Vocabulary Phrasal Verbs Take Apart | Blow Up | Go Back | Pass Up

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

take apart

Phrasal Verb

teɪk əˈpɑrt

to separate something into parts

The mechanic took apart the car's engine to clean it, but then he couldn't assemble it back.

We will have to take this laptop apart to find out what’s wrong with it.

blow up

Phrasal Verb

bloʊ ʌp

to explode or to cause something to explode

The car caught fire and blew up.

go back

Phrasal Verb

goʊ bæk

to return to a certain place

I'm tired and want to go back.

pass up

Phrasal Verb

pæs ʌp

to not take advantage of an opportunity

He passed up the chance to invest and missed a great opportunity.

She never passes up the opportunity to meet new people.

I'm just afraid you'll regret it later if you pass this chance up now.

Investment in the new housing development seems to be too good a chance to pass up.

use up

Phrasal Verb

juz ʌp

to consume or use all of something

You cannot get any food here because everything has been used up.

We don’t want to use all of our supplies up.

Exercise 2

Dialogue Practice

Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.

Alex and James are talking about a video that went viral.
Alex	Did you see that video of the bomb squad taking the bomb apart at the mall?
James	Yeah, I saw it! I don’t know how they do it. Can you imagine the pressure of doing something like that, where making just one wrong step, cutting one wrong wire, would blow the entire place up?
Alex	It's crazy, right? That was the most intense thing I've ever seen. It's so different when you know that it's happening for real, that it's not just a movie. I'm glad I didn't pass up the chance to see it.
James	All I know is, I am never going back to that mall again.
Alex	Seriously though, I don’t know how those guys still have the energy. I mean, if I were in their place, after concentrating on dismantling a bomb, all my energy would be used up. But those guys acted as if it was nothing special. And they stayed around for hours after they were done, they checked the whole place once again and even talked to the press!
James	They are probably used to it. Though, I really don't understand how anyone can get used to doing something like that.

Exercise 3

Article

Read the passage aloud with your teacher.

Just Another Day's Work

Everyone was glad that the bomb planted at the mall didn’t blow up. It had really caused a lot of commotion. The bomb squad worked for over an hour on taking the bomb apart. After they were done, they went back to the place to check the whole area once again and make sure that the place was safe. After such a long day, all their energy must have been used up, but despite that, the press didn't pass up the opportunity to ask them questions about the event. Some people simply do not have enough time to get tired.

Exercise 4

Fill in the Blanks

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

Zach and Matt are conducting some experiments in the chemistry lab.
Zach	I don’t think we should mix those chemicals together. Aren’t those highly combustible?
Matt	Don’t worry! This isn’t going to (1) the lab.
Zach	Hey! Don’t (2) all the ethyl alcohol! We need it for the next experiment.
Matt	Oh, I was thinking, we could leave that for tomorrow. After we're done with this, we could (3) to the electronics lab and try to figure out what's wrong with that robot. We probably have to (4).
Zach	Oh yes! I am definitely not (5) that opportunity! Last time, you and Dave left me here to do the experiments by myself, while you two were having fun with the robot.