IDIOMS & PHRASES – PRACTICE SET-5 – SOLVED

1. The reproduction of Mona Lisa portrait by the 8-year old child matches the original to a hair.
A) Not at all  B) Vaguely
C) To some extent   D) Exactly

2. To tell you in a nutshell, lust for power and money has almost spoiled him.
A) As objectively as possible B) In a simple and brief manner
C) An actual experience described vividly          D) To take in confidence

3. He did the mischief and I had to carry the can.
A) Get into trouble B) Accept the blame
C) Face the repercussions D) Share the responsibility

4. It is high time that India did something about the population problem.
A) Auspicious moment      B) Desired occasion
C) Appropriate time            D) Already late

5. At the eleventh hour, Sachin arrived and saved him from the crises.
A) One hour before twelve B) Right at the end
C) At the last minute          D) When in trouble

6. He is the only civil servant I know who hates red tape.
A) Accepting bribes B) Formal procedures
C) Corruption D) Dishonesty

7. For the first week, the apprentice felt like a fish out of water.
A) Disappointed B) Frustrated
C) Uncomfortable    D) Homeless

8. Sachin should do his own work instead of always being a backseat driver.
A) Teasing others`  B) Offering advice without responsibility
C) Interfering in others affairs     D) Being critical of the work being done by others

9. Do you know why I avoid this man? He has a bee in bonnet.
A) Is crazy B) Is ambitious
C) Is over confident D) Is frustrated

10. Seema is a little hard of hearing.
A) Inaudible B) Disinterested
C) Deaf D) Insensitive

ANSWER KEY

Solution with explanation

4. Option ‘D’ (Already late). IT IS TIME can be used in the following two ways:

i) To mean that ‘correct time has arrived to do something (means one should start doing that). For this meaning either we use TO-INFINITIVE after it or ‘FOR + OBJECT + TO-INFINITIVE after it; e.g.

a) It’s time to leave.
b) It’s time for us to leave.

ii) To mean ‘that it’s a little late; and therefore the person mentioned would have started doing what’s required’. For this meaning we use a clause after it, and the verb of the clause is in the Past Simple Tense; e.g.

It is time we left.

[Here the past ‘LEFT’ is correct. It means we are a little late to leave; we should have left by now.]

NOTE: Sometimes the word ‘HIGH’ or ‘ABOUT’ is added to emphasize the idea. If we want to emphasise, the above sentence can be expressed like this also:

It’s high time we left. OR It’s about time we left.

For more Practice Sets on Idioms & Phrases buy the following book authored by me.

LINK FOR BUYING THE BOOK