful; 7) sly; 8) honest; 9) polite; 10) dull; 11) firm;

Ex. 9. Fill in a suitable word or phrase from the list below:

generous; temper; smart; selfish, rude; gentle; cruel; to be on friendly terms with; frank; shy; stingy; energetic; greedy; sharp; honest; kind; independent; well-behaved; cheerful; workaholic; lazy-bones.

1.Don't you think she is of a... nature? 2. She is a lovely... girl with a bright spirit. 3. He easily loses his.... 4. She is not the kind of woman... 5. My type is a... guy. 6. In addition to being selfish, he is.... 7. He has good traits as well — let's say — he is goal oriented,.... 8. I hate this guy, he is so... 9. I like... women. 10. She wanted to praise his kids; they were so.... 11. He is married to his work, he is just a.... 12. Would you prefer to have a... as a husband?

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