3. What other superhuman abilities would you like to have?

COLOUR IDIOMS

Do you remember any expressions or idioms related to colours?

1 Match the idioms with their definitions.

RED TAPE GREEN WITH ENVY BLACK AND WHITE IN THE DARK
BLACK SHEEP OUT OF THE BLUE ONCE IN A BLUE MOON
SEE RED WHITE LIE TRUE COLOURS ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET
BORN WITH A SILVER SPOON IN ONE’S MOUTH

1 __________________________ = be born into a rich family.

2 __________________________ = the odd or bad member of a group.
3 __________________________ = straightforward, very clear.
4 __________________________ = very jealous.
5 __________________________ = unaware of something.
6 __________________________ = very rarely.
7 __________________________ = official or bureaucratic tasks.
8 __________________________ = treat someone like royalty.
9 __________________________ = one’s real self.
10 _________________________ = an innocent lie to protect someone’s feelings.
11 _________________________ = be very angry.
12 _________________________ = unexpectedly.

2 Complete the sentences using one of the idioms from exercise 1.

1 Joan is so conceited and self-centred. She expects us to _____________________ for her

whenever she comes round to visit.
2. After their first argument, Lucy could really see Conor’s _____________________.
3 Being the _____________________ of her family allowed her to step out of her comfort
zone.
4 Ben should learn that not everything in life is _____________________ all the time.
5 She could have finished her work earlier, but it was impossible to cut through all the
_____________________.
6 When Lucas showed us his new car, you could see it in his face that Owen was
_____________________.

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7 One of the things I hate the most at work is when people keep me
_____________________. How can I do my job when I don’t know what I’m supposed to
do?
8 She told us she wasn’t coming to the party. Then, much to our surprise, she showed up
_____________________.
9 He was _____________________________. He got everything he wanted as a child.
10 She decided to tell her friend a _____________________. After all, she didn’t want to
hurt her feelings.

3 Discuss questions in small groups.

Would you say that Ireland has a lot of red tape?

What do you do once in a blue moon?
Is a white lie still a lie?
Do you know someone who’s always green with envy?
Are you the black sheep in your family?
What makes you see red?

CULTURE

1 In pairs, complete the diagrams with words you associate with each colour. Discuss
whether there are any cultural differences in your answers.

RED BLUE

GREEN BLACK

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COLOUR QUIZ – STUDENT A
1 What is the first primary colour a baby can distinguish after a few weeks?
A BLUE
B RED
C GREEN

2 Which of the following terms is used for a persistent and irrational fear of colours?
A CHROMOPHOBIA
B HEMOPHOBIA
C ASTRAPHOBIA

3 Which effect happens to chickens when they see the colour red?
A THEY BECOME ANNOYED
B THEY CALM DOWN
C NOTHING

4 What is the most used colour in national flags?

A BLUE
B WHITE
C RED

5 What percentage of the world’s population has blue eyes?

A AROUND 8%
B AROUND 15%
C AROUND 16%

6 How many points do you get for a green ball in snooker/ pool?
A1
B3
C5

7 What is the second-largest river in China?

A YELLOW RIVER
B BLUE RIVER
C GREEN RIVER

8 On a Scrabble board, which colour is a double-word square?

A PURPLE
B PINK
C ORANGE

9 Which colour do we get when mixing red and yellow?

A BROWN
B PURPLE
C ORANGE

10 What does a green jersey mean in the bicycle race Tour de France?
A THE OVERALL LEADER OF THE RACE
B THE BEST SPRINTER
C THE BEST YOUNG RIDER

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COLOUR QUIZ – STUDENT B
1 The Olympic flag features 5 interlaced rings in blue, black, red, and which two other
colours?
A WHITE AND YELLOW
B YELLOW AND GREEN
C GREEN AND PURPLE

2 A typical feature of London is the small post box in which colour?

A GREEN
B BLUE
C RED

3 The flag of Germany features three horizontal stripes. What is the colour of the centre
stripe?
A RED
B YELLOW
C BLACK

4 Which colour is thought to be less likely to cause accidents?

A BLACK
B WHITE
C GREY

5 The surface of Mars has a rusty reddish colour because it’s covered in which element?
A COPPER OXIDE
B IRON OXIDE
C ALIMINUM OXIDE

6 What colour is a zebra’s stripes during the first six months of life?
A BLACK
B BROWN
C GREY

7 How many colours are there on the Microsoft Corporation logo?

A2
B4
C6

8 In spite of their names, what is the actual colour of airplane black boxes?
A WHITE
B ORANGE
C YELLOW

9 Which singer named her daughter Blue Ivy Carter in 2012?

A SHAKIRA
B ADELE
C BEYONCÉ

10 Which of the following is not a typical meaning of blue?

A PEACE
B WAR
C FREEDOM

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