古代巡抚是几品官:英语日常口语、习惯语500句（高级）（之一）

 英语日常口语、习惯语500句（高级）（之一）

1． Hold on 等一下 （口语中，人们不太用wait a minute）如果两人辩论，吵架，抬杠，你要别人“打住”，可以说，hold it right there.
　　2． I hate his guts. 我最讨厌他。也有说I hate him guts. Guts 是肠子，相当于“恨之入骨”的意思。He doesn’t have much guts. 他是个胆小鬼。 ut feeling 直觉
　　3． Nuts, 果仁，核，为复数时，意为“疯子”，He is nuts。他有神经病。He went nuts and killed a guy.他发疯了，结果杀了一个人。You are driving me nuts. 你真是要把我逼疯。a tough nut to crack, 一项艰巨的任务，一个难解之题
　　4． How is everything? (还好吗？) I am just stuck in a rut, doing the same things every day. I wish I could do something different. (烦死了，每天都是干同样的活，我真想换个活法。) rut 日常的，每天都如此，get in a rut，日复一日，天天如此
　　5． I have totally sold out to your idea. 我100％地赞同赞同你的意见。类似的话还有If you are not careful enough, you will buy into his bad idea. 如果你不小心的话，你就会采纳他的这馊主意。
　　6． I am just ecstatic about going to visit you soon. 马上要见你，我高兴死了。
　　7． A dap and dip 打个照面，露下脸就走。
　　Matt: Are we going to Jon’s party?我们去琼的聚会吗？
　　Darryl: Yeah, but I don’t want to stay long, so let’s make it a dap and dip.那就去吧，不过我可不想多呆，顶多就打个照面就走人。
　　8． I would like to get a job within couching distance. 我想找个不用走路就可以上班的工作。Couching distance,沙发距离，就是坐在沙发上不起身也能够得着。这是那种 couch potato喜欢做的美梦。
　　9． Yukky 难吃，说这个词时还要做一个难吃的表情。Where did you get this food? It was yukky. 你从哪里弄了这吃的？那么难吃。

10． 与yukky相反的词是yummy，好吃极了。说这个词时，要不然就把音拖一下，要不然说它两次，表示你真的喜欢主人做的这道菜。
11 I cannot take it any more.　我再也无法忍受了。前面还可以加上一句：don’t push me. 不要再逼我呀。 同样意思的句子还有：I cannot stand him any longer.
　　12 Don’t take it out on me! 不要把气出在我身上。
　　13 You have my word. 我向你保证（是这样）。
　　14 Look, I have got going. 就这样了，我还得干活呢（还得赶路）。这是向人告辞的说法。
　　15 You talk crazy. 你满嘴胡言。相当于you talk nonsense之意。 从语法上看，将形容词放在动词后不是很正规，但人家都这么说，也就可以将就了。
　　16 I don’t mean to cross the line. 直译是“我不想越界”。这句话的意思是，我并不是想管闲事呀，只是随便问问。“I don’t mean to cross the line, is she your new girl friend ?”
　　17 Thank you for .....(the tea, and so on), and everything else. 谢谢你的（茶水款待），以及一切。当你向人道谢时，你一下只想起了一件具体的事，但又接受了不止一项的好处，就加上一句 and everything else，这样就不会漏谢什么了。
　　18 I won’t take that crap.我才不会信那套鬼话。也可以说：I won’t buy that beef.同样的意思。
　　19 Calm down. 不要激动好不好？
　　20 sick 恶心 you make me sick. 你叫我恶心。 People do sick things to young girls nowadays. 现在总有人对小女孩做那些恶心的事。 He is sick. 如果你把sick一词念得很重，意思就是“他令人恶心。”如果念得不重，意思就只是“他病了。” 所以要小心。
21 You look concerned. What’s on your mind 你看上去有点心思沉沉，在担心什么呢？
　　22 I’ve got to quiet down and get focused. 我该冷静下来，集中注意力。
　　23 I know he has the blues（He is feeling very down!）, but it doesn’t mean he can vent his anger on me. 我知道他心情不好，但他也不能把气发在我身上呀。the blues 心情不好，If a girl is sad, an ice-cream cone can normally chase the blues away. 如果女孩心情不好的话，给她一个冰淇淋，她就会转哭为笑了。也可说，an ice-cream cone can normally help shake off the blues.
　　24 I’m up to my neck in work.这句话的意思就是I am quite busy. 我太忙了，这工作把我忙得晕头转向。I have got a pretty tight schedule today. 我今天的日程安排得很紧。
　　25 Easy! 悠着点；不要性急；轻一点；也可以说：Go easy. Go easy on it(省着点用). Easy-going, 很容易相处：She is caring and easy-going.
　　26 Crush 原意为“粉碎”，现常指“暗恋”，又常指青涩少年的那种爱，并不稳定，例如，小女生对老师的爱恋，过一阵就烟消云散。Peter has a crush on Jenny.
　　27 Ask somebody out 与人约会，谈恋爱：He doesn’t have the guts to ask her out because he is afraid she will turn him down. 他不敢告诉她他爱她，因为他生怕会遭到她的拒绝。类似的有go out with somebody: I heard you’re going out with Jane. 我听说了你在与Jane谈恋爱。
　　28 Mr. Right: 白马王子，He’s gentle, patient, successful, and MATURE. I think He’s my Mr. Right! 他温柔体贴，有耐心，成功又成熟。我知道他就是我的意中人(我未来的丈夫非他莫属；也可以说是真命天子）。（白马王子的另一个说法：prince charming）
　　29 Jack 对朋友John说，他刚刚与Esther拜拜了，（I just broke up with Esther.）John 安慰Jack说, I don’t know what to say to comfort you, but cheer up! There’s plenty of fish in the sea and you’ll find your soul mate, your perfect match!
　　30 My relationship with her is already a history.我与她的关系早已成历史了31 我们赞扬儿童时最常用的话有：Isn’t he cute He is so cute. He is adorable. Beautiful baby! 逗一两岁的小孩时，人们常说：Peek-a-boo, I see you.给小孩说再见：See you later, alligator!
　　32 Yes, 这是现在的小学生都会的单词。但是大学英语专业的人有时也搞错，例如，对于对方的否定句表示赞同时，很多时候，很多人仍旧会回答yes，而不会说no。英语中表示同意的词很多，如果实在无法立马反应过来，不妨用其他的词。Absolutely, OK, you are right, exactly, certainly, yep, aye, just so, sure, right, correct, you said it. I agree with you, 常用的还有sweat, you bet。或者你可以说：I hear you.你说的我明白。说no的词也有好几个：nope, I don’t think so,等等。
　　33 有个人说：A 82 year-old man married a 28 year-old woman. That is the most bizarre thing that has ever happened recently. （一个82岁的老头娶了28岁的姑娘，这是近来最为离奇的事。）另一个人蛮有同情心，他可能会说：Well, age shouldn’t be something that comes in the way of a person’s marriage. As long as they love each other, age is not an issue.（嗯，年龄在婚姻中应该不是障碍，重要的是他们爱着对方，年龄不是问题。）bizarre是一个美国人喜欢用的词，意思是“稀奇古怪，不正常的”；That is a bizarre story.(这个故事太荒唐。) The nine-head-bird is really bizarre.（九头鸟是不可能有的事。）这是一句中国俗话，上、下联是什么呢？ comes in the way of 的意思是“成为绊脚石”。
　　34 有个朋友要我每到一地就给她写几个字，这英语的表达法可以用“drop me a line”： Don’t forget to drop me a line when you visit a new place. 我则可以回答：“Trust me. I won’t. I’ll keep you posted.”（没问题，我不会忘记的，我会随时让你知道我的近况。）post当动词用，则是“邮寄，转递”，keep someone posted意思是keep in touch with someone, or touch base with someone often。只是很可惜，现在的中国邮局大部分都不办理邮政业务，而是成为银行了，所以信也没法寄。Drop by的意思是，顺便访问（没有计划的那种访问。）Please drop by sometime for a drink. - I dropped by my best friend’s house to see if he was home. 不要朋友写信，就叫朋友打电话好了：Give me a buzz. or Give me a ring. 都可以。
　　35 上一篇中提到了一个词soul mate，是那种心灵感应的朋友，也可以用heart,例如说，sweat heart，但这指恋人或关系特别密切的人。a heart to heart chat很诚恳的沟通。I tried to have a heart to heart chat with him on this issue, but it didn’t work. 我费了一番力气想与他坦诚沟通，但没有什么用。
　　36 他喝醉了。英文有好些说法，很口语化的是：He is loaded. 就是drunk的意思。"When I talked to the president, he was loaded." Kissinger said about Nixon. 基辛格谈到尼克松时说：“我跟总统谈话时，他已经喝得烂醉。”under the influence of alcohol也是喝醉了的意思，但这是个法律词汇，意思是犯法了，尤其是在开车时，如果查出了司机是under the influence of alcohol则可能要坐牢。而drunk, loaded虽是醉酒，但不违法。很书面语的词汇是“intoxicated, intoxication”。写到这里，我想起了昆明巫家坝机场的一副广告：令人陶醉的地方--云南（大意），旁边的英语是：Intoxication: Yunnan. 这是典型的中式英语，外国人看了不知所云，听上去好像是云南人都是酒鬼一样。正确的英文应该是：The most attractive place: Yunnan;也可以说：Breathtaking scenery:Yunnan.
　　37 He is a little bit punchy. 如果一个人晚上睡眠不足，早晨起来睡眼惺忪的样子，我们可以说他punchy.所以可以接着说：He needs a cup of coffee to wake up. 一个人看上去云里雾里的样子都是punchy，与喝醉酒貌差不多。
　　38 与load还有一个相关的口语词：freeloading, 揩油，滥用别人的慷慨。My roommate won’t pay anything for the grocery. I end up feeding him three meals. I am really fed up with his freeloading.(他这样揩我的油我实在是受不了。)揩油的人就叫“freeloader”，就是那种喜欢免费的午餐的人（those who enjoy free lunch）。
　　39 市场上有很多关于学英语诀窍的书，但实际上，学英语就是一个背单词、与遗忘作斗争的过程。记忆力好的人总是少数。I cannot think of these English words off hand. One of the effective ways is to brush up on grammar rules a little bit everyday. There is simply no short cut. Off hand，我无法一下子就能想起这些英文单词。 Brush up on 常常复习，short cut，捷径。学英语最好是每天学一点，坚持不懈，集腋成裘：“Precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, idea by idea,”（一次学个概念，这里学一点，那里学一点，一次接触一个思想）。或者我们可以说 A little at a time, we can eat up an elephant eventually.（一次吃一口，我们最终可以把头大象给吞了。） It is a big job, but we can get it done. 这个工作巨大，但我们可以把它做好。所以不要相信那些100天就可以把英语学好的广告。如果有学生或一位网友100天可以学好英语的话，那我不就要失业了？
　　
作者：信天优　回复日期：2007-09-24　20:19:33　

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40 堵塞。看到“堵塞”二字，人们一般会想起“jam”，如果是交通堵塞，用jam是没错的。但是如果是下水道给堵塞了，最好要用clog。It is too bad, my sink is clogged up again.“堵塞”还有一个英文词“clot”: The street was clotted with traffic. 街上交通阻塞。血栓堵塞：blood clot。“堵塞”正式的名词是Congestion, 如果吃东西给咽了，则是choking （food clogging in the throat.） 　　41 Hang 是个常用的单词，几本意思是“挂，吊”。口语中加上in 或者on后，其意思是坚持。Hang in there, OK? 再在那里坚持一会。Everybody hanging on. 每个人都再坚持一下。Stay on. 也是“再坚持一会”
　　All relationships go through rough times. You just have to hang in there. 每种关系都会经历难关，所以你坚持下去就好了。
　　Just hang on in there. The physical training is tough but it’s worth it. 你一定要坚持下去，体育训练难度较大，但这代价是值得付的。
　　Hang around 的意思是闲逛。你进商店，老板会问：What can I do for you? 你则可以回答：I am just hanging around.我只是随便看看。
　　Most husbands hate hanging around with their wives in the mall. It’s so boring! 大部分的先生都不喜欢跟老婆去逛商场，太无聊了。
　　I don’t like to hang around here after dark. 天黑后我不喜欢在这里逛了。
　　He had stupidly hung around — just to see what the cops were doing — and ended up being arrested!他在这里看热闹实在是笨，他就是想看看警察在干什么，结果把自己给弄抓起来了。
　　Hang up with 是约会的意思。He is hanging up now with Jane.
　　42. 如果有人无所事事，你就可以说：Get a job. 去做点正事吧。
　　43.No need to panic. Don’t panic不要慌张。
　　44.You made your point. 我明白你的观点（意见）了。或者：I heard you.
　　45.You are nasty. 你真是可恶。nasty weather; a nasty trick nasty是个常用词，表示厌恶。
　　46.Stay cool, man. 老兄，多多保重。相当于Take care.
　　47.That is a wishful thinking. 想得美。也可以说是day dream白日梦。You are day dreaming. "He lives in a dream that has nothing to do with reality"
　　48.Let us keep it that way. 还是原样吧。就这么办吧。
　　49.Can you drop it? 能不能不谈这事了？
　　50.What is there for me (you)?两个人谈合作，你看了半天，都是对方得益，于是你就可以说这句话了：我的好处在哪里？也可以说：Where is my cut?51.Back To Basics 从头来，回到起点，回到基础的东西。
　　This is really complicated for me now, please get back to basics, OK？这真的有点复杂了，我搞不懂，能不能从头说一遍？
　　又可以说：Back To Square One 这是一个美式足球的术语，球又从新开始。
　　Voters send tax relief back to square one. 投票人将缓税计划打回原宫。
　　表示“基本”的另一个词组是 the nuts and bolts
　　The nuts and bolts of college writing 大学写作初阶
　　nut 是螺帽， bolt 螺钉，螺帽螺钉是最基本的的东西，合在一起就是“基础”。
　　52.Licking good 味道好极了，licking是舔的意思，例如手抓羊肉，吃完后，再舔舔手，证明好吃。 It is licking good.
　　53.My toes feel very itchy. It’s really irritating. I think I have an athlete’s foot. 我脚趾痒得很，真烦人，我想我是得了香港脚气。夏天还一个常常弄得皮肤很痒的是痱子Heat rash或heat burns，中暑是heat stroke，那就不是痒的问题了，搞不好要命。
　　54．I really miss my good old days. Now age has set in.我真怀念以前那些美好的日子，现在是年岁不饶人呀。
　　55．I owe you. 我欠你一次情。
　　56．Do they buy it? 他们买帐吗？
　　57．Don’t just talk to his mind, talk to his heart. 不仅要诉之于理，更是要动之以情。
　　58．That psycho scared me. 美国曾有部恐怖片，片名就是是《psycho》，主角是一个连环杀手，患有精神病。所以那些行为古怪的人也叫psycho.
　　59．You need to get yourself together. 你得清醒清醒。
　　60．Guru 这个词最近几年最流行，原意是指印度教、佛教里的教师，现在也指新兴的宗教里的老师，进而泛指大师，也可译成大鳄。有时有戏称的味道。Diet guru 营养大师
　　 61．It’s a pro-democracy movement. And it’s not only Chinese, it is global. 这是一场民主化运动，这不仅是中国人的追求，而是世界性的运动。在谈到民主化时，在democracy前要加pro这个前缀，表示拥护。
　　62．Genuine pro-democracy movements are always profoundly threatening to those with their polished boots on the necks of the poor. 真正的民主运动势必会从根本上动摇那些骑在穷人身上作威作福人的利益。Polished boots擦得锃亮的靴子，the neck of the poor穷人的脖子，这个词组很形象，就是富人阶层把穿了靴子的脚架在穷人的脖子上。
　　63．China will not move forward towards the ultimate goal of universal suffrage without the active participation of the citizens.没有公民的积极参与，中国就不能进步，达到普选的最终目标。Universal suffrage人人都投票。
　　
　　65．Without human rights and political freedoms, we are simply a bunch of pigs. Without checks and balance, man will surely abuse power and concentrate power, and eventually dictatorship is born. abuse power 滥用权力，concentrate power 抓权，
　　
　　67．We’re learning to reach out across borders and many other barriers, finding out how to affirm our common humanity while struggling against the dictatorship.我们在渐渐地学习如何跨越各团体之间的界限、打破各团体之间的障碍，学习寻找如何来追求我们普遍的人类价值，同时一起与专制作斗争。
71．She’s really pretty, isn’t she? Her skin looks so baby smooth! 她太靓了。你看她的皮肤，看上去就像婴孩一样光滑。
　　72．It is no good to put lots of make-up and notion on your face. It is better to look natural. 把那么多化妆品往脸上堆实在不好，自然美看起来更好。
　　73．It is good to put cucumbers on your face every night. These are natural skin soothers, natural healers of the skin. They soften the skin, wipe out the roughness, remove lines and age signs.每晚在脸上贴些黄瓜效果不错。这是一种天然润肤、天然理疗皮肤的方法。黄瓜能使皮肤细嫩，使皮肤光滑，消除皱纹，让人显得更年轻。
　　74．My darling, if my breasts were saggy, would you still love me? 这是女人最担心的一个问题。
　　75．My forehead is wrinkled, the eyes are puffy, the sacks under the eyes are dark, and the skin is no longer as resilient as it was. I need a plastic surgery, and a breast enlargement. （我额头满是皱纹，眼睛浮肿，眼袋发黑，皮肤也不再像以前那么光亮，我要去做美容手术和隆胸。）
　　76. Darling, Beijing Mall is having a big sale this weekend. You wanna go? But we are broke this month. Well, we still can do window shopping. Women, women. 亲爱的，这个周末北京商厦大甩卖，你要去吗？可是这个月我们已经破产了呀。那也不要紧，我们去饱饱眼福就行了。女人呀，女人。Window shopping 就是去商场逛逛，什么也不买。
　　77. I am a woman in love. And I do anything to get you into my world. 这是一首歌里的歌词。
　　78. I really love him to death. I am head over heels in love with him. Head over heels 翻了一个跟头，晕头转向，爱得死去活来，神魂颠倒。He was running so fast that when he jumped and got hit he went head over heels. 也可以说：I have been head over heels about my girlfriend since the day I met her.
　　79. Shop until you drop. Drop 这里的意思是，你买东西多得都拿不下了，东西直掉，所以可以译为：“手不塞满，采购不停”。“只要还能提得动，采购一路就不停”。She is type of woman of shop until you drop. 她是那种采购狂女人。（她进了商店就什么都想买。）
　　80. Isn’t my baby the most beautiful baby in the world? 每个母亲都有权力吹这个牛。
81. I am fed up! 受够了。I am fed up with 脑白金’s commercial. It is on TV all the time. 我真是有点厌恶脑白金的广告了，电视节目里老是它的广告。“受够了某人”也可以说：I have had enough of Shi, he made a fortune by selling snake oil. 这个史真是让我烦，他靠卖狗皮膏药发了大财, or I have had enough of his bad behavior.
　　82. I have been there. Or I have been around.这事我经历过。I have been there, so I know how you feel. 这些事我都经历过，所以我能明白你的感受。I have been around long enough to know this kind of guys. I can rip him to pieces in a second. 这种场合我经历多了，对这类人我太了解，我可以瞬间就把他给打得落花流水。（直译：把他撕得粉碎）My brother has always been there for me. 我(有困难时)哥哥是我随时的帮助。
　　83. We are at bingo. 成功了，干完了。如果你赢了，就大喊一声：Bingo。
　　84. If you make a mistake, just fess up to it. Take your licks and we’ll press on. 如果你犯了错，承认就好了，忍住伤痛，然后我们继续进行下去。Lick通常的意义是“舔”，这里作“打击”。
　　85. I am swamped. 我太忙了。
　　86. I am tired. My legs are giving out, my brain is going to neutral, I need to take a shower and go to bed. 我累了，脚也走不动，头脑也昏沉，我要洗个澡然后睡觉。
　　87. 口语中说没有考好可以用 flunk, “fail” 相对来说比较正规了点。He flunked all of his courses. 如果门门课都不及格的话，就会被学校开除，因此可以说“flunk out”：It is kind of sad, after Jason flunked out of high school, it is hard for him to find a job.
　　88. 说一个学生全面发展：“He is fully dimensional.”dimension的基本意思是“面”，例如“三维”：three dimensions。说一个人优秀，比平常人多了点才华，可以说：He is excellent, and has the extra dimension.
　　89. Cookie 本意是“饼干”，口语中指你特别喜欢的人。That is my girl, that is my cookie。她就是我的，正是合我口味的姑娘。A clever cookie, 一个聪明的伙计，a lawyer who was a tough cookie 一个难对付的律师
　　90. 说一个人很紧张我们一般会说“nervous”，口语里可说“edgy”，you are so edgy. Relax, man. 你太紧张了，放松一点，老兄。The performers were edgy as they waited for the show to begin. 演出开始前，演员们紧张得要命。91. He is a stud.他很帅，他是个帅哥。注意stud只能用于男性，而且是那种具阳刚气、棱角分明、健壮的人（well-cut）。女性相对应的词是bombshell，美得像炸弹，她一出现，就要炸翻一片男士。She is a sure-fire bombshell。以前江南一带形容女孩漂亮的俚语也有“她很炸”。不知道现在说女孩漂亮的俚语是什么了。还有一个类似的说法：She is a knock-out.knock-out是拳击词汇，一拳把对手打出圈外。
　　92. Lighten up!不用那么紧张。Lighten up on yourself.
　　93. Knuckle-head，笨蛋，傻。He is really a knuckle-head.
　　94. He has a strong ego. He believes he is a big shot, and beats his chest. A strong ego, 很强烈的自我优越感，Big shot, 大腕，重要的人物。Beat one’s chest，那些篮球运动员灌篮后都要捶打自己的胸脯，表示得意自豪。Do you wanna try another shot. Shot在这句的意思是“试试”，“想再试一次吗？”It is your shot.这是你的工作了。
　　95. Goofy是个很有用的词，意思有点像silly。Goofy是个卡通狗，长长的耳朵，表情古怪，引人发笑。If you do something goofy, you will gain children’s attention. You are acting goofy. They were worrying about their goofy kids. 傻，不懂事。
　　96. Spooky 可疑，可怕。He is trying to sell something to me, but it looks spooky to me. 他想向我推销东西，不过看起来可疑。 It is dark down the ally, quite spooky.小巷子很暗，有点可怕。
　　97. Fishy,不诚实，可疑。It sounds fishy. 听起来不可信。
　　98. Buff原意是牛皮，口语中指“对某事务有强烈爱好，知识丰富的人”a Civil War buff 内战史迷。He happens to be a genealogy buff. Those who are not beef buffs can order something else. Buff又指那种肌肉发达的人： Some buff athletes lifting weights at the gym.
　　99. It may be a cock-and-bull story. Cock-and-bull 没有书对的事。He is good at telling cock-and-bull stories. 他最会胡编乱讲。
　　100. That will crank you up. 意思是“That will cheer you up.”
　101. I have a fire in my belly to do something for this village. 我有一股强烈的愿望，能为这个村庄做点什么。特别注意，这个成语与“一肚子火”没有关系，是表示有一种正面的强烈愿望。
　　I love this desire which comes from a fire in my belly.
　　一首歌的歌词：Fire in my heart, fire in my belly too Got a heart and a mind and a fire inside And I’m crazy about you You, you on your high flying cloud You, you when you’re laughing out loud.
　　Have a yen for也是口语，同样表示“I have a desire for”： I have a yen for a thick juicy steak. He has a yen for this girl.
　　102．Digital cameras are cheap now, you can get one for peanuts. 最便宜的东西莫过于花生，用买花生的钱就能买的东西，那当然是很便宜了。以前美国南部产棉花，但棉花对土地有结板块的作用。后来农民发现棉花收割后种花生对土地有帮助，于是开始种花生。那时花生不过像杂草一样，农民任其烂在田里。直到发明了花生酱后，花生才渐渐地成为人们喜欢的食物。
　　103．Blow out 与 blow away
　　With this dress, you are going to blow away everybody at your party.
　　I am blown out to find out that she would not come.
　　104．You are so jumpy. 你真是有点神经质。一个人兴奋得乱蹦乱跳,所以显得有点神经质.
　　105．Are you getting the picture You are going to get the whole picture.
　　106．Tough, 这个词是口语中使用频率比较高的，a tough guy,
　　It is pretty tough to get a reservation. 这里的tough就是difficult得意思。You just have to tough it out.
　　107．Rough, 注意，rough与touch意思不同，容易混淆。
　　I have some rough patches with my wife. 我有好些地方得与老婆去磨合磨合了。
　　108．I am here now, I need to get in a swing of it. 我已经到了，该投入行动了。
　　109．More brawn than brain 四肢发达，头脑简单 Nowadays, pop-culture icons are more brawn than brain. 现在流行文化中的偶像都是些四肢发达，头脑简单的家伙。
　　110．Once you get to the meat of the subject, you will start to enjoy it. Meat肉，这里做“精髓”解。Nub也有这个意思：the nub of the story
作者：信天优　回复日期：2007-10-13　18:56:35　

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　　111．Watch out for bait-and-switch tactics. 街头骗子常用的手法就是快速地掉包，先用一个诱饵，乘你不注意掉包。
　　112．The ball is in your court now.现在球已到你那边了。（意即得由你作次决定了，作出回应了）
　　Fireball：火球，例如像原子弹爆炸一般，引申为“成功、热情、精力旺盛”之意。I hope John will join us, he is a fireball.(or he is a ball of fire.)我希望约翰能加入我们，他是个热情旺盛的人。
Ball这个词人人都识，就是球的意思。但在口语里，还有三个其他的含义。The little girl had a ball at school today. 这个小女孩今天在学校参加了一个舞会。
　　另外on the ball 的含义是，有知识，有才华，懂行，办事利索。
　　He is a teacher who is really on the ball. 他是个了不起的老师。a manager who has a lot on the ball很懂行的经理; a student who has nothing on the ball 学得一塌糊涂的学生
　　另一个说法表示一个人“能干”，可以说hot-shot：The boss would like to hire a hot-shot employee 能干的职员 a hot-shot teacher, 能干的老师，
　　Ball的第三个用法是having sex：They met, they clicked, they are having a ball.
　　I am glad you have started the ball rolling. 很高兴你把这事推动起来了。
　　113．Blur 模糊，Taiwan talk is just a blur. 台湾问题的讨论不过是在搅混水。The next hour is a blur to me.接下来的一个小时我就稀里糊涂了。
　　114．I have worked my butt out.我干活干得筋疲力尽了。中国人“我干这活都掉了两斤肉。”英语里是累得屁股都掉了。
　　115．Snake oil 江湖郎中开的药 a snake oil salesman, 一个骗子推销商，传销卖的东西基本上都是snake oil。中国的保健品基本上也都是snake oil，中国最有名的snake oil恐怕是脑白金了。
　　116．I saw several old geezers walking in the street. old geezer 老人，老头子（有幽默味道，并不含贬义），表示老头子还有另两种说法：old chap, old stick，这只能熟人之间用，
　　117． She is angry with me, but I stick to my guns.她对我很愤怒，但我决不让步。stick to one’s guns 表示坚持原则。坚守原则的另一说法是：You need to hold your ground even if some people oppose you. 就算有人攻击你，你也一定要坚守立场。
　　118．A night owl 熬夜的人 He is a night owl. 相当于He likes to burn night oil.
　　119．Mr. Li never throws anything away, he is a pack rat. 李先生从不扔掉任何东西,他简直是垃圾收藏家。
　　120． He has been my sidekick for several years.他是我多年的好友。Sidekick 可以是老朋友，也指在关系中处于小弟的位置：I have been his sidekick for many years, now it is time that I break into my own business. 我作他的跟班已经好些年了，现在我该自己创业了。
121. Close but no cigar. 差不多就答对了，但尚不能获奖。（大概是答对了就会奖励一支雪茄吧）同样的结构有Thanks but no thanks.如果你谢绝别人要给你提供的帮助或东西时，你可以这么说，“谢谢，但不需要。”
　　122. three strikes, you are out. 这是一句棒球语，但也开始用在日常生活中，往往意思为：“如果你犯三次，就把你开除。”好些年前，美国曾讨论一个叫“three strikes law”，又叫“habitual offender laws”，该法律主要是针对那些刑事犯罪惯犯，如果一连犯了三次重罪，刑期就得自动延长，甚至是终生监禁，有点中国“严-打”的味道，但也有人指出这法律不合宪法，因为宪法中规定，一罪不二罚。
　　123. The returns are good but the stakes are high. 回报诱人，但风险极高。
　　124. Every year, four hundred Americans die from heat stroke. Heat stroke就是中暑，今年中暑的人特别多。
　　125. I need some back-up from you. 我需要你的支持。Support是书面语，backup是口语。Police: I need backup, I need backup.请求支援，请求支援。Back off, 让开。 126. get out of here. 直接的意思是，滚到一边去吧。也可以意为：得了吧。如果你不同别人的话，也可这么说。
127. I am pulling an all-nighter. 熬夜。128. Let me get my head around this. 让我把这件事想清楚
129. you need to get your head straight. 你得头脑清醒清醒。
130. the sticks，这里的sticks 是“树林，深林”的意思。He is a guy in the sticks, how could you expect him to know that? 他住深山老林，他怎么可能知道这事？stick-thin, 或者 as thin as a stick 骨瘦如柴 I remember her as a stick-thin teenager. 我的记忆里，她是个骨瘦如柴的青少年。比较：out of the woods脱离深林，意即“脱离危险”。131. Streamliner 高速列车，我国最近开通的D字头车就可称为streamliner，另一个词是子弹头车bullet train，赛车也可以说是streamlined cars；
　　132. I try to fix Michael up with my sister’s classmate Mary. 我想要撮合Michael与我妹妹的同学Mary成一对。
　　133. One for the books 值得记一笔的事件，难以置信的事件。
　　134. You should bypass the mind and go straight to the bloodstream of your listeners. 你不要跟听众讲大道理，而应该直接去打动他们的心。 Or say: go straight to their gut feeling
　　135. Many Chinese people like to play devil’s advocate in politics. 许多中国人最喜欢在讨论政治时唱反调。play devil’s advocate就是“抬杠”的意思。
　　136. I don’t like his devil-may-care attitude. 我不喜欢他那毫不在乎的态度
　　137. “恶搞”如何说？spoof, spoofing attack, “When a good product gets spoofed, that is too bad.”"When a good product gets spoofed"可不可以理解为某产品被仿冒？ 138. "I wouldn’t vote for him for dogcatcher" or "He couldn’t run for dogcatcher in this country". Dogcatcher 捕狗员，如有流浪狗在街上，捕狗员的工作就是抓这些狗，这是最低贱的活了。“连捕狗员我都不会选他去当。”（实际意思是：他又如何可以竞选当县长？）
　　139. 出血大甩卖deep discount, blowout sale, 清仓大甩卖closing sale, clearance sale, 减价 on sale, slashed by half,
　　140. Turnoff, 本意是“关灯”，如果一个人一来就关灯，这个人就是“turnoff”（扫兴）: One of the girls’ biggest turn-offs is guys who are indecisive. 女孩最不喜欢的人就是那些老犹豫不决的男子。A woman who is aggressive is a turnoff to men. 什么事都抢先争赢的女人不受男人的欢迎。Zhang Yimou’s movies are always turnoffs. 张艺谋的电影都叫人看不下去。
　　141. Gotcha. 是got you的口语形式，意思就是“明白”。
　　142. She can really turn a phrase. 她的语言文字能力极强。又可以说：a turn of phrase, She has a nice turn of phrase which should serve her well in journalism. 她善于文字表达，因此适合从事新闻业。又作“表达法”解释：Significant other’, meaning ’partner’, now that’s an interesting turn of phrase.
　　143. there is a lot of ground work to do. 还有好多预备工作要做。这大概是源于航空业，在飞机起飞前，要做很多的地面工作。
　　144. That is the real deal. 这才是真正的目的，真正的实惠所在。
　　145. I don’t mean to cry over your shoulder, but here is my reality, I have lots of bills to pay. 我并不是想赚取你的同情，但我的实际情况是，我真的有好多账单还没有付。
　　146. Net Gestapos track down and punish offenders for even some minor perceived rule-breaking offense. Track down 追踪， 哪怕是那些微不足道的犯规，网盖都会要穷追不舍把犯规者法办。
　　147. 他是代课老师。可以说a temporary teacher, 不过口语的说法是He is a fill-in teacher. Fill-in 临时替代。
　　148. He is quite spunky today. Spunky, 兴高采烈，情绪好。From the spunky look on his face you could tell he must have done well in the test. 从他有精神的表情上可以得出他一定考得不错。
　　149. They beat us fair and square. 我们输得心服口服。Everyone wants to get rich ovenight, they don’t care if they will earn something fair and square.
　　150. I want you to get your room in shipshape. 请把房间收拾好。Everything is shipshape.一切都好，一切准备就绪。Shipshape指的是军舰上一切都是有条不紊151. that really gets under one’s skin 意思是It really upsets me. 钻到了某个人的皮肤下，就是很令人厌烦的意思。She really gets under my skin now. 她真的有点令我生厌了。还有一个类似的说法：To be honest it is starting to get on my nerves. 讲老实话，我对这事很不感冒了。
　　152. 一个人要大小便了如何说？最通常的说法是：Excuse me, I need to use bathroom. 如果一定要表明是小便还是大便，可以说 I want to pee, or I want to poo. pee and poo 都是儿童用语，poo大人一般会避免不用，因为听起来太粗俗。小便大便的正式说法是：urine and bowel movements。肚子不舒服拉稀为：I have some loose stools，这是比较口语的说法，正规说法是diarrhea. 便秘是constipation。 I have urge to go to bathroom. 尿胀了。 irregular bowel movements：大便不正常
　　153. He is a rather layback person. 他是一个平和的人。也就是不会容易激动的人，反面词是jumpy。I’m enjoying the lay back culture of Lijiang. 我很喜欢丽江的安逸的环境。
　　154. He looked at his laptop and said: “I am afraid I don’t have much juice now.” 这里的juice的意思是电池电量很低了。
　　155. She is a chatter box. 她的话匣子从来关不住。
　　156. She is nosy. 她喜欢多管闲事。
　　157. We have to start from scratch again. 我们又得从头开始了。现在流行说ground zero。例如美国世贸大厦被炸后就成了Ground Zero.
　　158. The doctor told me that I had to slow down- or else. “or else” 表示比较严重的事会发生。医生叫我放慢节奏，否则的话……。这个结构可以比较英语口语第二题中的第七句的结构：Thank you for .....(the tea, and so on), and everything else.
　　159. Study hard, pass the exams or bust. Bust是“失败，出局”的意思。“要好好学习、考试及格，要不然就玩完了。”or else, 和or bust都属于同样的结果，表示更严重的后果。
　　160. 与“座位”有关的几个口语词组：I am very fortunate to get the ringside seat to the event. 靠近比赛台的座位，比喻为近距离观察。 The consumer is in the driving seat due to the huge range of goods on the market. driving seat 表示“掌控大局”， You must rent this video. It keeps you on the edge of your seat right up to the end. 你得去租这部电影看看，从头到尾都会让你聚精会神。还有一个常用的词组：back seat driver坐在后面喜欢告诉开车的人如何开车，意思就是幕后操纵，垂帘听政。邓小平就是一个back-seat driver.
　　
161 口语中一些描绘人物的词汇：上次提到了layback, 意为“与世无争的”，He is a rather layback person. Spunky: 很活泼、很有生气的样子，She is quite spunky。这词也有生气的意思：Nobody knows why my father has been spunky lately. Jumpy 有神经质的样子，一惊一炸的，He is jumpy.（high-strung）。She has bubbly personality. Bubble有气泡的，形容人热情。Sassy, 没有教养，说话粗鲁，例如小孩子顶嘴。也有活泼的含义。与sassy有关的东西一般都是青少年类的。
　　162. every nook and cranny 每个角落，The story surely has reached every nook and cranny in the city. 这件事传遍的大街小巷。 Every nook and cranny has brought back memories. This house is where I grew up. I know every nook and cranny of it. Law books were stuffed into every nook and cranny of his office.
　　163.tidy 很可观，巨大，She sold it for a tidy profit.说“钱多”还可以说handsome, handsome profit 也是利润可观的意思。Tidy 另一个意思是整洁：the room is clean and tidy. 还有一个口语词表达巨大的：colossal, Tis really a colossal success. a colossal waste of time,
　　164.be off one’s rocker, rocker是摇椅，一个人坐在摇椅上得意忘形就摇到地上去了，意思就是crazy。Spending that much on a car! He must be off his rocker! Have you gone totally off your rocker? Rocker 又叫lazy chair。Off the wall也是不可思议的意思。
　　165.台湾人说“呛阿扁”如何说？可以用hoot, They hooted at the speaker. 他们对做报告的人发出呛声。The audience hooted the actor. 观众都向这个演员喝倒采。Before too long, they hooted the singer off the stage.很快他们就把这个歌手轰下了台。
　　166. 垃圾文章，trashy articles, or junk articles, 垃圾小说也可以这么说：trashy novels, junk novels,
　　167. It is toasty outside. 外面很热。
　　168. a curve ball, curve 意为“曲线”，棒球投球手（pitcher）投出难接的曲线球，意为“意外的难题”， The weather threw a curve at their outdoor picnic and they had to eat indoors. 天气忽然变得很糟糕，他们不得不中断室外的野餐，而到室内吃。函数表格中常常出现曲线，表示两个点之间的关系，现在也喻事务中间的关系：the learning curve，progress curve, cost improvement curve，gradual learning curve（学习要循序渐进） 等等，都有这个意思。
　　169. She got him in her back pocket. Back pocket, 裤后面的口袋，意思是“囊中物，跑不了”，这句话的意思因此是“她已经把他驯得对她死心塌地。”
　　170. whack 狠狠揍了。。。一顿，或干掉了谁。He got whacked.他被狠揍了一顿。但注意They have all had a whack. 这里的whack意思为cut, 一份：他们大家都得到了一份　171. I am not a sugar daddy. 我可不是要什么给什么的人。甜爸爸，非常慷慨的意思。
　　172. It is obvious that he doesn’t have all of his marbles. Marble的意思是大理石，但口语中为“理智”。这句话的意思是：很显然，他头脑（或思维）有点问题。He completely lost his marbles after the stock market crashed. 股市崩盘后，他差点跳楼。
　　173. huffy 形容词，生气的，骄傲的，脸皮薄的。If they get all huffy, you know they are not humble people. 如果他们老是动辄生气，你就知道他们根本没有什么涵养。She stayed huffy a good while. 她气了好一阵。
　　174. Got the picture? 明白了吗？I just can’t get the picture. Picture指事物的真相。
　　175. It was a great venture. It was going great guns. 这是非常值得的投资，很成功。I’m not worried about our company’s future — we’re going great guns, and I expect it to continue.我根本就不为我们公司的将来去担忧，我们发展得很好，我觉得还会一直很好地发展。
　　 Stick to his guns 不放弃，坚持 David’s family were against him becoming an actor but he stuck to his guns. 大卫的家人都反对他去当演员，但他却不放弃。Stand by your guns and don’t let them talk you into working full time if you don’t want to. 坚持你自己的方式，如果你不想全时间工作，就不要听他们这样的建议。
　　Shotgun marriage奉子成亲（来源：女子未婚怀孕，女子父亲拿枪逼男子与女子成婚），胁迫婚姻（forced marriage），
　　Their cohabitation led to a shotgun wedding and a bitter divorce before too long.他们同居后，女方怀孕，不得不结婚，然后很快就离了婚。
　　A shotgun political marriage （民进党与国民党）两个政敌迫不得已的联手
　　176. throwback 生物学上返祖現象。这是进化论的观点。比如有人肝门部位突出了一点，进化论者就说那是返祖现象，说明人是猴子变的。当然这情况不常有，常有的倒是不少人有六个指头，但从来没有听到进化论者说那是返祖现象。不过这个词在日常生活中的意思是“旧派、守旧”，例如我一位朋友，在大学教书，那里人人都为当教授争得头破血流，而她却厌恶为了教授的席位去争风吃醋。这样的人在现今的年代已几乎绝迹了，可以说她是个返祖现象。
　　She is a throwback to an era when people would not sell out. 她还是属于不出卖灵魂时代的人。
　　His sentiments were a throwback to the old communist days. 他的观点属于从前过时的共产党时代。
　　Being a sort of throwback to the Victorian age, she won’t go against her old dad’s wishes. 她具有维多利亚时代的气质，不会跟老爸的意愿过不去。
　　177. put on the back burner, 意为“将一项事延后”（可能是不重视）I don’t think we will have time to complete it this year. Let’s put it on the back burner. 我觉得今年是没有时间完成这项工作了，我们就把它延后一点吧。
　　Plans for a new sports complex have been put on the back burner. 修建一座体育馆的计划不得不延后。
　　178. lay a finger at 碰…..一下，但这个词组一般只用在否定句中。Don’t lay a finger at him. 不要打他。Dare you lay a finger at him, I will kill him. 只要你敢碰他，我就宰了你。You’d better not lay a finger on those documents! 这些文件你最好碰都不要碰。If you lay a finger on me, I’ll sue. 如果你敢碰我，我就把你告上法庭。
　　179. 如果一个人收到一份请帖，如婚礼请帖，后面会有几个字母：R.S.V.P. 这几个字母是法文“répondez, s’il vous plaît,”的缩写，意为“请回答”。按照礼节（Etiquette rules），收信人应该在当天就回信。有时有人会把缩写转为动词用：Have you R.S.V.P.ed to that invitation？
　　180. They are fighting for crumbs. Crumb是面包渣。他们在为生存苦苦挣扎。