1. Read the story and choose one idiom for the title. Retell the story using as many of the idioms as possible.

    EVERY year, there is a beauty contest in Venezuela. The most beautiful woman is the winner. She is "Miss Venezuela."
    Now there is another beauty contest in Venezuela. It is for men only. The most handsome man is the winner. He is "Mr. Venezuela."
    Johnny Alvarez, age 23, wants to be Mr. Venezuela, so he is working hard. He is lifting weights, and he is running. He is eating a special diet, too. He is eating only fruit, vegetables, and chicken. He is not eating bread, ice cream, or candy. He wants to look good for the contest.
    Why does Johnny want to be Mr. Venezuela? He is a model. "If I am Mr. Venezuela," he says, "I will get a lot of modeling work."
    Some men don't like the Mr. Venezuela contest. "Beauty contests are for women," they say. "They are not for men."
    But women like the Mr. Venezuela contest. "We like to look at the men," the women say. "The men in Venezuela are the most handsome men in the world."
    1.   child of fortune (баловень судьбы)
    2.   Indian summer (бабье лето)
    3.   twiddle one's thumbs (беспочвенные мечтания)
    4.   hell is paved with good intentions (благими намерениями вымощена дорога в ад)
    5.   all your geese are swans (каждый кулик свое болото хвалит)
    6.   lay siege to smb (брать штурмом)

  2. Retell the story using the words below. Find the odd-man-out. Then answer the questions.

    1. What are beauty contests for: business, commerce, entertainment, social requirement, or deviation?
    2. Why do men and women have different opinions of male beauty parades?
    3. Why are women more tolerant towards masculine and male beauty than men?
    4. What makes men intolerant of male beauty contests?
    5. Why has male beauty become a social requirement nowadays?
    1.   beauty comp
    2.   beauty parade
    3.   beauty queen
    4.   to sweat one's guts out
    5.   to twiddle
    6.   going to the Gym
    7.   have been doing weight training
    8.   to restrict to a diet of
    9.   the staple of a diet
    10.   to look one's best
    11.   to detest
    12.   to adore
    13.   charming