top of page

Making Personal Decisions

Sam feels bad about a personal decision he made the previous day; He decided not to

intervene when he saw a boy being bullied in the park. He is talking to his friend, Ben, about

his decision…


Sam: Hi Ben. You don’t seem like yourself today - is something wrong?


Ben: To be honest, I feel awful about something that happened yesterday…


Sam: Go on, tell me what happened…


Ben: Well, I was walking past the park on my way to the post office and I saw a gang of

older boys pushing a younger boy around. He seemed really upset…


Sam: Did you do something?


Ben: That's the problem… I feel like such a coward. I did nothing. I was caught between a

rock and hard place – if I had helped him, they might have started a fight with both of us and

by the time I went to the shop to get help, they were gone. I can’t stop thinking about what

might have happened to him…


Sam: How many of them were they?


Ben: There were about 10 of them. I thought I had no chance, but I should have done

something…


Sam: Did you call the police?


Ben: Of course, I did! They came too, but the bullies were gone.


Sam: That's too bad...Was the boy hurt?


Ben: I don’t think so, but they had stolen his wallet and phone. If I had helped him, maybe

they wouldn’t have stolen anything…


Sam: It’s hard to know what to do in a situation like that, but I think you did the right thing

by calling the police. Now, it’s their job to find the bullies.


Ben: Hopefully soon, before they strike again…

Cups of Coffee
Making Personal Decisions

PHRASAL VERBS

Phrasal verb
Meaning
Example sentence
Categories
To run through something

To practice or repeat something from beginning to end.

Let’s run through the song one more time before we perform.

Home and School Life
To fall behind (with

To fail to do something on time or fast enough.

1.  He missed most of classes and fell behind with his schoolwork.

2.  He didn’t come to class for weeks so he fell behind.

Home and School Life
To drop out (of)

To quit before you have finished something.

1.  He dropped out of school 2 months before he was due to complete his exams.

2.  He dropped out.

Home and School Life
To sail through

To succeed easily in doing something.

He sailed through the test and achieved the highest mark.

Home and School Life
To keep up with

To continue being informed about something.

I like to watch the news to keep up with current affairs.

Home and School Life
bottom of page