Go Off | Bring Up | Put Out | Look Out For | Hold Up

Please refresh the page to get the latest updates.

Materials Daily News

Advanced

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

go off

Phrasal Verb

goʊ ɔf

(of an alarm) to start making a noise

He didn't hear his alarm go off.

bring up

Phrasal Verb

brɪŋ ʌp

to mention something, to start talking about a certain subject

Why didn't you bring that up at the meeting yesterday?

put out

Phrasal Verb

pʊt aʊt

to make something stop burning (a fire, a cigarette, etc.)

The firefighters put out the fire pretty quickly.

look out for

Phrasal Verb

lʊk aʊt fɔr

make sure that bad things don't happen to someone

James is a good friend; he always looks out for me.

hold up

Phrasal Verb

hoʊld ʌp

to make someone be late, to delay someone

I was late for work because I got held up in a traffic jam.

Exercise 2

Dialogue Practice

Read the dialogue aloud with your tutor.

Alejandro is having a tough time. He is going through a divorce and he has a lot of problems at work. Jessica goes to his office to see how he's doing.
	Jessica You're not supposed to smoke in here! You should put out that cigarette before the fire alarm goes off. Are you crazy? What if someone saw you? You'd be in real trouble!
	Alejandro I know, but I'm just stressed out. With everything I'm going through at home, and all the problems at work... I just don't know how to deal with everything.
	Jessica Well, lighting a cigarette in the office sure won't solve anything. I know you are going through a lot at the moment, but you need to pull yourself together. And I'm sorry to bring this up, but I heard the boss complained about you arriving late recently.
	Alejandro Yeah, I know... The thing is, now that Maria is not around, I have to take the kids to school before I get to work and I got held up in traffic a few times. But it won't happen again, I promise.
	Jessica You don't have to promise me anything, I'm just trying to look out for you. But you need to start taking better care of yourself.
	Alejandro I know and I will. Thank you, Jessica, for being such a good friend.

Exercise 3

Article

Read the passage aloud with your tutor.

Going Through a Hard Time

Mia noticed that her colleague Dan had been acting strangely recently and she knew that something was bothering him. He used to be very diligent and punctual before, but not anymore. Now, he would come to work late almost every day, and he always had an excuse, either his alarm didn't go off, or he was held up in traffic... Mia knew that if he kept acting like that, he would get in trouble. She wanted to talk to him, but she didn't know how to bring up the topic. One day, during her break, Mia was smoking outside, when Dan asked if he could join her. "Now is the time," she thought as she put out her cigarette. "Dan, I think we should talk," she started. She told him everything and Dan admitted that he was going through some difficult times. He thanked her for looking out for him and said that he was feeling much better after talking to her. Mia too felt relieved after their conversation and happy that she was able to help.

Exercise 4

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks with the correct phrasal verbs to complete the dialogue.

Nathan heard that there had been a fire in Hannah's neighborhood. He called her to check if she was okay.
	Nathan Hannah, are you okay? I heard there was a fire in your neighborhood.
	Hannah Yes, I'm fine. It was a few houses away from mine.
	Nathan I'm so relieved! I was with some friends when someone (1) that there was a fire in your part of the city. I started panicking; I tried to call, but couldn't reach you. I wanted to come there and see if you were okay, but I was told that the police were (2) traffic in the area. So, I didn't know what to do.
	Hannah Yes, there was a huge crowd in the neighborhood. Fortunately, no one was injured. Luckily, when the fire alarm (3), the sprinkler system was activated right away. So, when the firefighters arrived, it took them only a few minutes to (4) the fire.
	Nathan That's good to hear. I'm just so glad to hear that you're okay.
	Hannah Thank you, Nathan, for (5) me.