Exercises 2: Some, any

t... !'
 5 Some English boys go to boarding school at the age of seven. They usually ... ... 
 quickly and are very happy. 
 6 I am in charge while Smith is away; I ... ... from him on June 1. 
 7 I can't decide now. I'll . . . it . . . with my colleagues and let you know later.
 8 He insisted on riding a young excitable horse which ... ... with him and threw him into 
 a ditch.
 9 He agreed to take my classes while I was away; but he . ..me....He never turned up for any of them.
10 I... ... the accounts several times but couldn't find the mistake.
11 Suddenly there was a rustling in the straw. Everyone ... ... and stood watching from a safe distance.
12 This shop is....... It will be reopening shortly under new management.
13 He had stage fright at first but he... ...it very quickly.
14 The townsman has always been inclined to... ...on the countryman.
15 The filing system worked splendidly till the secretary went on holiday; then it ... ... and no one knew where anything was.
16 Here is my letter; would you just ...it... to see if there are any mistakes?
17 Two men started to fight with knives. The crowd ... ...so as to be out of danger, and stood watching.
18 After the blizzard, it took a long time to ... ... the snow from the main streets.
19 He hated boarding school and ... ... from it, turning up two days later at his own home.
20 Jones tried to make a suggestion but the crowd was too excited to listen and 
 he was ... ... .
21 When the first act... ...we had a drink in the theatre bar.
22 They should ... ... with licensing laws and let us drink when we like.
23 There was tremendous excitement in the streets and the shouting didn't ... ... till after midnight.
24 The embassy was . . . . . . in the recent riots. The ruins are still smoking.
25 When she heard the news of the crash she ... ... and cried.
26 The theatre filled up very early and people who came later and who hadn't reserved seats were ... ... .
27 I wonder why there's such a smell of gas. ~Perhaps something on the gas stove has ... ... and put out the flame.
28 That old chair would be useful to somebody. If you don't want it, sell it or... it... .
29 This ring I wear isn't very valuable but it's been . . . . . . in my family for over 200 years.
30 He... ...a little money every week so as to have something for a rainy day.
31 The police caught one thief but the other ... ... .
32 The new idea is that young delinquents should gather together in groups and ... ... their problems with social workers.
33 We are spending too much; we'll have to... ...our expenses.
34 I'm waiting till prices ... ... before buying my new carpet.
35 When the floods . . . . . . we were able to use the road again.
36 The expression 'To . . . . . . a new leaf means to make a fresh start with the intention of doing better.
189 Mixed combinations used in a connected passage PEG chapter 38
Fill the spaces in the following passage by inserting suitable combinations.
During Bill's last term at school, Mr White offered him a job in a hardware shop. It would be in the tool section,' he said, 'helping old Mr Hammer, and if you (1) ... ... (made good progress) you could (2) ..... (become responsible/or) the section when Mr Hammer retires.'
Mr White expected Bill to (3) .. ...at the offer (accept it eagerly) and was rather (4)... ..... (surprised and disappointed) when the boy looked doubtful.
'You needn't (5) ..... your mind (decide) at once,' he said. 'Mr Hammer can (6) ..... (continue/manage) without an assistant for another fortnight. But (7). . . it . . . (consider it) and let me know. Your school (8).... ..... (closes/or the holidays) this Friday, doesn't it?' Bill nodded. 'Well, if you decide to accept the job, (9). ..... (call at the shop) next weekend. I'll show you round and we'll (10). . . you ... '.(arrange this matter) with an insurance card.'
Bill's father urged him to accept. If you (11). . . it . . . (refuse it) you'll just be on the dole,' he said. It's no use (12). ..... (loitering) at home waiting for something better to (13) ..... (appear). Very few employers are (14). ..... (engaging) more men at present and a lot of places are (15). ..... (shutting permanently).'
So Bill took the job and soon (16)... ...in his new environment (became used to it). He (17) ... ... (learnt) to work quickly and when Mr Hammer retired and (18)... .
.... transferred) the tool section to him, he felt very proud of himself.
Unfortunately, after two years Mr White was transferred to a bigger branch and a new manager, Mr Black, was appointed. He and Bill didn't (19). . . . . . one another at all (neither liked the other). He began, tactlessly enough, by (20). . . Bill . . . and . . . (examining) and , saying, 'I don't (21)... ..... (like) the way you dress. If you want to (22)... ..... (continue) working here you must smarten up. (23)... ... (get dressed in) a tie and (24) . . . ..... (remove) those rings. I don't approve of young men wearing rings.'
 'Some of our customers wear them,' Bill (25). ..... (remarked).'Don't (26) . . . me . . . (reply impudently)'.' snapped Mr Black. Soon afterwards. Bill and the manager (27). ..... (quarrelled) again.
'You spend too much time talking to customers,' Mr Black complained.
 'But they like a chat,' said another assistant, trying to... ... ... (defend) Bill. 'People who want silent service go to supermarkets.'
 'You (29). . . . . . of this (remain outside)'.' snarled Mr Black. If business doesn't (30) 
. .. ..... (improve) you may both be ... ... (seeking) other jobs.'
 'He (32). . . customers . . . (repels them) by his bad manner,' muttered Bill to his friends. 'But if profits (33). ..... (decrease) he'll ... ... (state falsely) that it's all our fault. Anyway I'm sick of being (35) . ..... (given too many orders) and I'm not going to (36). ........it (endure it).'
 Fortunately, before rebellion (37). ..... (started) in the tool department, Mr Black, who had (38)... ...for (applied for) a more important post, was told that he had got it. He became overnight a much happier man and tried to (39). ........ (compensate for) hisprevious harshness by being very polite to everyone, even Bill. The staff weren't (40) . .. ..... (deceived) by his sudden affability, but it made a nice change.
190 Mixed combinations used in a connected passage PEG chapter 38
Complete the passage, using suitable combinations.
We (1) ... ... early and had breakfast at 7.30. After breakfast my sister Alice (2) ..... (washed the dishes) while I got out the car. We (3) ..... (began our journey) at 8.30 and drove first to Mr Pitt's house to (4) ..... (collect) his son Tom who was coming with us.Tom had never met my niece Ann and I wasn't sure how the two children would (5) .. ... . But I needn't have worried, for it (6) ... ... (was revealed) that they had a lot of interests in common and seemed quite pleased with each other. Even my sister, who doesn't usually(7) ..... (like) small boys, (8) ..... (was attracted by/liked at first meeting) him from the first. She whispered to me that he had very good manners and had obviously been well (9) .. ... . Tom also pleased her very much by (10) ..... (indicating) various interesting buildings as we drove through the town. Ann, however, was not much impressed by this and clearly thought that Tom was just (11) ..... (displaying his knowledge).
 Suddenly Alice said, 'Good heavens! I forgot to (12)... ...the iron.We'll have to go back or it will start a fire and (13) ..... (destroy by fire) the house.' I said, 'Let's try to (14)... ... (telephone) our neighbour, Mr Smith, first and see if he can get into the house and (15). . . . . . the iron.' 'But he won't be able to ^. . .. .. (enter), said Alice. The house is (17) .... .... .
 'Then he'll have to (18) ..... (enter by force),' I said. 'Better to have a window broken than let the house (19) . . . . . in flames.'
So I (20)... ... (telephoned) Mr Smith, who said that he'd (21) ..... the matter. I (22) ..... (waited, holding the receiver) while he went to do this, and very soon I heard his voice saying, 'It's all right. I (23) ..... (entered) through a window you'd left open and (24) .....the iron. No damage was done.'
I thanked him warmly and we (25) ..... (continued) with our journey, much relieved.
We stopped at 1.00, (26) . . . . . . of (left) the car and picnicked by the side of the road. Alice was just (27) ..... (offering to each of us) the sandwiches when a police car (28) ..... (stopped) beside us.
'You mustn't park here,' said the policeman. It's a clearway.' I explained that I was a foreigner, so he said, 'Well, I'll (29) . . . you . . . (overlook the offence) this time, but don't do it again. You mightn't (30) ... ... ... (escape unpunished) it another time.'
My sister was rather (31) ..... (annoyed) by this incident but I explained that these regulations were necessary and we must (32) ... ... ... (endure/bear patiently) them.
Tom was very impressed by the police car. He (33) ... ... ... (respects) all policemen and hopes to be one when he (34) ... ... (becomes an adult). He is already (35)... ... ... (anticipating with pleasure) driving round in a fast car (36)... ..... (seeking) lawbreakers.
Poor Tom likes fast cars and was rather (37) ..... (bored/disgusted) because so many cars (38) .. ... ... (drew level with) us and passed us. As we listened to the sound of their engines (39) ..... (diminishing) in the distance he said, 'Next time I go out with youI'll come on my bicycle. I'm sure I'll be able to (40). .. ... ... (remain abreast of) you, you go so slowly.'
However we did (41) ... ... (arrive at) Stratford in the end and went to the house of
a friend, who had promised to (42) .. . .. us... (give us accommodation) for the night. We tried to get seats for the Memorial Theatre but they were (43) ..... (all sold) so we spent the evening sitting by the fire and (44) ... ..... (discussing) our day.