phrasal verbphr vPREPAREto gradually prepare yourself to do something difficult 逐渐准备〔去做困难的事〕
work up to doing something
He’d been working up to asking her for a date all week.
整个星期他都在准备约她出去。
Examples from the Corpus
work up to • The dieter would start with a fast, then work up to 1,200 calories a day.• You can gradually work up toholdingpoints longer, but do not hold any one point longer than ten minutes.• Try for three sets of eight, or work up to it.
work up to doing something• A few of these devices should be exploded every year to test whether the refurbishing is working up to snuff.• But he would, if they refused to work up to their potential.• One retiredschoolteacher I know was working up to the age of 70 as a volunteerguide in a localmuseum.• The dieter would start with a fast, then work up to 1,200 calories a day.• Try for three sets of eight, or work up to it.• You can gradually work up to holding points longer, but do not hold any one point longer than ten minutes.