«I see. I bought so many expensive gadgets last year. I tried hard3 to sell them this summer to add some funds to my account, but to no avail. It looks like I have to just write the money off4.»
«I agree. It’s not worth trying, I’ve got the same problem. The gadgets are not worth a dime, believe me.» «You won’t get this money back5. I’m ashamed to tell you, but my parents and I are now looking for sales and discounts everywhere, and yesterday they were giving away6 free tickets to a stand-up show and I got one. My mother was lucky to pick up7 a cookery book last week at a knockdown8 price. You can’t imagine how happy she was!»
«I can. I always feel the same when I snap up a bargain9.»
1 save smth up – копить, экономить ч-л.
2 set aside smth (for smth) – откладывать ч-л. (на ч-л.)
3 try hard – отчаянно пытаться
4 write off smth – списывать ч-л.
5 get smth back – получить назад, вернуть ч-л.
6 give smth away – раздавать бесплатно, распространять ч-л.
7 pick smth up – прикупить, отхватить ч-л.
8 knockdown – бросовый, невероятно дешёвый
9 snap up a bargain – отхватить по дешёвке
• EXERCISE
1. Ты копишь на новый планшет?
2. Ты откладываешь деньги на отпуск?
3. Я отчаянно пытался сэкономить, но не смог.
4. Тебе придётся списать эти расходы.
5. Ты не получишь свои деньги назад.
6. Твой смартфон старый, он ни фига не стоит. Отдай его просто так!
7. Я прикупила эту сумочку на распродаже на прошлой неделе.
8. Они распродавали всё по бросовым ценам.
9. Это практически даром! Мне повезло отхватить это по дешёвке.
***
1. Are you saving money up for a new tablet PC?
2. Do you set aside money for your holiday?
3. I try hard to save some money, but failed.
4. You’ll have to write off those expenses.
5. You won’t get your money back.
6. Your smartphone is old, it’s not worth a cent. Give it away for nothing!
7. I picked this purse up on sale last week.
8. They were selling out everything at a knockdown price.
9. It’s dirt cheap! I was lucky to snap up a bargain.
♦ A KNOCKDOWN PRICE
Hi Denise,
I’ve got great news. At last I’ve got my first pay and started setting aside some money for my holidays! I hope I’ll save up1 enough to visit you next year. I managed to flog2 all my old smartphones and tablet PCs to my roommates. My parents have already said «good-bye’ to that money. They didn’t think I’d get it back3 one day. So they allowed me to use it the way I wished. Now I can start searching for a knockdown price for air tickets on the Internet. It won’t cost me a fortune4, I hope.
Looking forward so much to seeing you soon,
Patric
1 save smth up (for) – откладывать, копить
2 flog smth to smb – впаривать, сбывать, «сливать» ч-л. к-л.
3 get smth back – возвращать, получать назад ч-л.
4 cost a fortune – стоить целое состояние
♦ HOW TO BE SOLVENT
Hi Jack,
I have some financial problems at the moment. I can’t understand how I have been tangled up in1 this situation. I owe my landlady a hundred dollars. I have to pay up before the end of the month. What’s worse, I’ve run up2 many other bills. I haven’t the slightest idea how I’m going to pay back3 my debts. I could try to sell my old rotten car, but it’s highly unlikely. I can’t even give it away. Our boss said they’d have to cut back4 our pay from next month. That’s terrible! I really counted on5 that money. So I don’t know what I am going to do to getalong6 and be solvent7.
Ben
1 be tangled up in smth – запутаться в ч-л.
2 run up smth – накапливать (-ся) ч-л., набегать
3 pay back smth – выплачивать, возвращать ч-л.
4 cut back smth – сокращать ч-л.
5 count on smth – полагаться, рассчитывать на ч-л.
6 get СКАЧАТЬ