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Back-to-School Idioms


The back-to-school season is here! I bet all students and teachers are excited about going back to their major stomping ground. Hopefully…..

This week, we are going to cover some school-related expressions in English.  


    1.  to call the roll/ to take the roll: to call the students’ name on a roll to check if they are present in class

    2.  honor roll: a list of students who have earned grades above a specific average during a semester or school year

    3.  to get/ have a leg up (on the competition): to be in a position of advantage over another person or in a situation/ to headstart on ….

    4.  to keep one’s ear (close) to the ground: to be well-informed about what will be happening

    5.  to cover a lot of ground: to go over/ present a lot of information

    6.  an eager beaver: a person who is excessively diligent or overly zealous

    7.  to dilly-dally: to goof off or waste time doing nothing

    8.  to crank out (a paper): to produce something quickly/ to write an essay/ paper in a quick, mechanical way

    9.   to draw a blank: to fail in an attempt; be unsuccessful; to fail to comprehend or be unable to recollect something completely; to get no response when you ask a question

   10.               to make the grade: to attain a specific or satisfactory goal; to succeed




Let’s practice using the above expressions in sentences!


    1.   Lolita has been ________________________ throughout this semester. She had to ____________________ the term paper right before the due date.

    2.   Brian is such an ______________________ who always has a __________________ in school works and exams. No wonder he will make __
__________________ to be in that medical school next year.

    3.   Jared is always tardy and sneaks into the classroom after his teacher finished calling the __________________. Pigs will fly when he is on the ________________ roll.

    4.   You need to keep your ear close to __________________________ in Mrs. Thomson’s class. She talks very fast and covers a lot of __________________ in each class.

    5.    Kathy drew a __________________ when she was asked to solve the easiest question by her Math teacher. She has recently been getting unusually forgetful and confused, which worries her parents.



Answer Keys
    
    1.  dilly-dallying, crank out
    2.  eager-beaver, leg-up, the grade
    3.  roll, honor
    4.  ground, ground
    5.  blank

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