Speak Business English Like an American » Review for Lessons 11-15

Practice The Idioms

Fill in the blank with the missing word:

  1. Walter has an opinion about everything. No matter what the topic is, he has to put in his _____ cents.
    • a) ten
    • b) five
    • c) two
  2. I can't believe that Katrina forgot to order sandwiches for our lunch meeting. She really _____ the ball!
    • a) left
    • b) dropped
    • c) forgot
  3. Sales are down by 30 percent so far this year. Let's think of some ways we can turn _____ the business.
    • a) up
    • b) about
    • c) around
  4. Our copy machine is broken. Before we shell _____ for a new one, let's call the repairman and see if he can fix it.
    • a) out
    • b) up
    • c) about
  5. The pharmaceutical company spent millions of dollars trying to come up with a cure for cancer, before finally deciding to throw _____ the towel.
    • a) out
    • b) up
    • c) in
  6. I won't go over all the details in the contract with you now, but _____ a nutshell, we are offering to pay you $150,000 a year for your services.
    • a) by
    • b) in
    • c) with
  7. Joan's letters to clients often have typos in them. In the future, she should _____ her i's and _____ her t's.
    • a) cross...dot
    • b) dot...cross
    • c) label...watch
  8. We're going to __ _ the envelope and try a brand new type of online advertising this year.
    • a) push
    • b) pull
    • c) address
  9. One of our customers is looking for a humidifier that also works as an air filter. Can you help her track that _____ ?
    • a) down
    • b) up
    • c) out
  10. You need to speak with Brandon about his performance. Lately, it hasn't been _____ to scratch.
    • a) down
    • b) about
    • c) up
  11. Since he made the big sale two years ago, Mike hasn't worked very hard. He's been _____ on his laurels.
    • a) resting
    • b) sleeping
    • c) relying
  12. Before we make a final decision, does anybody else want to weigh _____ on this issue?
    • a) out
    • b) in
    • c) about
  13. Don't try to pass the _____ to your employees. It's time you take some responsibility.
    • a) buck
    • b) dollar
    • c) responsibility
  14. We've got to call 200 customers as part of our market research survey. Who's going to pitch _____ and start making calls?
    • a) out
    • b) up
    • c) in
  15. If we get _____ track, we're not going to be able to finish our meeting on time.
    • a) on
    • b) around
    • c) off
Answer Key
Practice The Idioms
  1. c
  2. b
  3. c
  4. a
  5. c
  6. b
  7. b
  8. a
  9. a
  10. c
  11. a
  12. b
  13. a
  14. c
  15. c
Answer Key
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