1.sock away 存錢(qián) You should sock away a certain amount each month. 你每個(gè)月都應(yīng)該存一筆錢(qián)。 2.live from hand to mouth 收入勉強(qiáng)糊口 Bob had a little money socked away, so he didn't have to live from hand to mouth. 鮑勃存下來(lái)了一點(diǎn)錢(qián)，所以日子還算過(guò)得去。 3.live off the fat of the land 靠土地產(chǎn)出的食品來(lái)過(guò)活 How hard can it be to strike out on your own and live off the fat of the land? 你是得多艱苦才靠地吃飯啊? 4.make hay while the sun is shining 一有機(jī)會(huì)就掙錢(qián)或把錢(qián)存下來(lái) While he had been successful at his job, he had made plenty of hay while the sun was shining. 他的工作干得很成功，也就存了不少錢(qián)。 5.in the twinkling of an eye 一剎那，眨眼的功夫。 Things could go terribly wrong in the twinkling of an eye. 眨眼的功夫事情就變得一團(tuán)糟。 6.as free as a bird 無(wú)拘無(wú)束 I found the reasons for his decision to throw in the towel and become free as a bird compelling. 我發(fā)現(xiàn)了他認(rèn)輸?shù)睦碛珊?，就再也無(wú)拘無(wú)束了。 7.get one's ducks in a row 為了完成某事而做好充分的準(zhǔn)備。 Bob was very careful not to let on what he was thinking to anyone until he got all his ducks in a row. 鮑勃非常小心，他沒(méi)有告訴任何人自己的想法，直到做好充分的準(zhǔn)備。 8.salt of the earth 社會(huì)中堅(jiān) Bill was salt of the earth. 比爾是一名社會(huì)精英。 9.on the spur of the moment 一時(shí)沖動(dòng) He knew that such a decision couldn't be made on the spur of a moment. 他知道，不能一時(shí)沖動(dòng)就作出決定。 10.by the seat of one's pants 憑本事，憑直覺(jué) He did wonder if things might be a bit more interesting if he gave living by the seat of his pants a go. 他想知道，如果當(dāng)初他憑本事謀生的話(huà)，會(huì)不會(huì)比現(xiàn)在有意思點(diǎn)。 11.money to burn 花不完的錢(qián) Sure, he never had money to burn, but he managed to get by. 當(dāng)然，他從來(lái)沒(méi)有花不完的錢(qián)，但他還是成功了。 12.the powers that be 指代掌權(quán)者 Certainly, he never questioned the powers that be. 當(dāng)然，他從來(lái)沒(méi)有質(zhì)疑過(guò)那些掌權(quán)者。 13.tag along 尾隨他人 Bill repeatedly told Bob that tagging along with everyone else would eventually get boring. 比爾一次次地告訴過(guò)鮑勃，尾隨他人是件很無(wú)聊的事。 14.throw in the towel 放棄 I found the reasons for his decision to throw in the towel and become free as a bird compelling. 我發(fā)現(xiàn)了他認(rèn)輸?shù)睦碛珊?，就再也沒(méi)有任何顧慮了。 15.jack-of-all-trades 身兼多職的人 Bill made his living as a jack-of-all-trades. 比爾為了謀生身兼多職。 16.not able to see the forest for the trees |太執(zhí)著于細(xì)節(jié)，導(dǎo)致忽視了更加重要的部分。 The more he pondered the idea the more he came to realize that he wasn't able to see the forest for the trees. 他越想越覺(jué)得自己因?yàn)閳?zhí)著細(xì)節(jié)，忽視了真正重要的部分。 17.tilt at windmills 同假想的敵人或威脅作戰(zhàn) He still felt he was tilting at windmills. 他仍覺(jué)得自己在同假想的敵人作戰(zhàn)。 18.get a new lease on life 對(duì)生活持一個(gè)新的態(tài)度 These memories of Bill came flooding back as Bob began to to prepare to get a new lease on life. 當(dāng)鮑勃決定重新開(kāi)始生活時(shí)，那些關(guān)于比爾的記憶又奔涌而來(lái)。 19.the prime of life 生命全盛期 However, Bob was in the the prime of life and he was ready for adventure. 但是，鮑勃此時(shí)年富力強(qiáng)，他準(zhǔn)備好了迎接冒險(xiǎn)。 20.throw something down the drain 浪費(fèi) How can you throw all you've worked for down the drain? 你怎么可以浪費(fèi)自己的勞動(dòng)成果呢? 21.lose one's marbles 陷入瘋狂 He's lost his marbles. 他真是瘋了。 練習(xí) ?He's a smart man because he has ____________ a lot of money for his retirement. ?I'm sure you'l feel _________________ once you graduate from college. ?Ever since I got the new job, I feel like I've gotten _________________. ?You'll be surprised how quickly your child will grow up. It sometimes seems that it happened ____________. ?My grandfather was a ______________________. He did everything! ?Too many people around the world have to ____________________. It's horrible! ?Of course, ___________________ do nothing to help the truly needy. ?Sometimes it seems like I'm ________________ by trying to start a new business. 答案 ?socked away ?as free as a bird ?a new lease on life ?in the twinkling of an eye ?jack-of-all-trades ?live from hand to mouth ?the powers that be ?1。 Have kittens 極度的緊張或不安Sweet， cuddly， cute： what’s not to love about kittens， the most watched animals on the Internet？ But giving birth to them might be a different experience altogether。 Apparently， back in medieval times， a woman who suffered pains during pregnancy would often be advised by the local witch that she was， to her misfortune， carrying kittens， and that the only remedy was a magic potion to destroy the unhappy litter。作為在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上最受關(guān)注的動(dòng)物，小貓?zhí)鹈蓝侨讼矏?ài)。但生下它們的過(guò)程可能是一個(gè)完全不同的體驗(yàn)。顯然，中世紀(jì)時(shí)期，一個(gè)在懷孕期間遭受痛苦的女人常常被當(dāng)?shù)氐呐捉ㄗh，她很不幸地懷著小貓，唯一的補(bǔ)救方法是喝下魔法藥水摧毀來(lái)摧毀腹中的胎兒。例句：‘Have you got that report ready yet？ The boss is having kittens！’你的報(bào)告準(zhǔn)備好了么？老板非常緊張?！甒e’re so late – my mum’ll be having kittens?！覀冞t到了，我媽媽一定心煩意亂。2。 All dressed up like a dog’s dinner 穿著特別或招搖的衣服The Brits love their dogs – they’re the most popular pet in the UK。 Dogs’ dinners， however， are not usually very appealing at all – in fact， the expression a dog’s dinner on its own also means a mess。英國(guó)人愛(ài)狗，狗是英國(guó)最受歡迎的動(dòng)物。但事實(shí)上，狗的晚餐卻并不吸引人，a dog’s dinner （狗的晚餐）這樣的表達(dá)本身的含義確實(shí)是負(fù)面的。例如：‘Where are you off to then， all dressed up like a dog’s dinner？’你之后要去哪里，穿得這么招搖？3。 A cold fish 冷漠的人Dictionary definition： a + adjective + fish： a person who is strange in a specified way.Although in theory any adjective can be put before fish， cold is by far the most common one。字典定義：a+形容詞+fish：某人在某方面較為特別。盡管在理論上其他形容詞同樣可以放在fish前，但cold是目前最為常用的詞。If you’re a cold fish， you’re unemotional， and perhaps even unfriendly。 To sound even more British， add a bit of：如果你被叫做“cold fish”，你是有較少感情波動(dòng)的、甚至是不友好的。為了聽(tīng)起來(lái)更英式化，也會(huì)在之前添加“a bit of”例如：‘I tried talking to Rachel at the party， but she’s a bit of a cold fish?！谂蓪?duì)上我試圖和瑞秋說(shuō)話(huà)，但她有些冷漠?！甒hat did you think of him？’ – ‘Bit of a cold fish， wasn’t he？’“你認(rèn)為他怎么樣？”“有一些冷漠，不是嗎？”4。 Like a bear with a sore head 形容人易怒Brown bears have been extinct in Britain for over a thousand years， but， like wolves， they have left their mark in our fairy tales： it seems wise to stay well away from one of the most dangerous animals in the world。棕熊在英國(guó)已經(jīng)滅絕了一千多年，但是，像狼一樣，它們?cè)趥髡f(shuō)故事中已經(jīng)留下了印記：遠(yuǎn)離這種世界上最危險(xiǎn)的動(dòng)物才是明智的舉動(dòng)。If you’re a like a bear with a sore head， you’re in a very bad mood。 Interestingly， this phrase is more often used to describe men than women。如果你是“l(fā)ike a bear with a sore head”，代表你心情很糟糕。有趣的是，這個(gè)短語(yǔ)更多地用來(lái)形容男性而不是女性。例如：‘I don’t know what’s up with Mike – he’s like a bear with a sore head today！’“我不知道邁克發(fā)生了什么”？“他看起來(lái)心情很糟”?！瓾e’s like a bear with a sore head if he doesn’t get his cup of tea in the morning?！叭绻谠缟蠜](méi)有喝一杯茶的話(huà)，就會(huì)心情煩躁”。5。 Not give a monkey’s 冷漠或不關(guān)心Monkeys are often associated with mischief and defiance in English： maybe your little brother is monkeying around， or your friend’s a bit of a cheeky monkey。 This euphemism – there’s some debate over what the original missing word was （a monkey’s what？） – captures both those characteristics。Monkey（猴子）在英語(yǔ)中經(jīng)常和惡作劇以及蔑視相關(guān)：也許你的小弟弟正在胡鬧，也許你的朋友有點(diǎn)厚顏無(wú)恥。這種委婉語(yǔ)都是抓住了這些特征。對(duì)于原始詞匯a monkey’s 后面究竟是什么詞匯也存在一些爭(zhēng)論。例如：‘I don’t give a monkey’s what he thinks – I’m not doing it?！皩?duì)于他怎么想我并不在意，我并沒(méi)有那樣做”。6。 Like a rat up a drainpipe 形容快速且急切If you move like a rat up a drainpipe， you move extremely fast。如果你的行動(dòng)like a rat up a drainpipe，表示你移動(dòng)速度很快。Pity the poor rat – a shrewd but shunned animal in Britain， where it’s often said that ‘you’re never more than six foot away from’ one。 Rats are known to be able to squeeze through the tiniest of openings and are often found in sewers， so this expression is， as the Brits would say， spot on。可憐的老鼠值得同情——在英國(guó)老鼠是一種精明但人類(lèi)極力躲開(kāi)的動(dòng)物，但在英國(guó)人們常說(shuō)，“你距離一個(gè)老鼠的距離不會(huì)超過(guò)六英尺”。老鼠因?yàn)槟軌驍D過(guò)狹小開(kāi)口并經(jīng)常在下水道中被發(fā)現(xiàn)而被人類(lèi)熟知。所以這個(gè)表達(dá)在英國(guó)較為流行，英國(guó)人常會(huì)使用。例如：‘Where did Steve go？’ – ‘I don’t know – he just took off like a rat up a drainpipe?！笆返俜蛞ツ睦?？”-“我不知道，他只是離開(kāi)得很匆忙”。7。 Be up with the lark 很早起床The lark has a special place in British wildlife – its silvery song inspired the piece that， according one recent poll， has become the country’s favourite piece of classical music。 We have long associated the lark with daybreak， even before Shakespeare wrote the lark， the herald of the morn： a person who gets up early is known as a lark， as opposed to an owl who prefers to stay up late。百靈鳥(niǎo)在英國(guó)野生動(dòng)物有特別的位置——它銀鈴般的歌聲啟發(fā)了一支樂(lè)章的譜曲，并且這首樂(lè)章在最近的投票中當(dāng)選英國(guó)民眾最受歡迎的古典音樂(lè)。在莎士比亞寫(xiě)云雀之前，我們便一直將百靈鳥(niǎo)與黎明聯(lián)系在一起，百靈鳥(niǎo)代表著早晨起床很早的人，相反，貓頭鷹更常用來(lái)代表熬夜的人。例如：‘We were up with the lark this morning because we had a plane to catch?！拔覀兘裉旌茉缙鸫?，因?yàn)橐s一趟航班?！薄甇n Christmas Day， my sister and I would always be up with the lark?！霸谑フQ節(jié)，我和姐姐總是起得很早?！?。 The lion’s share 事物中最大的一部分The lion has been a symbol of England for more than nine hundred years， and traditionally represents bravery and strength。 We see the shadow side of these qualities， however， in Aesop’s fable of this name， which tells the story of a lion， a fox， a jackal， and a wolf who go out hunting together。 After dividing their prey into four equal parts， the lion claims all the spoils for himself。九百多年來(lái)，獅子一直是英國(guó)的象征，傳統(tǒng)意義上代表勇氣和力量。然而，我們總是看到這些品質(zhì)的陰暗面，伊索寓言中，講述了一只獅子、一只狐貍、豺和狼一起打獵的故事。它們之后將獵物分成四個(gè)相等的部分，但獅子占有了所有的戰(zhàn)利品。The British expression used today has a slightly different meaning： if you get the lion’s share of something， you get most of it （rather than all of it）。但今天使用的英式表達(dá)中含義有輕微的不同：如果你“get the lion’s share of something”，表示你獲得了某事物的絕大部分（而不是所有）。例如：‘Well， I think you got the lion’s share of the cake there， Pete！’“好吧，我認(rèn)為你得到了蛋糕的絕大部分，彼得！”‘She’ll get the lion’s share of the payout – the rest of the money will go to charity?！八龑@取支出中的絕大部分，剩下的將捐給慈善機(jī)構(gòu)?！?/p>