1. What are you talking about? I’m not a gossip. (I’m no gossip.)
2. I know that it’s in a mess but how could I help it? I’ve
slipped and fallen right into the mud. 3. You couldn’t be more
wrong. He made a big contribution. (He contributed a lot to
our success.) 4. Yes, I know I should have worked with more
spirit, but honest to goodness I just couldn’t: I was feeling dogtired.
5. I’m out of spirits. 6. I guess that’s because I was in very
low spirits. My girlfriend had just dumped me. (I know I made
a mess of my answer but it was because my next door neighbour’s
horrid music had kept me awake all night.) 7. Oh, dear
God! It looks a mess! You must demand compensation. 8. We’d
better add some water to it and stir it all up. 9- Don’t you know
her? She’s the kind of woman to wind any man round her little
finger. 10. It’s rotten. It tastes bitter. 11. Oh no, not he. He only
just scraped through them. 12. The one whose shirt is in a
mess. See that large gravy stain? And lipstick all over the collar?
13. Oh yes, he was though he just scraped through the
entrance exams. 14. That’s metal scraping on glass. Disgusting,
isn’t it?