Keep One’s Head Above Water | Fish in Troubled Waters | In the Same Vein

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

keep (one’s) head above water

Phrase

ki:p wʌnz hɛd əˈbʌv ˈwɔtər

to manage to survive or endure, especially when faced with financial difficulties

After getting fired, he barely managed to keep his head above water.

This has been a tough year for all of us, but we are still managing to keep our heads above water.

fish in troubled waters

Phrase

fɪʃ ɪn ˈtrʌbəld ˈwɔtərz

to try to benefit from a difficult situation

Ross will be fishing in troubled waters if he decides to invest in that company.

I fished in troubled waters when the company was about to go under.

in the same vein

Phrase

ɪn ðə seɪm veɪn

in the same manner, style, or type

The beginning of the movie was rather slow, and it continued in the same vein.

She raised her voice angrily, and he replied in the same vein.

bag of bones

Phrase

bæg əv boʊnz

a person who is extremely skinny or malnourished

Roy is a bag of bones. He weighs only 50 kilos.

I can't believe how much weight she's lost! She's a bag of bones!

Exercise 2

Dialogue Practice

Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.

Jonathan Abbott	What’s happening, Smith? You have lost so much weight, you're a bag of bones.
Mark Smith	I’ve actually been sick for a couple of weeks. I can barely eat anything these days.
Jonathan Abbott	Oh, that’s too bad. Have you seen a doctor yet?
Mark Smith	Yes, the doctor told me that it's a stomach flu and that I should get better soon.
Jonathan Abbott	That's good, I guess. Just try to get some rest.
Mark Smith	Thanks! Anyway, how is your project going?
Jonathan Abbott	Well, we are fishing in troubled waters by starting the project at all. And we are investing a lot in it, so I hope we'll manage to keep our heads above water. But, I'm trying to stay positive and believe it will turn out just fine.
Mark Smith	I'm sure it will. I heard from James that you got off to a good start.
Jonathan Abbott	Indeed, I just hope we can continue in the same vein.

Exercise 3

Article

Read the passage aloud with your teacher.

Mr. Abbott was worried when he saw Mr. Smith because he looked like a bag of bones. The doctor told Mr. Smith that he had caught a stomach flu. Since then, Mr. Smith had been unable to eat properly. Mr. Abbott told him that he should get some rest. Mr. Abbot was also not at his best, because he was fishing in troubled waters with his new project. However, the project got off to a good start, so he hoped to continue in the same vein and keep his head above water.

Exercise 4

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks with the correct idioms to complete the dialogue.

Jessica and Nina are talking about volunteer activities.
Jessica	Are you going to join the volunteer team to help the typhoon victims?
Nina	Yes, definitely. Those people really need our help right now. They are struggling to (1).
Jessica	Yes. We should bring some food as well. People are starving, they are turning into (2).
Nina	It's awful. I thought the situation would have improved by now, but it started as a disaster and it has continued (3). I think that the government should do more to help.
Jessica	I agree. Some politicians are using the situation to improve their public image by pretending to help, but they are actually doing nothing. They are (4).
Nina	Yes, it's sad, but true.