THE FLATMATES

Quiz:
Expressions with 'hand'
BBC Learning English – The Flatmates

The Flatmates – Quiz – Expressions with 'hand'

You can try the quiz online at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode90/quiz.shtml

For each of the six questions choose the one correct answer.

1. Could you ... me a hand with the washing up please? There is too much for one
person to do on their own.
a. do
b. help
c. make
d. give

2. Tim's boss asked him to lie about the watches, but Tim said no because he didn't
want to …
a. be in safe hands.
b. get his hands dirty.
c. keep his hands clean.
d. wash his hands of the watches.

3. It was clear as soon as the game started that the home team were stronger, more
experienced, and played much better. They certainly ... and won comfortably.
a. were in safe hands
b. washed their hands of the game
c. got their hands dirty
d. had the upper hand

4. You really need to find a hobby. It’s not good for you to sit around doing nothing all
the time. Remember, ... !
a. the devil makes work for idle hands
b. many hands make light work
c. you are in safe hands
d. keep your hands clean

5. Would you like me to help you? I can see you ... with all that work.
a. have got your hands full
b. are very heavy-handed
c. have the upper hand
d. are in safe hands

6. The children were playing a fairly rough game. Things ... out of hand, and Johnny
got hurt.
a. went
b. became
c. fell
d. got

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The Flatmates – Quiz – Expressions with 'hand'

Answers
For each of the six questions choose the one correct answer.

1. Could you ... me a hand with the washing up please? There is too much for one
person to do on their own.
a. do – Wrong – Choose a different verb.
b. help – Wrong – Choose a different verb.
c. make – Wrong – Choose a different verb.
d. give – Correct – This expression means 'to help somebody'.

2. Tim's boss asked him to lie about the watches, but Tim said no because he didn't
want to …
a. be in safe hands. – Wrong – This expression means 'to be well looked after'. Choose
an expression which means 'to become involved with something difficult, dangerous
or corrupt'.
b. get his hands dirty. – Correct – This expression means 'to become involved
with something difficult, dangerous or corrupt'.
c. keep his hands clean. – Wrong – This expression means 'to avoid involvement in
illegal or immoral activity'. Choose an expression which means 'to become involved
with something difficult, dangerous or corrupt'.
d. wash his hands of the watches. – Wrong – This expression means 'to refuse to have
further involvement in something'. Choose an expression which means 'to become
involved with something difficult, dangerous or corrupt'.

3. It was clear as soon as the game started that the home team were stronger, more
experienced, and played much better. They certainly ... and won comfortably.
a. were in safe hands – Wrong – This expression means 'to be well looked after'.
Choose an expression which means 'to gain a position of control or advantage'.
b. washed their hands of the game – Wrong – This expression means 'to refuse to
have any more involvement in a situation'. Choose an expression which means 'to
gain a position of control or advantage'.
c. got their hands dirty – Wrong – This expression means 'to become involved with
something difficult, dangerous or corrupt'. Choose an expression which means 'to
gain a position of control or advantage'.
d. had the upper hand – Correct – this expression means 'to gain a position of
control or advantage'.

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4. You really need to find a hobby. It’s not good for you to sit around doing nothing all
the time. Remember, ... !
a. the devil makes work for idle hands – Correct – This expression means 'if
people do not have anything to do with their time, they may get into
trouble'.
b. many hands make light work – Wrong – This expression means 'if a lot of people
help with a task, it will be completed quickly'. Choose an expression which means 'if
people do not have anything to do with their time, they may get into trouble'.
c. you are in safe hands – Wrong – This expression means 'to be well looked after'.
Choose an expression which means 'if people do not have anything to do with their
time, they may get into trouble'.
d. keep your hands clean – Wrong – This expression means 'to avoid involvement in
illegal or immoral activity'. Choose an expression which means 'if people do not
have anything to do with their time, they may get into trouble'.

5. Would you like me to help you? I can see you ... with all that work.
a. have got your hands full – Correct – This expression means 'you have so
much to do that you can not take on any extra tasks or responsibilities'.
b. are very heavy-handed – Wrong – This expression refers to a strict and controlling
way of doing things. Choose an expression which means 'you have so much to do
that you can not take on any extra responsibilities'.
c. have the upper hand – Wrong – This expression means 'to gain a position of control
or advantage'. Choose an expression which means 'you have so much to do that you
can not take on any extra responsibilities'.
d. are in safe hands – Wrong – This expression means 'to be well looked after'. Choose
an expression which means 'you have so much to do that you can not take on any
extra responsibilities'.

6. The children were playing a fairly rough game. Things ... out of hand, and Johnny
got hurt.
a. went – Wrong – Choose a different verb.
b. became – Wrong – Choose a different verb.
c. fell - Wrong – Choose a different verb.
d. got – Correct – This expression means 'to get out of control'.

Would you like to look at the language point that this quiz was based on? Go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode90/languagepoint.shtml

Or you can download the language point from:

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode90/fm_languagepoint_070424.pdf

For a quiz on other body parts, go to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=1220_body_quiz

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