1 The medicine will become weaker the day after you take it.

___WEAR OFF____________

2 Jo and Greg always make a joke of the suggestion that they will get married. ____LAUGHOFF_

3 He wants to delay going to the dentist until his toothache gets worse. _____PUT OFF__________

4 I had to remove Helen from my invitation list after we had an argument. _______CROSS OFF________

5 Many elderly people feel isolated from the rest of society. _______CUT OFF________

6 Shall we depart for the airport at eight o’clock tomorrow morning? ______SET OFF_________

7 The team reject the possibility that they will lose the match. _______SHRUG OFF________

8 We must fight the proposal to cut our salaries. _____FEND OFF__________

2 Match the phrases (1–8) to the definitions (A–H).

1 live a charmed life H A a significant event

2 shelf life E B the chance to live better

3 the prime of life F C something very serious

4 every walk of life G D give energy to something

5 a milestone in life A E the amount of time something can be used

6 breathe life into D F the best stage in life

7 a new lease of life B G people from all occupations

8 a matter of life and death C H be lucky in life

3 Circle the correct words to complete the sentences.

1 Footballers above the age of 40 are often considered to be dependent / over the hill.

2 Fred didn’t get the job because he was too inexperienced / dynamic.

3 She accused her boyfriend of being infantile / vulnerable and not being serious enough.

4 My parents are very supportive / set in their ways and find it hard to change.

5 At the age of sixty, he felt long in the tooth / dependent and wanted to stop working.

6 Despite her young age, Melanie is juvenile / mature and reliable.

7 The doctor seemed very wise / self-reliant, so I agreed to her suggestion.

4 Complete the text with one of the words below.

youthful over the hill supportive dependent elderly vulnerable experienced wise

Attitudes to older people differ across cultures. Many societies value the 1______ELDERLY___________ because they are
2______EXPERIENCED___________. Moreover, they are regarded as 3____WISE_____________ and a source of knowledge for
younger generations. In many European countries however, older people are treated badly. They are not given jobs because they are
seen as 4______OVER THE HILL___________, and if their family does not look after them, older people can be
5_______DEPENDENT__________ on the state for care. They may want to be independent, but without the
6______SUPPORTIVE___________ family networks that exist in other cultures, this is difficult. Although older people can be
7_______VULNERABLE__________ and at risk, many are active and still feel 8_________YOUTHFULL________. No matter what our
age, we should all be treated with respect.

5 Complete the text with one of the words below.

1 My brother and I have a very close relationship. That said, we do argue ____FROM TIME TO TIME_____________.

2 Her mother knows everything about technology, but when it comes to fashion, she’s really _______BEHIND THE
TIMES__________!

1
 3 Geoff turned the stove off _____IN THE NICK OF TIME____________. He’s an awful cook, but he hasn’t burned the house down
yet!
4 We don’t feel that we have any privacy. My husband’s parents are here ____ALL THE TIME_____________.

5 I’m so fed up of having to do so many things _______AT THE SAME TIME__________.

Grammar
6 Complete the text with the verbs in brackets to make second or third conditional sentences. 1 If I
_______WAS/WERE___________ (be) fitter, I’d be able to run for longer.
2 Children could play in the street if cars ______WERE____________ (be) banned.

3 If it _______HAD SNOWED / HAD BEEN SNOWING ___________ (snow), we could have gone sledging.

4 If you ______WERE ABLE TO____________ (be able to) climb that mountain, you could take amazing photos.

5 They won’t buy the house unless the owners _______LOWER___________ (lower) the price.

6 If Daisy ______HAD SUBMITTED____________ (submit) her work on time, she might have completed the course.

7 I’d get the vegetarian pizza if I ________WAS/WERE__________ (be) you.

8 If we _____HADNT SPENT_____________ (not spend) all our money on food, we could’ve bought some drinks.

7 Rewrite the sentences with mixed conditionals to describe how things might have been different.
1 Luana isn’t confident, so she didn’t get the job.

IF LUANA ___WAS / WERE CONFIDENT, SHE WOULD HAVE GOT THE

JOB.__________________________________________________________________.

2 He stayed in the sun for hours and he has sunburn now.

IF HE _HADN’T STAYED IN THE SUN FOR HOURS, HE WOULDN’T HAVE

SUNBURN_______________________________________________________________________.

3 I’m not fit so I wasn’t chosen for the rugby team.

IF I __WAS / WERE FIT, I WOULD HAVE BEEN CHOSEN FOR THE RUGBY
TEAM._______________________________________________________________________.

4 We missed the train and now we’re late.

IF WE __HADN’T MISSED THE TRAIN, WE WOULDN’T BE

LATE______________________________________________________________________.

8 Circle the correct words to complete the sentences.

1 Suppose I phone / had phoned him. It’ll be quicker than sending an email.

2 We went skiing, but I’d sooner we went / had gone to the beach.

3 We go to Spain every year, but this year I’d rather we had gone / went somewhere different.

4 Supposing we met / had met each other ten years ago. We might be married now!

5 It was as though she has played / had played tennis her whole life.

6 We watched a documentary, but I’d sooner watched / have watched a comedy.

7 Imagine you didn’t eat / haven’t eaten fast food every day. You’d be much healthier.

8 It’s as if the government never listened / didn’t listen to people.

Challenge!
6 Complete the text with the correct words (a–d).

Graduating from university … at ninety-seven!

The thought of going back to university as a mature student might put off most people.
But 1________ pensioner Allan Steward, from Port Stephens in Australia, isn’t most people. In fact, he tends to 2________ his
achievements, simply putting it down to good genes. In 2006, after gaining a law degree aged ninety-one, Guinness World Records
awarded him a record for the oldest graduate, giving him a new lease of life. At ninety-seven, he seems to be 3________ the prime of his
life, having just completed his fourth degree.

2
Allan is far from dependent on others or over the 4________ . He fishes, swims in the sea, grows his own vegetables and is a carer for a
friend. It’s as if he 5________ a man fifty years younger!

If he didn’t get bored easily, he might never 6________ back into education. ‘I have so much time on my hands these days and I like to
keep mentally active,’ he says. Allan plans to 7________ the studies now – but he said that after his last degree! I guess it’s a question of
how long he can fend off the boredom this time.

Allan is living proof that you are never too long in the tooth for anything. Supposing you 8________ the chance to go back to school in your
nineties, would you?

1 a juvenile b adolescent c dynamic d infantile

2 a shrug off b warn off c make off d wear off

3 a on b in c about d for

4 a mountain b wall c fields d hill

5 a has been b were c is being d had been

6 a had gone b have gone c went d go

7 a ease off b brush off c fight off d set off

8 a are having b would have c have d had