Exercises C2 : Metaphors and imagery in English (answers)

These exercises are designed to consolidate your understanding of metaphors and imagery as explored in the course. Push your C2 command of figurative language, conceptual metaphors, and culturally embedded expressions.

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Exercice 1 — Identifying Figurative Language

Choose the answer that best identifies the type of figurative language used in each sentence.

1. She has a heart of stone and never sheds a tear for anyone.
2. Time is a thief that steals our youth before we notice.
3. The economy is on shaky ground, and investors are losing their footing.
4. His argument was so watertight that not a single critic could find a flaw.

Correction

1. B) A metaphor equating her emotional coldness with the hardness of stone
2. C) A conceptual metaphor that frames time as a criminal agent acting against us
3. B) An extended metaphor mapping the instability of terrain onto financial uncertainty
4. C) A structural metaphor framing logical argument as a physical container that must hold without leaking

Exercice 2 — Matching Conceptual Metaphors to Their Cultural Logic

Match each sentence on the left to the conceptual metaphor schema it exemplifies on the right. Write the complete sentence that names the schema alongside your answer.

1. We need to build a solid foundation for this relationship before we go any further.
2. She climbed her way to the top of the corporate ladder through sheer determination.
3. He poured all of his energy into the project and was left completely drained by the end.
4. We are at a crossroads in the negotiation, and the path we choose will define everything.

Correction

1. This sentence exemplifies the conceptual metaphor RELATIONSHIPS ARE CONSTRUCTED STRUCTURES, in which the process of forming bonds is understood through the physical act of building.
2. This sentence exemplifies the conceptual metaphor CAREER PROGRESSION IS VERTICAL ASCENT, in which professional success is understood as upward physical movement along a hierarchical structure.
3. This sentence exemplifies the conceptual metaphor THE MIND IS A CONTAINER FOR ENERGY, in which mental and emotional resources are understood as a finite liquid that can be expended and exhausted.
4. This sentence exemplifies the conceptual metaphor DECISION-MAKING IS CHOOSING A PATH, in which facing a critical choice is understood as standing at a literal junction in a physical journey.

Exercice 3 — Completing Figurative Expressions in Context

Fill in each blank with the most appropriate word or phrase to complete the figurative expression accurately. Write the full corrected sentence in your answer.

1. The new policy was presented as a _____ to the problem of rising inequality, as though a single piece of legislation could heal a deep social wound.
2. His optimism in the face of such overwhelming odds was either a sign of extraordinary resilience or a case of _____ thinking that ignored the brutal reality before him.
3. The government's repeated failures had become the _____ in the room that every journalist was afraid to name openly during the press conference.
4. Rather than addressing the root causes, the committee chose to _____ over the cracks and hope the public would not notice how fragile the system truly was.

Correction

1. The new policy was presented as a panacea to the problem of rising inequality, as though a single piece of legislation could heal a deep social wound.
2. His optimism in the face of such overwhelming odds was either a sign of extraordinary resilience or a case of wishful thinking that ignored the brutal reality before him.
3. The government's repeated failures had become the elephant in the room that every journalist was afraid to name openly during the press conference.
4. Rather than addressing the root causes, the committee chose to paper over the cracks and hope the public would not notice how fragile the system truly was.