Talk about ability and progress

University lecturer Peter Rose gives his honest opinion of some of his students.

• Patrick's a nice guy, but his work isn't up to much, and frankly things have gone from bad to worse as the term has progressed. I think he'd be better off doing a different type of course, and it wouldn't surprise me if he dropped out at the end of the year.

• By comparison, Charlotte is in her element here. She's bright, she can think on her feet, and she's confident in her own ability, She'll go far.

• With Erin, it's early days. At the beginning of term I felt she sat back too much and let others do all the talking. But now she's starting to come up with more of her own ideas.

not be up to much

inform
to be fairly bad

The restaurant is very grand but the food isn’t up to much.
饭店富丽堂皇，但食物不怎么样。

go from bad to worse

(of a bad condition or situation) become even worse

Things went from bad to worse, and in the end she lost her job.

be better off (doing something)

in a more satisfactory situation than you were before
use to suggest that somebody should do something differently

I know you’re unhappy that the relationship ended, but you’re better off without him.

drop out

to leave a school or university before your course has finished

Bill dropped out of college after his first year.

be in your element

doing what you are good at and enjoy
to be in a situation that you enjoy, because you are good at it
适得其所；得心应手；如鱼得水

She's really in her element at parties.
她在聚会上真是如鱼得水。

think on your feet

to think of ideas and make decisions very quickly
be able to think and react to things very quickly

In this job you need to be able to think on your feet.
干这项工作得思路敏捷。

somebody will/would/should etc go far

be successful in the future
used to say that you think someone will be successful in the future

He was the best student in his year, and everyone was sure he would go far.
他是同年级最好的学生，每个人都确信他将大有作为。

it's early days (yet)

used to say that it is too soon to be sure how a situation will develop
为时尚早；言之过早

sit back

to relax and make no effort to get involved in something or influence what happens

Don’t just sit back and wait for new business to come to you.

She's not the kind of person who can sit back and let others do all the work

come up with something

• to think of an idea, answer etc

  Is that the best excuse you can come up with?

• to produce an amount of money
  informal

  How am I supposed to come up with $10,000?