Unit Three A Cancelled Meeting

'George, could you do me a favour?"
Yes, sure.'
'Show Mr Frascatti to the conference room, would you. The meeting's due to start soon."
No. Haven't you heard? It's off; the manager's cancelled it because he wants to sort out the new advertising displays himself.'
'What? They've cancelled a major meeting, just because the boss wants to see to the advertising for a change? I don't know what to make of this company. Well, I'd better go and explain things to Mr Frascatti. But goodness knows what he will think of this."

Notes

BE OFF E If you cancel something which has been arranged you say it is off e.g. 'Saturday's match is off there's been too much rain.'

SORT OUT ABC If you arrange things in order, or organise them in some way you sort them out.

MAKE OF AD This is usually used in interrogative or negative sentences e.g. 'What do you make of this? I can't make anything of it at all."

THINK OF AD If Mr Frascatti were not impressed he would say 'I don't think much of how you handle things here,' or 'I don't think much of it."

Exercises using verbs from the passage

A Complete these sentences:

1 When they arrived at the prison, the men were into their various trades.

2 Can you the post as soon as possible?

3 I didn't much that film.

4 There was a mistake: nobody told him the trip

5 It was difficult to anything his handwriting.

6 The visiting lecturer was the lecture hall.

7 The match because there has been an outbreak of 'flu in the school.

8 He began to unpack his clothes and them

B Answer these questions:

1 What do you think of modern art?

2 When would you show someone to the door?

3 How does a librarian sort out books?

4 What would you do if you heard that a play you had tickets for was off?

5 What do you make of English grammar?

6 Who sees to the maintenance of a swimming-pool?

7 What do you think of your English?

8 How would you sort out a pack of cards?

C Use the following pairs of verbs in sentences of your own:

1 make of, sort out.

2 think of, be off.

3 see to, show to.

4 see to, make of.

A Vb + prep. + NP. B Vb+NP+ prep. C Vb + pron. + prep. D Vb + prep. + pron. E Intrans.

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Exercise: