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PHRASAL VERBS

[INFORMAL]

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3A. Life & health: better & worse____Success and failure____[Latinate]

Rewrite the text, using PHRASAL VERBS to replace the underlined words:

Frederick was a bright child. He found school easy from the very first day. While most of the other children progressed normally, Frederick fared brilliantly. He was not a healthy child, but that did not detract from his academic performance. He disliked public examinations, but never failed to reach the mark in any subject.

When Frederick graduated from Cambridge University with a first class honours degree, everybody predicted that he would really succeed rapidly in his career. Fred decided to go into business and at first this seemed to be the right choice. He clinched many important deals and even his plan to reorganize the company was successfully attempted with the result that he was promoted to Managing Director.

Unfortunately, the stress of his new position became too much for him. His expansion plans failed to materialize and he became more worried. He was determined never to surrender, but in the end he had to yield to ill health.

One day, he fainted on the way home from work. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in great pain in a hospital bed. The pain gradually disappeared, but he was confined to bed for many weeks. On his return to work, he found that business had deteriorated. Poor Fred suffered a heart attack and never recovered. A few weeks later, he died.


Succeed rapidly

take off

Fail to reach the mark

fall short

Succeed in, clinch, achieve

pull off

Fail to materialize, collapse

fall through

Accomplish successfully

bring off

Fail, prove unsatisfactory

fall down

Attempt successfully

carry off

Surrender

give up

Turn out to be successful

come off

Surrender, yield

give in

Find easy

take to

Detract from

take from

Progress

get along

Deteriorate (food)

go off

Progress, fare, prosper

get on

Deteriorate (profits)

fall off

Regain consciousness

come round

Faint

pass out

Regain consciousness

come to

Die

pass on

Recover from illness

pull round

Die

pass away

Recover from illness

pull through

Confine to one's bed (ill)

lay up

Recover from illness/surprise

get over

Disappear gradually (pain)

pass off