Connect each of the phrasal verbs below with the correct definition.

1) base on a) to perform or portray convincingly

2) bear with b) to cut from the original work

3) belt out c) to replace the original voice

4) blow away d) to be patient with something or somebody

5) cap off e) to impress greatly

6) carry off f) to make more exciting

7) catch on g) to copy somebody else’s work

8) camp up h) to make less offensive or controversial

9) dub over i) to finish with one last thing

10) edit out j) to add innuendo or exaggerated sexuality

11) jazz up k) to start watching to listening to a broadcast

12) join in l) to become popular with an audience or public

13) lie back m) to attract attention to one’s talents

14) rip off n) to relax or rest

15) sell out o) derive from, to have its origin in something

16) show off p) to start participating in something

17) tone down q) when all the tickets to an event are bought

18) tune in (into) r) to perform (musically) with lots of energy

base on bear with belt out blow away camp up cap off carry off catch on dub over
edit out jazz up join in lie back rip off sell out show off tone down tune in

Insert the phrasal verbs that fit best into the gaps in the sentences below.
You will need to conjugate them appropriately.

1) When Queen played We Are The Champions the audience __________ _____ on the chorus.

2) The film is _________ ____ real events that took place in the early 20th century in Northern England.

3) More than a billion people ___________ _____ to watch the Live Aid concert in 1985. It is the most
watched event in television history.

4) After playing for more than an hour, the group finally _________ it all ______ with their most popular
song.

5) The film starts slowly but if you can __________ _______ it for the first 30 minutes, the story starts
to get very interesting indeed.

6) When the singer performed on daytime TV they made him ___________ ______ the content of the
lyrics to his songs as there would be children watching.

7) Many people were not convinced that a soap opera star could __________ ______ the lead role in
such a dramatic film. It was a huge surprise when he won the Oscar for best actor.

8) She couldn’t sing so they had to __________ _______ her voice for all the singing scenes in the film.

9) He had a wonderful voice and loved to ___________ it ______ to everybody by singing well-known
but difficult songs whenever he got the opportunity.

10) It was an amazing film and __________ everybody ________ when they saw it. It was a complete
surprise that it didn’t win any awards.

11) They had to ___________ _______ certain scenes from the film when it was shown for the first
time for political reasons but those scenes were restored when the political situation changed.

12) I love to __________ __________ and listen to classical music when I am feeling stressed.

13) Their first CD was fantastic but it didn’t really __________ _______. It only sold a few hundred
copies so the record company cancelled the contract.

14) Her music is good technically but she needs to __________ it _______ for the modern audience if
she wants the CD to sell well.

15) They __________ ______ on the first night. It was impossible to buy tickets anywhere

16) The group __________ ______ a string of their most famous hits from the 1970s. I don’t know
where they get their energy from!

17) They didn’t want that particular actor to play Dracula. They thought he would have ___________
________ the role too much. They wanted a more serious approach.

18) The film earned a lot of money but the producers completely ___________ ______ another lesser
known Spanish film. Everything was exactly the same as the original except the name.
 Insert the phrasal verbs that fit best into the gaps in the story below.
You will need to conjugate the verbs appropriately.

base on bear with belt out blow away camp up cap off carry off catch on dub over
edit out jazz up join in lie back rip off sell out show off tone down tune into

The name of Channel Moderno means nothing to many of the UK’s youth or to anybody who
was absent from the country in 1985 but, for a brief spell, this channel was a household name all over
the UK in the mid-80s. The channel was an attempt to try and ____________ _______ an otherwise
boring evening of peak time viewing all across the UK. In the 80s it was still normal to __________
________ the evening’s viewing with the national anthem. However, with the rise of satellite TV and
MTV, it was noticed that many viewers were going to the pub to watch television rather than sit at
home trying to ___________ ________ the slow and unimaginative programs on offer from
terrestrial television. People had stopped __________ ______ the traditional channels and
advertisers and sponsors were taking their money elsewhere.
A conglomerate of media companies formed in late 1984 to think of ways to win back the
advertising revenues which the TV companies so badly needed. They came up with Channel Moderno,
a TV channel unlike any other terrestrial TV channel. Although not a cable TV service it needed a digital
box to unscramble the TV signal. Once launched, the service soon __________ _______ with 3 and a
half million households buying the box in the first week. The service itself was quite cheap at only 4
pounds a month and within two months the TV boxes had __________ ______ completely and
further orders had to be made at the factory in China to try and fill the demand back in the UK.
The first program to air was called Cannon Street and was __________ _______ the life of a
prominent 18th century politician from Cambridge who had risen to power in parliament despite his
humble origins. However, the program stopped attracting viewers quickly as the station had
overestimated the appeal of a historical soap opera for British viewers. The writers tried ___________
_______ the episodes with salacious storylines but then the British censor then stepped in. The
station was told to __________ _________ the content of the storylines as they were considered too
scandalous to air before 9 o’clock. As such, the station decided that the idea of a historical soap opera
was just too difficult to _________ ______ convincingly enough and the program was cancelled.
A series of live music concerts was commissioned but soon ran into trouble. A concert by
Reggie C was criticised when it became totally obvious that the singer’s voice had been __________
________ and he was in fact miming to his songs. However, the reputation of the company soon
recovered after the concert by living Legends The What which saw these aging rockers ___________
________ one old classic after another with the studio audience ___________ ________ and singing
along to their most famous tunes. Their version of God Save the Queen at the end of the performance
____________ the audience __________ and has gone down in history as one of the greatest rock
performances of all time.
A series of films was also commissioned with some degree of success. Sir Arthur Dudley won
an Oscar for his performance in A Night to Forget, where he was able to ____________ ________ his
limitless acting talents in this drama about an alcoholic artist and his fight against addiction. However,
his acceptance speech at the Oscars was used to criticise the channel for ____________ _______
scenes which were considered too violent for a TV audience although these scenes have now been
restored to the original film since its release on DVD.
However, scandal soon followed success when it was revealed that the Oscar-winning film had
in fact ____________ ________ an old Danish film that had long been forgotten about. A court case
with the Danish production company saw record damages being awarded against Channel Moderno
and its reputation and finances just went into free-fall from there. Within just 3 months of the case,
the channel went bust and the service was suspended. No longer was the British TV-viewer able to
_____________ __________ and watch this truly ground-breaking channel.

Follow up!
Read again and circle any other phrasal verbs you find.
 You work for a TV channel. Read the memo below and then read your personality
card. After that, attend the meeting and debate what the board should do next
regarding the issue at hand. Each person should spend at least 1 minute stating
their opinion and a further 5 minutes debating what should be done once
everybody has had their say. A vote must be taken at the end of the meeting.

against based broadcast establishment follows forthcoming

minds place relationship rest satirical set underworld

Insert the words that fit best into the gaps in the email below.

Memo
To: Department Heads
From: Holly Wood
Date: 01/12/18
Re: Summer Series

Dear Team,
As we are ahead of ourselves in terms of planning and scheduling for the ________________
year, I thought now would be a good time to discuss the summer series we have been offered by our
creative team for ____________ in early June onwards. Once we have made the decision, our teams
can put these projects into production and we can start thinking about the _________ of the year.
Below I have placed a list of the shows that our creative team has conceived. We need you to
select 5 of these which will then go into production almost immediately. The list is as ___________:
Fen Tigers – A historical action series _____________ on the real-life story of rebels fighting
the government in the countryside of the Cambridgeshire Fens in the 17th century.
Dark Space – A vampire series _________ in a future space station orbiting the moon.
Doctor Watt – A romantic comedy series that takes ________ on a fictional Caribbean island.
Crown of Thorns –A dramatic and violent historical recreation of the first council of Nicaea in
325 AD which saw the official _______________ of the Christian Religion in Europe.
My old Sport – A reality TV show which pits amateur football teams _____________ Premier
League giants using the finest trainers in the sport today.
Inspector Zombie – A dark comedy which sees a Manchester detective bitten by a zombie.
He then starts to eat criminal suspects in the Manchester _______________.
What’s News – A _____________ panel show where politicians, journalists, celebrities and
comedians meet to comment on the week’s events.
Screen Salvation – A science fiction series concerning the near future and our ____________
with technology.

Please do not take too long making up your ________________ as to your choices, as the
sooner we get started on these projects the better for everybody.

Yours sincerely

Holly Wood
base on bear with belt out blow away camp up cap off carry off catch on dub over
edit out jazz up join in lie back rip off sell out show off tone down tune in

Insert the phrasal verbs that fit best into the gaps in the story below.
You will need to conjugate the verbs appropriately.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.
 TV Channel Debate – Personality Cards
You are a senior executive for a television
channel. You have been asked to look at a
list of TV programs and to choose which
ones would be the most appropriate for
the summer schedules. You love sporting
programs and history. Apart from that you
don’t really watch much TV when you are
at home. You dislike anything too
eccentric such as horror or science fiction.
You are a senior executive for a television
channel. You have been asked to look at a
list of TV programs and to choose which
ones would be the most appropriate for
the summer schedules. You love political
satire. You are always reading the
newspapers and like to see how other
people react to the week’s news. You
dislike sport and absolutely hate anything
romantic.
You are a senior executive for a
television channel. You have been asked
to look at a list of TV programs and to
choose which ones would be the most
appropriate for the summer schedules.
You love happy or optimistic programs
such as romance or gentle comedies.
You like drama if it isn’t too negative.
You really dislike violence and sex on TV.
You are a senior executive for a television
channel. You have been asked to look at a
list of TV programs and to choose which
ones would be the most appropriate for
the summer schedules. You love anything
historical whether it is a documentary or
dramatization. You are never happier than
when watching history based programs.
You hate sport and romance.
You are a senior executive for a television
channel. You have been asked to look at a
list of TV programs and to choose which
ones would be the most appropriate for
the summer schedules. Absolutely love
comedy. As far as you are concerned,
there is not enough comedy on TV
nowadays. The more laughter in the world
the better. You hate violence on TV.
You are a senior executive for a
television channel. You have been asked
to look at a list of TV programs and to
choose which ones would be the most
appropriate for the summer schedules. I
absolutely love science fiction and
horror. You don’t really like sport or
politics. You hate anything to do with
history.
You are a senior executive for a
television channel. You have been asked
to look at a list of TV programs and to
choose which ones would be the most
appropriate for the summer schedules.
You love comedy and drama. Apart from
that you don’t really watch much TV
when you are at home although you do
like to watch sport.
You are a senior executive for a
television channel. You have been
asked to look at a list of TV programs
and to choose which ones would be
the most appropriate for the summer
schedules. You are a big fan of
detective shows and you also like
science fiction. Ordinary drama bores
you and you really detest sport.
You are a senior executive for a television
channel. You have been asked to look at a
list of TV programs and to choose which
ones would be the most appropriate for
the summer schedules. You like historical
dramas but you are not too keen on
violence. Sport doesn’t interest you and
neither does comedy. You find most
comedy ridiculous nowadays.
You are a senior executive for a television
channel. You have been asked to look at a
list of TV programs and to choose which
ones would be the most appropriate for
the summer schedules. You really like
science fiction and horror. You cannot
imagine life without science fiction or
horror. It’s all you ever watch on TV.
You dislike sport and history.
 Cut out and place the definition slips in a cup or envelope. Cut out the bingo cards and give to the students. Take a definition
slip from the cup one at a time and read the definition. Students tick off the corresponding phrasal verbs. Once a student has
crossed out 5 words on a card they shout “bingo” and the round starts again with fresh cards. Repeat the process 3 times.

base on =to derive from, bear with = to be belt out = to blow away = cap off =
to have its origin in patient with something perform (musically) to impress greatly to finish with one last
something or somebody with lots of energy thing
carry off = catch on = camp up = dub over = edit out =
to perform or portray to become popular with to add innuendo or to replace the original to cut from the original
convincingly an audience or the public exaggerated voice work
sexuality
jazz up = join in = lie back = rip off = sell out =
to make more exciting to start participating in to relax or rest to copy somebody when all the tickets to an
something else’s work event are bought
show off = tone down = tune in =
to attract attention to to make less offensive or to start watching to
one’s talents controversial listening to a
broadcast

base on cap off dub over drop off

blow away rip off
carry off camp up bear with jazz up

cap off dub over belt out sell out

sell out edit out
catch on edit out camp up bear with

edit out base on join in sell out

cap off belt out
dub over jazz up carry off dub over

catch on rip off lie back belt out

join in carry off
base on cap off jazz up catch on

carry off edit out

bear with camp up
catch on
lie back
dub over belt out
cap off base on

catch on lie back

bear with join in
camp up dub over
belt out join in
rip off edit out

blow away jazz up

cap off carry off
catch on
bear with
edit out lie back
blow away join in

rip off camp up

join in bear with
blow away
jazz up
carry off blow away join in catch on
1) base on a) to perform or portray convincingly

2) bear with b) to cut from the original work

3) belt out c) to replace the original voice

4) blow away d) to be patient with something or somebody

5) cap off e) to impress greatly

6) carry off f) to make more exciting

7) catch on g) to copy somebody else’s work

8) camp up h) to make less offensive or controversial

9) dub over i) to finish with one last thing

10) edit out j) to add innuendo or exaggerated sexuality

11) jazz up k) to start watching to listening to a broadcast

12) join in l) to become popular with an audience or public

13) lie back m) to attract attention to one’s talents

14) rip off n) to relax or rest

15) sell out o) derive from, to have its origin in something

16) show off p) to start participating in something

17) tone down q) when all the tickets to an event are bought

18) tune in r) to perform (musically) with lots of energy

Answers
1) = o)
2) = d)
3) = r)
4) = e)
5) = i)
6) = a)
7) = l)
8) = j)
9) = c)
10) = b)
11) = f)
12) = p)
13) = n)
14) = g)
15 = q)
16) = m)
17) = h)
18) = k)
1) When Queen played We Are The Champions the audience joined in on the chorus.

2) The film is based on real events that took place in the early 20th century in Northern England.

3) More than a billion people tuned in to watch the Live Aid concert in 1985. It is the most watched
event in television history.

4) After playing for more than an hour, the group finally capped it all off with their most popular song.

5) The film starts slowly but if you can bear with it for the first 30 minutes, the story starts to get very
interesting indeed.

6) When the singer performed on daytime TV they made him tone down the content of the lyrics to his
songs as there would be children watching.

7) Many people were not convinced that a soap opera star could carry off the lead role in such a
dramatic film. It was a huge surprise when he won the Oscar for best actor.

8) She couldn’t sing so they had to dub over her voice for all the singing scenes in the film.

9) He had a wonderful voice and loved to show it off to everybody by singing well-known but difficult
songs whenever he got the opportunity.

10) It was an amazing film and blew everybody away when they saw it. It was a complete surprise that it
didn’t win any awards.

11) They had to edit out certain scenes from the film when it was shown for the first time for political
reasons but those scenes were restored when the political situation changed.

12) I love to lie back and listen to classical music when I am feeling stressed.

13) Their first CD was fantastic but it didn’t really catch on. It only sold a few hundred copies so the
record company cancelled the contract.

14) Her music is good technically but she needs to jazz it up for the modern audience if she wants the CD
to sell well.

15) They sold out on the first night. It was impossible to buy tickets anywhere

16) The group belted out a string of their most famous hits from the 1970s. I don’t know where they get
their energy from!

17) They didn’t want that particular actor to play Dracula. They thought he would have camped up the
role too much. They wanted a more serious approach.

18) The film earned a lot of money but the producers completely ripped off another lesser known
Spanish film. Everything was exactly the same as the original except the name.
 The name of Channel Moderno means nothing to many of the UK’s youth or to anybody who
was absent from the country in 1985 but, for a brief spell, this channel was a household name all over
the UK in the mid-80s. The channel was an attempt to try and jazz up an otherwise boring evening of
peak time viewing all across the UK. In the 80s it was still normal to cap off the evening’s viewing with
the national anthem. However, with the rise of satellite TV and MTV, it was noticed that many viewers
were going to the pub to watch television rather than sit at home trying to bear with the slow and
unimaginative programs on offer from terrestrial television. People had stopped tuning into the
traditional channels and advertisers and sponsors were taking their money elsewhere.
A conglomerate of media companies formed in late 1984 to think of ways to win back the
advertising revenues which the TV companies so badly needed. They came up with Channel Moderno,
a TV channel unlike any other terrestrial TV channel. Although not a cable TV service it needed a digital
box to unscramble the TV signal. Once launched, the service soon caught on with 3 and a half million
households buying the box in the first week. The service itself was quite cheap at only 4 pounds a
month and within two months the TV boxes had sold out completely and further orders had to be
made at the factory in China to try and fill the demand back in the UK.
The first program to air was called Cannon Street and was based on the life of a prominent 18th
century politician from Cambridge who had risen to power in parliament despite his humble origins.
However, the program stopped attracting viewers quickly as the station had overestimated the appeal
of a historical soap opera for British viewers. The writers tried camping up the episodes with salacious
storylines but then the British censor then stepped in. The station was told to tone down the content
of the storylines as they were considered too scandalous to air before 9 o’clock. As such, the station
decided that the idea of a historical soap opera was just too difficult to carry off convincingly enough
and the program was cancelled.
A series of live music concerts was commissioned but soon ran into trouble. A concert by
Reggie C was criticised when it became totally obvious that the singer’s voice had been dubbed over
and he was in fact miming to his songs. However, the reputation of the company soon recovered after
the concert by living Legends The What which saw these aging rockers belting out one old classic after
another with the studio audience joining in and singing along to their most famous tunes. Their
version of God Save the Queen at the end of the performance blew the audience away and has gone
down in history as one of the greatest rock performances of all time.
A series of films was also commissioned with some degree of success. Sir Arthur Dudley won
an Oscar for his performance in A Night to Forget, where he was able to show off his limitless acting
talents in this drama about an alcoholic artist and his fight against addiction. However, his acceptance
speech at the Oscars was used to criticise the channel for editing out scenes which were considered
too violent for a TV audience although these scenes have now been restored to the original film since
its release on DVD.
However, scandal soon followed success when it was revealed that the Oscar-winning film had
in fact ripped off an old Danish film that had long been forgotten about. A court case with the Danish
production company saw record damages being awarded against Channel Moderno and its reputation
and finances just went into free-fall from there. Within just 3 months of the case, the channel went
bust and the service was suspended. No longer was the British TV-viewer able to lie back and watch
this truly ground-breaking channel.
Memo
To: Department Heads
From: Holly Wood
Date: 01/12/18
Re: Summer Series

Dear Team,
As we are ahead of ourselves in terms of planning and scheduling for the forthcoming year, I
thought now would be a good time to discuss the summer series we have been offered by our
creative team for broadcast in early June onwards. Once we have made the decision, our teams can
put these projects into production and we can start thinking about the rest of the year.
Below I have placed a list of the shows that our creative team has conceived. We need you to
select 5 of these which will then go into production almost immediately. The list is as follows:
Fen Tigers – A historical action series based on the real life story of rebels fighting the
government in the countryside of the Cambridgeshire Fens in the 17th century.
Dark Space – A vampire series set in a future space station orbiting the moon.
Doctor Watt – A romantic comedy series that takes place on a fictional Caribbean island.
Crown of Thorns –A dramatic and violent historical recreation of the first council of Nicaea in
325 AD which saw the official establishment of the Christian Religion in Europe.
My old Sport – A reality TV show which pits amateur football teams against Premier League
giants using the finest trainers in the sport today.
Inspector Zombie – A dark comedy which sees a Manchester detective bitten by a zombie.
He then starts to eat criminal suspects in the Manchester underworld.
What’s News – A satirical panel show where politicians, journalists, celebrities and
comedians meet to comment on the week’s events.
Screen Salvation – A science fiction series concerning the near future and our relationship
with technology.

Please do not take too long making up your minds as to your choices, as the sooner we get
started on these projects the better for everybody.

Yours sincerely

Holly Wood
rip off sell out
catch on lie back
show off
join in
base on tone down
camp up dub over

belt out rip off

tone down jazz up join in
bear with
edit out sell out
lie back tone down
tone down lie back
jazz up edit out
tune in
blow away
blow away rip off
rip off dub over
tune in cap off
lie back camp up
base on
belt out
rip off tone down
edit out base on

belt out tune in

show off lie back
rip off
tone down
sell out bear with
blow away catch on
jazz up belt out
bear with show off
lie back
edit out
tone down tune in
camp up blow away
cap off jazz up
cap off sell out
sell out
rip off carry off edit out
show off rip off

join in lie back

rip off bear with
carry off
tune in rip off cap off
tune in show off