If someone 'beats you up', they hit and kick you and hurt you a lot.
- The muggers beat him up badly.
- I was beaten up so badly that I was off work for a month.
If you 'bottle up' a feeling or emotion, you suppress them and don't express them.
- If you bottle up your feelings, you will make yourself ill.
- I was angry but I bottled up my feelings during the meeting.
If you 'call someone up', you phone them.
- I tried to call you up earlier but there was no answer.
- Call me up when you get a chance.
If something 'crops up', it happens unexpectedly.
- Something has cropped up. I am going to have to work late.
- If a problem crops up when I am away, give me a call on my cell phone.
If you 'freshen up', you wash and make yourself more presentable.
- I need a minute to freshen up before we meet them.
- When they arrive, they will probably need a few moments to freshen up after the journey.
If your eyes 'light up', they become excited.
- Her eyes lit up when she saw the dress.
- His eyes lit up when he saw her wearing the dress.
If you 'own up', you confess to something.
- Nobody has owned up to starting the fire.
- He owned up to being a big fan of Britney.
If you 'polish something up', you improve it.
- The basic report is fine but you need to polish it up a bit.
- I must polish up my Japanese before we go to Tokyo.
If you 'speed up', you go faster.
- We need to speed up production. It is taking too long.
- Can you speed up a bit? I am going to miss my train.
If you 'tighten up' something, you make it more secure.
- We need to tighten up security in the light of these threats.
- We need to tighten up our quality control system. There have been too many mistakes.
exercise 1
exercise 2