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Chapter 1: Risks and dangers

Risks and dangers

A. Read the idioms and their meanings:

  1. Walk a tightrope=act carefully to avoid a dangerous situation.

Free A silhouette of a person balancing on a tightrope against a dramatic, cloudy sky. Stock Photo

CC BY: Marcelo Moreira

2.Close shave=a situation where something bad nearly happened.

Free A young adult wearing a graphic t-shirt walks through an abandoned building with debris. Stock Photo

CC BY: David Gomes

3. Play Russian roulette=take foolish/dangerous risks

Free A detailed closeup of a roulette table displaying numbers and colors in a casino setting. Stock Photo
CC BY: Zak Chapman

 

B. Find the idioms in the paragraph:

Lily always walks a tightrope; she has always been extremely careful to avoid risks. That’s why we were all very surprised when she decided to buy that old house in the countryside, especially because there the mortgage rates were so high and there were frequent layoffs at a lot of companies. We told her she was playing the Russian roulette and that wasn’t what she would normally do. When she said the house was sold to someone else, we were all very relieved. That was a close shave.  

 

C. Let’s watch a cool video about these idioms and more:

 

 

D.Match the idioms with their meanings:

Expression 

Synonym 

1.Walk a tightrope 

a. A close call

2.Close shave 

b. On a knife-edge

3.Play Russian roulette 

c Push your luck

 

 

E. Fill in the blanks with the correct idiom.

 

 

 

F. Use the idioms in a sentence:

1.Walk a tightrope 

2.Close shave 

3.Play Russian roulette 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers: D. 1. B 2. A 3. C

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Idioms in English for High Intermediate Level Copyright © by Lake Washington Institute of Technology is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.