Phrasal verbs pandemic

Master pandemic phrasal verbs! Practice worksheet for advanced English learners.

Fill in the gaps with a correct form of a phrasal verb we learnt in the past few weeks. Choose the most suitable one. Ever since the government locked down this country and told everybody to stay at home, unless shopping for essential groceries or going to work at key jobs, the general public has surprised itself, and the powers that be, by showing an almost complete willingness to comply with the emergency laws. What is more, the majority of the public seem to be bearing up pretty cheerfully despite what psychologists have deemed to be very stressful conditions. Many people crowd onto balconies at 8pm every night to applaud key workers and to show their appreciation of the people and services that society clearly cannot do without.This spirit of community has surprised and even shocked some. There has been some anger, particularly from those workers who were laid off at the beginning of the emergency, but the overall attitude has been one of cooperation. Leading mental health experts were expecting the conditions to get people down, and there have been cases of severe depression but nowhere near the numbers expected. Large households have shown extraordinary resilience despite people being cooped up for so long in such close proximity to each other. The few times that the general public have been forced to come out and mix with each other have also demonstrated remarkable self-discipline. When households run out of essential supplies, only one resident is sent to the supermarket to buy the provisions. When queuing in the supermarket lines, everybody seems to observe social distancing rules and keeps two metres away from each other. Very few seem to have been led astray by ridiculous conspiracy theories despite there being a plethora of them on social media.When the epidemic first broke out in this country, it is true that many did not really take the threat too seriously and were not really prepared. The authorities and the health service were caught out badly, and it looked as if the resources and infrastructure would be overwhelmed by the speed and intensity of the contagion. Politicians did not appear to listen up and take heed of the advice being offered by WHO and other health organisations, at first. But then it hit home. Everybody seemed to get what was happening all at once.However, there is one aspect of all this that is really starting to cause problems, boredom. To many of us, the days seem to just drag on, with one day seeming pretty much like any other. So many events have been called off, and being restricted to the home does not give people many options for enjoyment. Opening a window to air out a room is the only contact some people have with the outside world aside from taking out the rubbish or shopping. But although all of this is mind-numbingly boring, let us not forget just why the quarantine exists in the first place.Many people who have come down with the virus have said that it was truly awful and one of the worst illnesses they have ever experienced. Some feared that they would not pull through and, indeed, many have died as a result of this disease. Thankfully, hospitals have been fitted out with specialist equipment and are in a better position than they would be in a lot of other countries to deal with the emergency. So, for the meantime, the best thing anybody can do to help their community and their country is to stay home.