Quiz: Optimism and pessimism - BBC

THE FLATMATES

Quiz:
Optimism and pessimism

BBC Learning English – The Flatmates

The Flatmates – Quiz – Optimism and pessimism
You can try the quiz online at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/2009/03/090331_fm_quiz_190.shtml

For each of the six questions choose the correct answer.

1. I know you don't want to retire, grandpa but ... it'll mean you'll have loads more
time so you can finally write that book you've always been saying you want to write.

a. see on the right side
b. look on the bright side
c. look on the right side
d. see on the bright side

2. As long as there's football on the TV, he's ...
a. as very happy as Larry
b. as happy as a Larry sand boy
c. as happy as Larry
d. as bright-eyed as a bushy tail

3. As soon as we said we wanted to have a party, she immediately told us all the
reasons it was a bad idea. She said the music would be too loud and the neighbours
might complain. She …

a. has such a wet blanket
b. is such a wet iceberg
c. is such a wet blanket
d. has such a tip of the blanket

4. Why ... this morning? Come on, tell us your news. What are you so cheerful about?
a. are you so bright eyed and bushy-tailed
b. are you such a wet blanket
c. are you back at square one
d. is this only the tip of the iceberg

5. There's no point inventing problems. You're right we might not get the money but
why don't we concentrate on the design first and we'll ... when we come to it?

a. cross that silver financial lining
b. look on the bright side of financial bridge
c. see the tip of the financial iceberg
d. cross that financial bridge

6. My parents are so different from each other. My mum likes to ... but my dad is very
pessimistic. He's the kind of person who always sees the glass as ...

a. look half-empty / half-full
b. look on the bright side / half-empty
c. look on the shiny side / half-vacant
d. look on half of the bright side / one half unfilled

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The Flatmates – Quiz – Optimism and pessimism

Answers

For each of the six questions choose the correct answer.

1. I know you don't want to retire grandpa, but ... it'll mean you'll have loads more
time so you can finally write that book you've always been saying you want to write.

a. see on the right side – Wrong – You need a different verb and adjective here.
b. look on the bright side – Correct – This means he should try to see the

positive things about retiring.
c. look on the right side – Wrong – You need a different adjective here.
d. see on the bright side – Wrong – You need a different verb here.

2. As long as there's football on the TV, he's ...
a. as very happy as Larry – Wrong – There is an extra word here.
b. as happy as a Larry sand boy – Wrong – There are three extra words here.
c. as happy as Larry – Correct – This expression means he's very happy.
d. as bright-eyed as a bushy tail – Wrong – You don't need 'as … as' with the

expression 'bright eyed and bushy tailed'. The correct answer which uses 'as … as'
means he's very happy.

3. As soon as we said we wanted to have a party, she immediately told us all the
reasons it was a bad idea. She said the music would be too loud and the neighbours
might complain. She …

a. has such a wet blanket – Wrong – This is almost correct. You just need a different
verb.

b. is such a wet iceberg – Wrong – This is almost correct. You just need a different
noun.

c. is such a wet blanket – Correct – This means she often says or does
something that stops other people enjoying themselves.

d. is such a tip of the blanket – Wrong – You've mixed up two expressions here – one
that uses 'blanket' and one that uses 'iceberg'. You need the one with 'blanket'
which means she often says or does something that stops other people enjoying
themselves.

4. Why ... this morning? Come on, tell us your news. What are you so cheerful about?
a. are you so bright eyed and bushy-tailed – Correct – This means positive and

optimistic.
b. are you such a wet blanket – Wrong – A wet blanket is someone who is negative and

pessimistic. The correct expression means the opposite of that.
c. are you back at square one – Wrong – If you're back at square one you have to

think of a new way of doing something because the first way you did it wasn't
successful. The correct expression here means positive and optimistic.
d. is this only the tip of the iceberg – Wrong – We use this expression to talk about
negative things. You need a positive expression here that describes someone who is
positive and optimistic.

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5. There's no point inventing problems. You're right we might not get the money but
why don't we concentrate on the design first and we'll ... when we come to it?

a. cross that silver financial lining – Wrong – You need to use either the expression
'cross that bridge' or 'every cloud has a sliver lining' but only one of them is correct.

b. look on the bright side of financial bridge – Wrong – You need to use either the
expression 'look on the bright side' or 'cross that bridge' but only one of them is
correct.

c. see the tip of the financial iceberg – Wrong – This expression means you can see a
small part of a problem but the whole problem is much bigger than that. Here, you
need an expression that means you shouldn't worry about possible future problems
until they actually happen (because they might not even happen).

d. cross that financial bridge – Correct – This means you shouldn't worry about
possible future problems until they actually happen (because they might not
even happen).

6. My parents are so different from each other. My mum likes to ... but my dad is very
pessimistic. He's the kind of person who always sees the glass as ...

a. look half-empty / half-full – Wrong – Both these answers are incorrect.
b. look on the bright side / half-empty – Correct – Both these answers are

right.
c. look on the shiny side / half-vacant – Wrong – In the first answer you need a

different but similar word to 'shiny' and in the second one you need a similar but
different word to 'vacant'.
d. look on half of the bright side / one half unfilled – Wrong – In the first answer you
have two extra words and in the second you need a different expression that means
something similar to 'one half unfilled'.

Would you like to look at the language point that this quiz was based on? Go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/2009/03/090331_fm_190_lp.shtml

Or you can download the language point from:

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode190/fm_languagepoint_090331.pdf

More quizzes on this topic:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=1542_adjectives

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