Grammar：Get
【明報專訊】Bill had a bad time at school. He was bullied by Eason and some of his classmates.
Dr Panda: You look overwhelmed. Is there something troubling you?
Bill: I can't get along with my classmates.
Dr Panda: Why would you say that? What happened?
Bill: They have been mocking me for the whole day because I tripped and fell while I was walking into the classroom this morning. I got out of the classroom immediately.
Dr Panda: That's bad. Did you get hurt?
Bill: Fortunately I only scraped my knee. It is not a big deal.
Dr Panda: Glad to hear that.
Bill: I want to get rid of the classmates, get rid of school, gossip and everything.
Dr Panda: It is so childish of them. Don't worry, they will forget this in a few days.
Bill: I hope so. I was so embarrassed today so I got off right after the school bell had rung.
Dr Panda: Poor you. Didn't you say that you wished to get around to being acquainted with your classmates? It must be a terrible day for you.
Bill: Very terrible, indeed. I think I don't have the motivation to finish my homework today. I need some video games to relieve my stress.
■English highway﹕
When some verbs are accompanied by adverbs or prepositions, they usually give up very different meanings. Take ''get'' as an example :
Get along
e.g. MoMo is getting along with her roommate after nights of chatting with each other.
Get out
e.g. Get out of the restaurant or I will call the police!
Get off
e.g. He always works overtime and he never knows when he can get off from work.
Get around to
e.g. I spent years studying physics and finally I can get around to making a new scientific breakthrough.
■Gear up
Fill in the blanks with correct answer.
A. get out
B. got around to
C. get along
1. Bill is loath to _____ of bed on cold mornings.
2. Eason is hard to ______ with.
3. Pat finally ______ reading this book.
(Answers on next text)
■Glossary
mock (v) 嘲笑
childish (adj) 幼稚
motivation (n) 動力
relieve (v) 緩解
[Smarties' Power English 第323期]
