eke out smth – растягивать (чтобы хватило подольше), экономно расходовать ч-л.
• EXERCISE
1. Это снова затянется на целый час?
2. Старость подкрадывается незаметно.
3. На сколько ты сможешь растянуть свою зарплату?
***
1. Is it going again to drag on for an hour?
2. Old age creeps up on without noticing.
3. How long can you eke out your salary?
? JOURNEY INTO THE PAST
I wish I could go on a journey into the past long before I was born. There is no time machine that could take me back
to my childhood. I can only try to think back
to what everyday life was like 50, 60, 100 years ago, before TV, before computers, before fridges and washing machines. It turns out that many of our devices date back
to the early 20th century. I couldn’t imagine that old vacuum cleaner in our attic is just a leftover
from a bygone
era.
take smth back to smth – возвращать, отсылать ч-л. куда-либо
think back (to/on) – вспоминать прошлое
date back – датироваться
a leftover – пережиток
bygone – бывший, прошлый, древний
? A SINGLE MOTHER
I’m sorry to hold you up
, but you must sign these forms before you go in
tomorrow. I’m happy the meeting is over. It dragged on
and I got irritable too. It took me back
to the times I worked as a secretary in the court. OK, thanks a lot! See you tomorrow!
Now I have to go home. I’ll have to drive ten miles at rush hour. Yesterday there was an accident and a pile-up of ten cars caused a long tailback. If there are no hold-ups
today, I won’t get stuck in a traffic jam. So I must arrive by about seven o’clock. I have to call my kids and hurry them up
. Their French lesson ran on
longer than expected, so they won’t leave school till 4.30 p.m. and I’ll have to wait for them in the car. Then they’ll be complaining they can’t keep up with
me on the way to the gym.
OK, I am having some time to sort out
the post now… Three weeks passed by
before I got a reply to my letter of complaint. Here it is. They got around to
sending the reply. How can I plan anything with such hold-ups? Nobody knows what lies ahead
. All I can do is just take it one day at a time
.
hold smb up – задерживать к-л.
go in – начинать работать, приступать к работе, начинать входить в курс дела
drag on smth – затягиваться (о времени)
take smth back to smth – возвращать (-ся) куда-либо
a hold-up – задержка, затор
hurry smb up – торопить к-л.
run on – тянуться, длиться, продолжаться
keep up with smth/smb – не отставать от к-л./ч-л., быть в курсе ч-л.
sort out smth – разобраться с ч-л.
pass by smth – проходить мимо ч-л.
get around to (doing smth) – удосуживаться, руки доходят до того, чтобы сделать ч-л.
lie ahead – ждать впереди, предстоять