Peer Pressure
Ellen and Josh are in different classes at school. Joshua has already done the biology test and Ellen is doing the same test next week. She begs Joshua to tell her the answers, but he doesn’t agree with cheating…
Ellen: Josh, please can you let me see your biology test? I’m doing the same one next week and I don’t have time to revise!
Josh: No, Ellen… I spent a lot of time revising… what if Mr Burns finds out that I gave you the answers? I would get in a lot of trouble…
Ellen: He’ll never find out…It’s just this once! Please Josh!
Josh: But he made us promise that we wouldn’t give any information about the test to your class…if he suspects cheating, everyone will have to do another test. I don’t want to risk it!
Ellen: I’ll make sure that some of my answers are wrong. Please, I just want to pass the exam… I would help you…
Josh: No Ellen, I’m sorry. I just can’t do it.
Ellen: Please! I’ll pay for us to go to the cinema and for dinner this weekend… we could go and see the new Fast and Furious film?
Josh: OK…I’ll think about it…I’m not saying I’ll do it!
PHRASAL VERBS
Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example sentence | Categories |
|---|---|---|---|
To run up against | To experience something difficult and unexpected. | The politicians ran up against strong opposition from the people. | Problem |
To wrestle with | To try very hard to deal with a problem or a difficult situation. | I wrestled with the decision for a few months before deciding to quit. | Problem |
To think through | To carefully consider the possible results of doing something. | I need some time think this through before making a decision. | Problem |
To knuckle down | To start working or studying harder. | He’s going to have to knuckle down if he wants to pass the course. | Problem |
To talk over | To discuss a problem or situation with someone. | We talked over the issues in the meeting before making a decision. | Problem |