ESL: Proverbs

At the bottom of the page you will find ten well-known proverbs. Write the best proverb in the blank at the end of each paragraph.

1. Ann was taking a tour of the city. Her guide showed her a large office building and said, "90% of the tenants are lawyers." Ann said, "Why are there so many lawyers in one building?" Her guide said, "You know. ________________________________."

2. After the first day of class, the new student said to the old student, "I don’t like the professor. He seems so loud and angry about everything. I’m afraid I will fail the course. The old student smiled, patted the new student on the shoulder and said, "Don’t worry. ________________________________."

3. Man: "I was surprised her family let her move back into their house after her stretch in prison."
Woman: "________________________________."

4. Mary was laid off from her job. A month later, the bank re-possessed her car. How could she look for a job without a car? Remembering that her sister had an old, second car that she rarely used, Mary called and asked about the car. Her sister said, "You don’t want that old thing. It will barely run." Mary said, "I’m broke and I’ve got to have a car. ________________________________."

5. Sue had a dream in which she saw a lottery ticket with the winning number. Next morning she rushed to the store and bought a ticket with that number. Then she went home and called her best friend and invited her to lunch at the most expensive restaurant in town. Her friend said, "Sue, you can’t afford that place." Sue said, "Oh yes I can," and explained about her dream. Her friend laughed and said, "Oh, Sue, that was just a dream. ________________________________."

6. A homeless person stopped Jack on the street and said, "I need money so I’ve got to sell my wife’s ring. It’s a half-caret diamond. I’ll sell it to you for $75." Jack examined the ring. The stone looked good. He paid the $75 and got the ring. Next day, he took the ring to a jewelry store and asked for an appraisal. The jeweler glanced at the stone through his loupe and said, "How much did you pay for this piece of glass?" Jack sighed and said, "Oh I should have known. ________________________________."

7. The mugger pulled a gun on Allen on a dark street one night. "Give me all your money," the mugger said. Allen gave him all he had. The mugger counted it and said, "This is only $27." I need a lot more." Allen said, "Too bad. ________________________________."

8. The stock market had been rising for weeks. Tom’s stock had increased 300% in value. He was ready to sell and take his profit. He told his brother-in-law of his plans. His brother-in-law said, "I know this psychic who can see the future. She takes investments. She guarantees in writing to quadruple your money within six months." Tom was tempted but finally said, "No, I don’t think I’ll do that. After all, ________________________________."

9. Two neighbors had had a feud lasting 40 years, often about petty problems: one neighbor put up a fence that the other neighbor said was on his property; one neighbor built a new room on his house and the other neighbor got angry because he said the new room blocked the morning sun, and so on. Finally, on his 80th birthday, one neighbor decided the feud had lasted too long. He called the other neighbor and said, "I want us to be friends before we both die. ________________________________."

10. Woman 1: "I can’t understand why there have been so many wars in the history of the world."
Woman 2: "That’s easy to explain. _________________________."

SCORING:
9-10 correct = Excellent.
7-8 = Good.
5-6 = Fair.

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