Having a wonderful time

Match the items with the idioms from Ex. 1.

athe highest position in one's profession	fgroup of rich and fashionable people who are interested in enjoyment
b from being very poor to being very rich	g likely to become successful
c sth that is difficult to stop once it has begun and which usually ends badly	hperson with no job or home
dclose and trusted assistant	ito live under unpleasant conditions
eto make the important decisions	jextremely poor

3. Fill in the gaps with phrases from the list:

poor as a church mouse, jet set, calling the shots, right hand man, up-and-coming

1 I couldn't manage at work without Baxter - he's my

2 Now that the director has retired, Fred Martin will be taking over and…………………

3 Sven can't even afford to buy a bus ticket — he's as

4 No wonder Carlos is regarded as the best

................. artist - his paintings are fantastic!

5 Now that his business is successful, Errol has joined

the.....................................; he's bought

houses in France and Tahiti.

4 Fill in the gaps with phrases from thelist:

the slippery slope, from rags to riches, down-and-out, lives rough, the top of the ladder

John came from a poor family in South London, but thanks to his shrewd business sense he went 1)……………. and became a very successful stockbroker. Unfortunately, while he was at 2)…………… he started drinking heavily and thus began his descent down 3)……………….towards homelessness and poverty.

Today John A)....................... in the door­ways and alley-ways of central London. Little did he know, at the peak of his career, that he would end up a 5)………………………….., even poorer than he had been

before.

You are going to read a report of an interview with a film star. Eight sentences have been removed from the interview. Choose from the sentences (A-l) the one which fits each gap (15-21). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Judy Sloane meets Hollywood star Douglas Fairbanks Junior, son of the famous actor in silent movies. FairbanksJunior has made an extremely successful career of his own.

Being brought up in a show business family, did you want to be an actor?

Well, it wasn't a show business family 0 I I couldn't help but be aware of it to a certain extent, because people would come around but the talk was very seldom shop-talk.

During your long and successful career you've certainly made the name Fairbanks your own, but when you were starting out was it a nuisance to you to be named after your father?

I think it probably was. It was a mixture in a way. It was useful in having the door open to get

interviews, and to be allowed in to talk to the boss.___15_________

Were you and your father close?

Not at first. We were just shy of each other. I think we were always fond of each other._____16_____ It wasn't until I was in my late twenties that we got to know each other very well.

Was your father a big influence in your life?

Not really, except I certainly took notice of his wonderful good nature with people.____17_____It was a natural friendliness, and I admired that and I probably wanted to give that same impression when I was young.

Out of all your father's films, do you have a favourite one?

I think my very favourite one is 'Thief Of Baghdad'. It was one of the finest films e ver made by anybody.____18____ He was the guide and more or less the creator.

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