Preview（腕試し）

Mike: I've lost my passport and I'm scheduled to leave for a big conference in Sweden the day after tomorrow. I bought a discount ticket, so I can't reschedule my flight or get a refund, and if I miss the conference, my boss is going to be very angry.

Carl: I'm really sorry to hear that. Is there any chance of getting a new passport within the next two days?

Mike: No chance at all. I guess I'm really up the creek.

It seems that Mike:

A. is going swimming

B. has a big problem

C. is near the river

D. is quite happy

Quick Glossary （用語辞典）

creek = 小川

a refund = 払い戻し

wallet = 財布

Explanation （説明）

This idiom means "to be in trouble" or "to be in a very difficult situation." The short form of the the idiom is (be) up the creek and the long version is (be) up the creek without a paddle.

Examples（例文)

Sally knew she was up the creek when her teacher caught her using a cheat sheet in class.

Tom accidentally scheduled a meeting with a very important client at the same time he is scheduled to be giving a presentation at a seminar. He can't miss the presentation, and the client will be very angry if he tries to reschedule the meeting, so it looks like he's really up the creek.

Exercises （練習）Type the short form of the idiom--including the "be" verb-- in the box.

1. Tom had an important meeting at 10:00 a.m. yesterday, but he left his house late and missed his bus. He decided to take a taxi, but then he discovered that he had forgotten his wallet. He knew that he !

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2. Mike is not going to be able to go to the conference in Sweden the day after tomorrow because he has lost his passport, so his boss is going to be very, very angry. He knows that he .

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