1）take a rain check改天吧
Model: [1998.8.北美（29）]
──Can you come over for dinner tonight? (今天晚上來吃飯好嗎？)
──I’m up to my ears in work, so I’ll have to take a rain check.（我工作很忙，改日吧。）
2）lost count弄不清楚
Model: [2000.1.（21）]
──Ever since your girlfriend moved to Bridgeport, you are always driving there. How many trips a week do you make anyway?（自從你的女友搬到Bridgeport，你老是開車去看她。一周去幾次啊？）
──I have lost count, but I can do it with my eyes closed.（搞不清楚了，但我閉著眼也能摸過去。）
3）be in another world精神恍惚；魂不守舍
Model: [1996.5.（25）]
──Pete’s really out of it these days.（Pete這幾天有點心不在焉。）
──Yeah, I know. Ever since he met Ann, he’s been in another world.（我同意。自從他遇見Ann,他就魂不守舍了。）
4）make yourself at home隨意，隨便
Model: [1999.8.（7）]
──Do you mind if I take off my jacket?（你介意我脫下夾克嗎？）
──Of course not, make yourself at home.（當然不介意，隨意一點﹗）
5）save your breath省口氣吧；別白費口舌了
Model: [1995.10.（14）]
──Hey? John! John!（嘿，John! John!）
──Save your breath. He’s out of earshot.（省口氣吧。他已經聽不到了。）
6）make sense有意義，理解 Model: [1999.1.（29）]
──The plot of that movie is hard to follow.（那部電影的情節很難跟得上。）
──It makes more sense the second time.（再看一遍就理解了。）
7）cost sb. an arm and a leg非常昂貴
Model: [1999。1。（4）]
──Did you see the diamond ring Bill gave to Linda?（你看到Bill送給Linda的鑽戒了嗎？）
──I sure did. It must have cost him an arm and a leg.（當然了。那一定很昂貴。）
8) burn a hole in one’s pocket很快地被花光
Model: [1997.10 ]
──Have you saved enough to buy that new printer for your computer yet? (你攢足錢給你的電腦買一台新印表機了嗎？)
──You know money seems to be burning a hole in my pocket lately . Maybe next month. (這幾個月我花錢如流水。也許下個月吧。)
9）fill one’s shoes很好地頂替；令人滿意地替代
Model: [1997.8.]
──Have you heard that Professor Jones is retiring? (你聽說Jones教授要退休了嗎？)
──Yes. The faculty won’t find anyone to fill her shoes. (是的。學校將很難找到合適的人來代替她。)
10）is ice cold表示理所當然
Model: [1995.10.]
──Does Prof. Ford always come to class? (Ford教授總是來上課嗎？)
──Is ice cold? (當然了。)
11）like apples and oranges用來表示無法相比的事物
Model: [1997.1.]
──Which game do you think is more difficult to learn, chess or bridge?（你認為橋牌和象棋哪個更難學?）
──They are like apples and oranges. (它倆沒法比較。)
12）look for a needle in a hay stack大海撈針
Model: [1990.1.]
──We are supposed to meet John here at the train station. (我們要在火車站接John。)
──That’s like looking for a needle in a hay stack .（那可真是大海撈針。）
13）lose one’s train of忘記
Model: [1995.1.]
──When you interrupted me, you made me lose my train of thought. (你打斷了我的思考，我忘記我在想什麼了。)
14）meet each other half way相互妥協，讓步
Model: [1992.8.]
──My chemistry project is in trouble because my partner and I had totally different ideas about how to proceed. (我的化學課題出問題了。在進展問題上，我與我的合作者意見完全不同。)
──You should try to meet each other half way. (你們應該相互妥協。)
15）on the dot準時；正點
Model: [1992.8.]
──Did you and Amanda really meet exactly five minutes to two in front of the theatre? (你和Amanda確實在差5分兩點的時候到達劇院門口了嗎？)
──Yes, we were both there on the dot. (是的，我倆都準點到達。)
16）once and for all最後一次；干脆
Model: [1996.1.]
──I am going to tell that neighbor of mine to turn down that music once and for all.（我要最後一次告訴我那個鄰居把音樂聲關小。）
──I see why you are angry. But I’ve always found that the polite route is the most effective. (我明白你為什麼惱火。但我總覺得禮貌的模式是最有效的。)
17）out of earshot不在聽力所及範圍
Model: [1995.10.]
──Hey? John! John! (嗨! John! John! )
──Save your breath. He’s out of earshot.（省口氣吧，他聽不見。）
18）out of this world非常好
Model: [1995.10.]
──Have you tried Susan’s apple pie?（你試過Susan的蘋果派嗎？）
──I got the last piece. And it was out of this world. (我拿到最後一塊。好吃極了。)
19）play by ear隨機應變，視情形而定
Model: [1989.8.]
──Marty, are you doing anything special for your presentation in political science tomorrow? (Marty，你在為明天的政治學演講準備與眾不同的材料嗎？)
──Not really, because the class so often turns into a discussion, I’ve decided to play it by ear. (不。那門課常常最後變成討論。我決定視情形而定。)
20) ring a bell令人想起某件事；聽起來耳熟
Model: [1992.10.]
──That name just doesn’t ring a bell with me. (那個名字我一點也不熟。)
21）share a common outlook有共同的觀點
Model: [1991.1.]
──Jeff and Alan share a common outlook on life. (Jeff和Alan對于生活有共同的觀點。)
22）six of one and half-a-dozen of the other半斤八兩；沒什麼區別
Model: [1989.1.]
──I can’t decide whether to take anthropology or geology this term. (我決定不了這學期是選人類學還是地理課。)
──It’s six of one and half-a-dozen of the other. (兩門無甚差別。)
23）stick around在附近逗留或等待
Model: [1995.5.]
──Leaving the party so soon? We’re just getting ready to cut the cake. (這么早就要走？我們剛準備要切蛋糕。)
──Sorry, I can’t stick around. (對不起，我不能繼續待在這兒了。)
24）stick with繼續做，堅持
Model: [1996.8.]
──I wonder what this new flavor of ice cream tastes like? (我想知道這種新的冰激凌是什麼味道？)
──I tried it last week. If I were you, I would stick with an old favorite. (上周我吃過，若我是你，我會繼續吃以前愛吃的那種。)
25）straighten out扯平；結清
Model: [1996.1.]
──I almost forgot. I still owe you ten dollars from the other night. Do you have change for a twenty? (我差點忘了。不久前的一個晚上我借了你10塊錢，到現下還沒還呢，你現下能找開20元的嗎？)
──Oh, not at the moment. Let’s just straighten it out some other time. (哦，現下不能。以後再結清吧。)
26）toss and turn（身體）翻來覆去（通常表示難以入睡）
Model: [1993.1.]
──Last night I tossed and turned in bed, too exhausted to sleep. (昨晚我輾轉反側，怎么也睡不著。)
27）turn one’s back (在別人遇到困難時)不愿幫助
Model: [1990.10.]
──He’ll turn his back on me if I ask for money. (我若向他借錢，他就會不理我。)
28）under the weather身體不適，生病
Model: [1996.10.(26)]
──It’s good to see you, Mary. How have you been? (看見你真高興，Mary。你好嗎？)
──Actually I have been feeling under the weather recently. (其實這兩天我身子不大舒服。)
29）bite off more than one can chew貪多嚼不爛；心有余而力不足；不自量力；力不從心
Model:
──I hear you’ve been taking an advanced physics course this semester. How’s it going? (我聽說這學期你在上高等物理課。這門課怎么樣？)
──I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. (我是心有余而力不足啊。)
30）break new ground創新
Model:
──His architectural design broke new ground in the field. (他的建築設計是這個領域裡的創新。)
31）do the trick做成功；達到理想的結果
Model:
──I’ve been trying to get the furnace started, but I can’t find the right switch. (我盡力想讓爐子燃起來，可不知道該按哪個鍵。)
──Here, I believe this one in the back will do the trick. (這裡，我相信后面按這個鍵，可以讓爐子燃起來。)
32）drag one’s feet行動緩慢；磨磨蹭蹭不情願
Model:
──How’s Bob coming along on his dissertation proposal?（Bob的論文計劃進展地怎么樣了？） ──He’s really been dragging his feet. (他很磨蹭的。)
33）draw the line拒絕，拒不容忍
Model:
──Paul expects me to clean the room every week. (Paul想讓我每周打掃房間。)
──That’s where I draw the line. (可是我絕對不會答應的。)
34）feel down in the dumps心情不好；情緒低落
Model:
──Kate was really feeling down in the dumps about her latest chemistry assignment. (Kate為最近的化學作業成績感到很沮喪。)
35）few and far between不多；少而分散的；不常碰到或發現的；稀少的
Model:
──Steve is really a terrific guy. (Steve真是不簡單。)
──He sure is. Ones like him are few and far between. (當然。像他那樣的人可不多見。)
36）fit as a fiddle身體很健康
Model:
──Harry! How have you been? I haven’t seen you in ages. (Harry，你好嗎？好久沒看見你了。)
──I’m fit as a fiddle. This exercise program I’m following is terrific. (我身體好極了。我正進行的這個鍛鍊計畫太棒了。)
37）grin and bear任勞任怨；毫無怨言地忍受
Model:
──Carla,I can’t take this job any longer. (Carla，我不能再做這份工作了。)
──If you need the money, you’ll just have to grin and bear it. (如果你需要錢，你就得忍耐。)
38）hit the spot（特指吃了食物，喝了飲料之后）精神完全恢復過來或感到滿足；恢復精力；提精神
Model:
──This Lemonade sure hits the spot.（檸檬汁太提神了。）
──And how! (當然了﹗)
39）keep between the two of us不讓第三者知道，守密
Model:
──What I’m going to say is rather personal, so let’s keep between the two of us. (我要講的純屬私事，所以希望你能守密。)
40）know a thing or two about略知一二
Model:
──Do you think Andy could help us plan the camping trip to West Virginia? (你認為Andy會幫我們計畫去西維吉妮亞州野營嗎？)
──Well, since he spends every summer there, he might know a thing or two about it. (可能吧。他每個夏天都去那兒，應該知道一些事兒。)
41）leave no stone unturned不遺余力；全力以赴
Model:
──Lynn left no stone unturned in her research, and handed in an excellent paper. (Lynn全力以赴做她的研究，交了一篇優秀的論文。)
42）on cloud nine沈浸在福祉之中；非常高興
Model:
──Marcia looks like she’s on cloud nine. Do you know what made her so happy? (Marcia好像沈浸在福祉之中。你知道她為什麼這么高興嗎？)
──She just had a paper accepted for publication. (她有一篇文章要發表了。)
43）on the tip of one’s tongue一時想不起來，話到嘴邊又忘記
Model:
──Are you sure you can’t remember the name of that record? (你肯定記不起來那張唱片的名字嗎？)
──It’s just on the tip of my tongue! (我就是一時想不起來了。)
44）reach the bottom of the barrel用完，彈盡糧絕
Model:
──Don’t you have any other clean shirts? (你還有其它乾淨襯衫嗎？)
──I guess I’ve reached the bottom of the barrel. (我想我已經用完了。)
45）rub sb. the wrong way使（某人）有點惱火；惹怒；引起反感；煩擾，打攪
Model:
──What do you think of our new economics instructor? (你覺得新經濟學老師怎么樣？)
──I don’t know. Something about him rubs me the wrong way. (不知怎么的，他有點讓我反感。)
46）scratch the surface只懂皮毛，很不了解（通常和限制性副詞如only, hardly等詞連用）
Model:
──You’ve certainly done a lot of research for your project.（你顯然對你的課題做了不少研究。）
──It seems like a lot, but actually I’ve only scratched the surface. (看上去不少，但事實上我只懂一些毛皮。)
47）up in the air尚未決定的；捉摸不定的；懸而未決的
Model:
──Her plans for the weekend are still up in the air. (她尚未決定如何度過這個週末。)
48）wear and tear磨損；消耗
Model:
──Why do you always put on slippers when you go into your apartment? (為什麼你老是一進公寓就穿上拖鞋？)
──It saves wear and tear on the carpet. (拖鞋不磨損地毯。)
49）with flying colors大獲全勝；勝利地
Model:
──How did Ellen do on her Ancient History exam? (Ellen古代史考得怎么樣？) ──She passed with flying colors. (她考得好極了。)
50）get off on the wrong foot開始就不順利；一開始就犯了個錯誤
Model: [1995.5.]
──I hate to get off on the wrong foot. (我討厭一開始就犯錯誤。)
51）get on someone’s nerves使人不安，使人心煩
Model: [1996.8.]
──Why did you come to the meeting late? I left a message with your roommate about the time change. (為什麼你開會遲到？我讓你的同屋告訴你改時 間的事了。)
──She has a very short memory and it really gets on my nerves sometimes. (她記性不好，有時真讓我心煩。)
52）give someone a break不要去管，饒了某人吧
Model: [1994.5.]
──Give me a break. I’m nervous enough as it is. (不要管我，我已經夠緊張了。)
53）head and shoulders above（在…方面）強于某人
Model: [1991.10.]
──In computer programming, Susan is head and shoulders above the rest of us.(在計算機編程上，Susan比我們強。)
54）in the red赤字，負債
Model: [1996.5.]
──So far the clubs are about three hundred dollars in the red, and we still have four months to go before membership renewal. (到目前為止，俱樂部有300元赤字，然而還有4個月才到交會員費的時 間。)
──Well, we may have to raise our dues.（那么，我們必須提升會員費了。）
55）in the dark一無所知；不了解情況
Model: [1994.1.]
──Do you have any idea what this notice is about? (你知道這通知講的是什麼嗎？)
──I’m as in the dark as you are.（我也跟你一樣不了解情況。） |
