A- News items The Justice Minister said he would abide by the decision (1) of the High Court to free the prisoner.
The new regional governor will take up of ce (2) on 1 March, following his party’s recent election victory.
The Education Commission has been asked by the government to come up with an alternative to the present schools examination system.
The police, acting on a tip-off (3), arrested the thieves as they left the building. Hollywood star Glenda Nixon has led for divorce (4). She and her husband Kevin Lomax have lived apart for the last six months. The police intend to come down heavily on (5) anyone causing trouble at tomorrow’s football final.
1) (formal) accept the decision 2) (formal) start work in an official position 3) a secret warning 4) made an off icial request for a divorce 5) punish very severely
B-Everyday conversation Note how B uses a collocation with a phrasal verb to repeat A’s ideas. A: It was great just sitting in the sunshine and enjoying the feel of the place, wasn’t it? B: Yes, it was nice to just sit there soaking up the atmosphere. A: I think we should both arrange our work schedules so we don’t have to work in May. B: Yes, I’ll try to free up some time so we can go away together. A: I’m finding it hard to find time to practise the French
I learnt at school. B: Yes, I have a similar problem keeping up my Spanish. A: Well, all that gardening has made me hungry. B: Yes, it certainly helps to work up an appetite. A: It’d suit my arrangements if we could meet up at lunchtime. B: Yes, that would fit in perfectly with my plans too. A: The hotel wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. B: No, it didn’t live up to my expectations either.
C-Other phrasal verbs with strong collocations
burst into laughter/tears [suddenly start to laugh/cry]
When she saw the damage the floods had done to her house, she burst into tears.
dip into savings/funds [spend part of some money which was being saved]
The club had to dip into their emergency funds to pay for the repairs to the roof.
jot down an address / a phone number / a room number [write down quickly]
Can I jot down your email address?
see off an intruder/opponent [get rid of, defeat]
He’s a tough guy. He saw off several intruders who were trying to break into his house.
adhere to principles / beliefs / ideals / a philosophy [formal: continue to maintain a belief]
It’s diff icult to adhere to one’s beliefs when one is being constantly attacked.
Tip It is often difficult to remember the meanings of phrasal verbs. When a phrasal verb has a set of collocations as in the examples in C, write them down together. This is a good way of remembering their meaning.
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