Lekcja 18

The theory is that galaxies coalesced from smaller groupings of stars.

1. I'm sorry but I'm too busy - I'm in the midst of writing a report. 2. The country is in the midst of an economic crisis.

1. It took a lot of patience and perseverance for all sides to reach an agreement. 2. Over and over, they have shown perseverance in the face of adversity.

1. If you drive a car all your life, the odds are that you'll have an accident at some point. 2. There are heavy odds against people succeeding in such a bad economic climate.

Was it just a figment of my imagination or did I hear John's voice in the other room?

1. compelling evidence 2. It's a fairly compelling argument for going.

1. Some people believe that Richard III was not the villain he is generally thought to have been. 2. He's either a hero or a villain, depending on your point of view.

It’s going to feel like 110° there when you factor in the humidity.

1. intermittent rain 2. an intermittent noise 3. Although she made intermittent movie appearances, she was essentially a stage actress.

1. The men easily outran the police officer who was chasing them. 2. In the future, demand for tungsten will outrun supply.

1. He'd been behaving so strangely that they began to doubt/question his sanity. 2. to keep/preserve/retain your sanity 3. The closer we got to the deadline for action, the more I questioned the sanity of the decision we had taken.

1. I fail to comprehend their attitude. 2. He doesn't seem to comprehend the scale of the problem

1. To what do you ascribe the enormous success of your latest book? 2. People like to ascribe human feelings to animals (= believe animals have human feelings).

1. The box can be opened mechanically to allow retrieval of medications. 2. the storage and retrieval of information

1. It is not possible to pinpoint precisely the time of death. 2. Emergency workers at the site are still unable to pinpoint the cause of the explosion.

1a. Some people believe that Richard III was not the villain he is generally thought to have been. 2a. He's either a hero or a villain, depending on your point of view. 3. He made his reputation as an actor playing villains.

There are many priorities, but reducing the budget deficit is paramount/is of paramount importance.

During his tenure as dean, he had a real influence on the students.

1. His name was inextricably linked with the environmental movement. 2. The history of children's literature is inextricably tied to the marketplace.

an ardent supporter of Manchester United an ardent feminist

the thorny issue of taxation

He took off his coat/hat and hung it on the peg.

1. It was a desperate attempt to salvage the situation. 2. After the fraud scandal he had to make great efforts to salvage his reputation.

1. Did I hurt you? I thought I saw you wince. 2. It makes me wince even thinking about eye operations.

1. We'd expected a few glitches, but everything's gone remarkably smoothly. 2. The system has been plagued with glitches ever since its launch.

We've had one or two slight hiccups, but progress has generally been quite steady.

The television's gone haywire.

1. The cost-cutting measures include streamlining administrative procedures in the company. 2. Leading organizations use software to streamline their workflow.

I was rigid with (= stiff and unable to move because of) fear.

Concern has been expressed about the death in detention of a number of political prisoners.

Her first book got a wonderful/warm/frosty reception from the critics.

The authorities have revoked their original decision to allow development of this rural area.

1. The meeting was adjourned until Tuesday. 2. Shall we adjourn for lunch?

The captain was made a scapegoat for the team's failure

1. She made several insults about my appearance. 2. The steelworkers' leader rejected the two percent pay rise saying it was an insult to the profession.

1. harsh criticism 2. The children had had a harsh upbringing. 3. We thought the punishment was rather harsh for such a minor offence.

1. The project has been postponed for an indefinite period. 2. an indefinite number of people

1. He warned against making hasty decisions. 2. Now let's not leap to any hasty conclusions.

1. It's better not to rock the boat when you first start a job. 2. Don't rock the boat until the negotiations are finished.

1. Many prisons, even today, are overcrowded and squalid places. 2. It's the usual squalid rock star tale of drugs, sex, and overdoses.

1. It was obvious she had broken her toe, because it immediately started to swell (up). 2. The group recruited more members, swelling its ranks (= increasing its size) to more than 1.3 million.