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标题: 知识加油站－词汇天地 [打印本页]

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:19
标题: 知识加油站－词汇天地
001angels

on the side of the angels

If you say that someone is on the side of the angels, you mean that they are doing what you think is morally right.

In addition to being for gun control, the President's on the side of the angels when it comes to racial tolerance, the environment and Indian rights.

The idea perpetrated by Western leaders that we are on the side of the angels seems to me a dangerous fantasy.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:19
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
002bush

the bush telegraph
If you talk about the bush telegraph, you are talking about the way in which information or news can be passed on from person to person in conversation. This expression is used in British English.

No, you didn't tell me, but I heard it on the bush telegraph.

Jean-Michel had heard of our impending arrival in Conflans long before we got there. The bush telegraph on the waterways is extremely effective.

not beat around the bush
not beat about the bush
If you don't beat around the bush, you say what you want to say clearly and directly, without avoiding its unpleasant aspects. In British English, you can also say that you don't beat about the bush.

I decided not to beat around the bush. `I'm at I told her. didn't come back from his paper route yet. Nobody knows where he is.'

Let's not beat about the bush -- they rejected it. The Review Group said it was their most important single recommendation and the Government rejected it.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:20
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

003boat

float someone's boat
If something floats your boat, you find it exciting, attractive, or interesting.

I can see its appeal. But it float my boat.

in the same boat
If you say that two or more people are in the same boat, you mean that they are in the same unpleasant or difficult situation.

We are all in the same boat as the miners. People all over Britain are being made redundant every week.

If baldness is creeping up on you, take heart -- 40 per cent of men under 35 are in the same boat.

We were two mums in the same boat and able to make each other feel better.

push the boat out
If you push the boat out, you spend a lot of money in order to have a very enjoyable time or to celebrate in a lavish way. This expression is used in British English.

I earn enough to push the boat out now and again.

Keep an eye on . He's likely to push the boat out among his friends.

rock the boat
If someone tells you not to rock the boat, they are telling you not to do anything which might cause trouble or upset a stable situation.

While he is careful not to rock the boat Juventus with any ill-timed criticism, there is clearly some frustration that he is not being used to maximum effect.

Diplomats are expecting so much instability in a power struggle after his death that they argue it's unwise to rock the boat now.

If someone is rocking the boat, their behaviour is likely to cause trouble or upset a stable situation. Behaviour like this can be described as boat-rocking.

Before the report was concluded, he pulled back on the subject. I suspect the other parts of the White House complained he was rocking the boat.

I'm outspoken, sometimes critical of the organization, which is seen as boat-rocking, upsetting a comfortable arrangement.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:20
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
004breath

a breath of fresh air
If you describe someone or something as a breath of fresh air, you mean that they are pleasantly different from what you are used to.

I think you're a great family and I'm glad I'm going to join you. After the stuffy conversation we have at our dinner table, this is like a breath of fresh air.

Basically, I was bored. Brian never wanted to do anything. Life was stagnant. So Mike, my present husband, was a breath of fresh air.

hold your breath
If you say that someone is holding their breath, you mean that they are waiting anxiously or excitedly to see what happens next.

She had been holding her breath and hoping that the agreement would be signed.

The world is holding its breath, he said, as we begin to negotiate the future of our country.

If you say that you aren't holding your breath, you mean that you are not expecting a particular thing to happen, and so you are not worried or excited about it. In a situation like this, you can also advise someone: `don't hold your breath'.

The Chancellor has predicted Britain will drag itself out of the slump -- but don't hold your breath, because he doesn't know when.

in the same breath
If you say that someone says something and then in the same breath they say something else, you are pointing out that they are saying two things which are very different or which contradict each other.

For politicians to demand firm immigration controls and argue against racism in the same breath is a deep contradiction.

In the same breath you say that you are terribly depressed, and in the next, list your good points, which I am sure are very real.

take your breath away
If something takes your breath away, it amazes and impresses you because it is so wonderful.

`Tell me again about the picture.' `It's beautiful. sexy, It's so beautiful it takes your breath away.'

He had never believed he would come to such power. The more he realized it, the more it took his breath away.

waste your breath
If you tell someone that they are wasting their breath, you are telling them that there is no point in them continuing with what they are saying, because it will not have any effect.

He wanted to protest again, but the tone of her voice told him he was wasting his breath.

Before I could get very far he interrupted me to tell me that I was wasting my breath.

You can also tell someone that what they are saying is a waste of breath.

He would admit to the thefts, but deny everything else, and old accusations would be a waste of breath.

with bated breath
If you wait for something with bated breath, you look forward to it, or you wait in an anxious or interested way to see what happens next.

The institution is now waiting with bated breath to see if the results of the next few surveys confirm its current assessment.

They got the people in the villages interested in what was going to to this , so they were then watching with bated breath as the experiment began.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:20
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
005beer

not all beer and skittles
If you say that something isn't all beer and skittles, you mean that it is not always as enjoyable or as easy as other people think it is. This expression is used in British English.

Others are keen to make clear that City life is not all beer and skittles.

Living on your own isn't all beer and skittles. It can be lonely too.

It's not all beer and skittles when you get to be famous.

small beer
If you say that something is small beer, you mean that it is insignificant compared with another thing. This expression is used in British English.

cost ￡6 million to make, small beer compared to the ￡43 million splashed out on the making of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator II.

The present of royal scandals makes the 1936 abdication look like pretty small beer.

Black films remain small beer; they are doing little to shape the movie business.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:21
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
006bee

the bee's knees
If you say that something or someone is the bee's knees, you are saying in a light-hearted way that you like them a great deal. This expression is used in British English.

Back in the '80s it was the bee's knees but now it looks horribly out of date.

I bought this white sweatshirt - I thought I looked the bee's knees.

have a bee in your bonnet
If you say that someone has a bee in their bonnet about something, you mean that they feel very strongly about it and keep talking or thinking about it. This is often something that you think is unimportant. This expression is considered old-fashioned in American English.

I've got a bee in my bonnet about the confusion between education and training.

There was no arguing with the boy when he'd got this bee in his bonnet.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:21
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

007call

a close call
If you say that something was a close call, you are indicating that someone very nearly had an accident or disaster, or very nearly suffered a defeat. You can replace `call' with `thing'.

`That was a close call,' Bess gasped, as the boat steadied and got under way.

It was a close call and looking back now I have no doubt that if my friend hadn't acted so promptly I would be dead.

The contest had shown that the gap between man and computer was narrowing. `It was an extremely close thing. It shows that it can only be a matter of time before the computer wins.'

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:21
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

008club

join the club
When someone has been telling you about their problems or about their feelings, you can say `join the club' to indicate that you have had the same experiences or feelings.

Confused? Then join the club.

The Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens gave the game away. `I am having difficulty knowing what today's debate is about,' he said. Join the club, Geoffrey.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:21
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

009card

a calling card
If you describe what someone possesses or has achieved as a calling card, you mean that it gives them a lot of opportunities which they would not otherwise have had.

Some cabinet ministers, comparing their likely pension with their lifestyle, are tempted to look for jobs in the City while their present status remains a calling card.

Gary a former Trupin says Mr. Trupin used the New York magazine cover story about him as `his calling card'.

Despite the temptation to make low-budget films only as Hollywood calling cards, one director has remained true to the independent spirit, that is to making the film he wants to make.

a wild card
You describe someone or something as a wild card when they cause uncertainty, because nobody knows how they will behave or what effects they will have.

The Cossacks are the wild card in Kazakhstan. Armed and of Russian freebooters whom the tsars allowed to push Russia's frontiers outwards in return for a measure of they claim a million supporters and demand official recognition as a paramilitary force.

One wild card in the situation is the recent election of Jean a Quebecois and an ardent advocate of Canadian as the leader of the opposition Liberal Party.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:21
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
010carpet

on the carpet
call someone on the carpet
In British English, if someone is on the carpet, they are in trouble for doing something wrong. In American English, you say that they are called on the carpet.

The 22-year-old bad boy of English cricket was on the carpet again this week for storming out of the ground when told a Middlesex committee to wear one of the club's sponsored shirts.

In my hospital, if I ever allowed a nurse or a technician to work alongside me without wearing gloves, I'd be called on the carpet immediately for not protecting our staff.

roll out the red carpet
If you roll out the red carpet for someone, especially someone famous or important, you give them a special welcome and treat them as an honoured guest.

The red carpet was rolled out for Mr Honecker during his visit to Bonn in 1987.

The museum staff rolled out the red carpet; although it was a Sunday, the deputy director came in especially to show us round.

You can also say that someone receives red carpet treatment or a red carpet welcome.

Castro says he's open to any business proposition from abroad, and last week he gave the red carpet treatment to some of Spain's most right-wing business people.

Yeltsin arrived in Rome this morning to a red carpet welcome by Italian officials.

sweep something under the carpet
If you sweep something under the carpet, you try to hide it and forget about it because you find it embarrassing or shameful. Other verbs such as `brush' and `push' are sometimes used instead of `sweep'. This expression is used mainly in British English; the usual American expression is sweep something under the rug.

People often assume if you sweep something under the carpet the problem will go away, but that is not the case.

The problem has been brushed under the carpet for decades.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:22
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

011corners

cut corners
If you cut corners, you save time, money, or effort by not following the correct procedure or rules for doing something.

Don't try to cut any corners as you'll only be making work for yourself later on.

We have to cut corners in order to keep the discussion reasonably clear.

He accused the Home Office of trying to save money by cutting corners on security.

You can refer to this activity as corner cutting.

It was the Chief Inspector for Police who said that the present working culture was `shot through with corner cutting and expediency'.

Corner-cutting contractors build tiny classrooms and narrow corridors.

the four corners of the world
the four corners of the earth
You can use the four corners of the world or the four corners of the earth to refer to all the different parts of the world, especially the parts that are the furthest away from you. Other nouns referring to areas of land can be used instead of `world' or `earth'.

A foreign correspondent makes his friends in all four corners of the world.

Italy has sent 5,000 soldiers to the four corners of the earth to play their part in peace-keeping and crisis-management operations.

Young people came from the four corners of the nation in search of new ideas.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:22
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
012country

go to the country
If a head of government or a government goes to the country, they hold a general election. This expression is used in British English.

The Prime Dr is about to call snap elections even though he doesn't have to go to the country for another year.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:22
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
013cows

until the cows come home
If you say that you could do something until the cows come home, you mean that you could do it for a very long time.

You can initiate policies until the cows come home, but unless they're monitored at a senior level, you won't get results.

Your child will enjoy this lively tape till the cows come home!

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-25 07:23
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
014even

don't get mad, get even
If someone says `don't get mad, get even', they mean that if someone harms you, you should not waste your energy on being angry, but concentrate on harming them in return. Compare get even.

It's a case of don't get mad, get even. Mark Leavis wasn't too happy after Judge Carol Shapiro didn't give him what he wanted in his divorce. So a few hours after the ruling, the Seattle lawyer filed to run against the judge in her bid for a second term on the bench.

get even
If you get even with someone who has hurt or insulted you, you get your revenge on them. Compare don't get mad, get even.

He is so incensed by what he considers shabby treatment that he's determined to get even.

He'd leapt at this chance to get even with the scum who had killed his sister.

He hasn't kept his side of their that and she means to get even with him.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:46
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
015degree

give someone the third degree
If someone, especially a policeman or person in authority, gives you the third degree, they ask you a lot of questions in an aggressive manner in order to make you confess to something.

He gives me the third degree and wants me to account for where all the money is.

Surely, she thought, they were supposed to read you your rights before they gave you the third degree.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:46
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
016dirt

dig up dirt
dig for dirt
dig the dirt
If you say that one person is digging up dirt on another, you mean that the first is trying to find out something that may cause harm to the second. You can also say that someone is digging for dirt, or, in British English, that they are digging the dirt.

They hired a detective firm to dig up dirt on rival.

Scoop-hungry reporters have done everything from going through trash cans digging for dirt on celebrities to paying prostitutes to lure Members of Parliament into compromising positions.

You can describe this activity as dirt-digging.

the a dirt-digging James is framed by a corrupt district attorney and sentenced for manslaughter.

dish the dirt
If you say that one person dishes the dirt on another, you disapprove of the way that the first person spreads stories about the second, especially when they say things that may embarrass or upset that person, or damage their reputation.

Many politicians who maintain that their private lives are their own, are not above dishing the dirt on a fellow politician, if it suits their own political or personal purposes.

In his autobiography Life Is Too was no worse than many of the screen icons of his age. Eight wives on and nudging 80, he has treasured memories of his relationships with the beautiful Ava Gardner and the tragic Judy Garland. the singer, dancer, comedian, and actor holds nothing back. He dishes the dirt on his buddies and smudges his own shoes with admissions of womanising, gambling, and drugs.

People sometimes describe this activity as dirt-dishing.

Some publishers believe that by speaking out as he did, has pushed up the potential value of any dirt-dishing memoirs he cares to write.

do someone dirt
do the dirt on someone
If someone has done you dirt or has done the dirt on you, they have betrayed you or treated you very badly. This expression is used in American English; the British expression is do the dirty on someone.

They tell me you have done me dirt. Tell me it ain't true.

There is an unofficial biography out of Nancy Reagan which is doing the dirt on her all over the place.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:46
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
017divide

divide and conquer

divide and rule
If someone in power follows a policy of divide and conquer or divide and rule, they stay in power by making sure that the people under their control quarrel among themselves and so cannot unite to achieve their aims and overthrow their leader. `Divide and rule' is used only in British English.

The same principle of divide and conquer that the Roman Empire used so effectively was applied once again by Yugoslavia's occupiers in 1941.

Trade unions are concerned that management may be tempted into a policy of divide and rule by cultural divisions.

Part of the ruling class's divide and rule policy is promoting barriers between sexes, races, sexualities, nations.

When someone is following one of these policies, you can say that they are dividing and conquering or dividing and ruling.

The Summit sends a very strong message to him that he's not going to divide and conquer.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:46
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

018dog

die like a dog
If someone dies like a dog, they die in a painful and undignified way, usually after they have been shot or injured in a violent fight. This is an old-fashioned expression.

film begins with our chic hero stealing cars and ends with him dying like a dog in the street.

a dog and pony show
If you refer to an event as a dog and pony show, you mean that it is very showy because it has been organized in order to impress someone. This expression is used mainly in American English.

I'm bombarding him and the others with charts, graphs, facts, and figures. responds by dozing off during most of our dog and pony show.

The first step in Florida, as in most states, is the governor's office applying for a share of federal grant money. If, months later, the money is granted, state agencies spend more months putting on `dog and pony shows' in hopes of getting a share.

dog-eat-dog
You use dog-eat-dog to describe a situation in which everyone wants to succeed and is willing to harm other people or to use dishonest methods in order to do this.

In the 1992 campaign, that if it was going to be `dog eat dog' he would do anything it took to get himself re-elected.

The TV business today is a dog-eat-dog business.

dog-in-the-manger
If you say that someone has a dog-in-the-manger attitude, you are criticizing them for selfishly wanting to prevent other people from using or enjoying something that they cannot use or enjoy themselves.

I think there'll be a certain group of intransigent Republicans who'll take a dog-in-the-manger kind of attitude and that try to frustrate anything the president wants to achieve.

The council has an ambivalent attitude to the Carnival. On the one hand it has a high regard for its tourist benefits, but on the other does not want it to the thunder too too high a . It's a dog-in-the-manger attitude which has taken the fun out of a great event.

a dog's breakfast
a dog's dinner
If you refer to a situation, event, or piece of work as a dog's breakfast or a dog's dinner, you mean that it is chaotic, badly organized, or very untidy. These expressions are used in British English.

The act created what many admitted was an over-complex but inadequate regulate the selling of life assurance, personal pensions and unit . One senior regulator described it as a dog's breakfast.

Now she's having to watch as those whom she grew up with in politics are in Cabinet and making a dog's breakfast of it.

The whole place was a bit of a dog's dinner, really.

every dog has its day
If you say `every dog has its day', you mean that everyone will be successful or lucky at some time in their life. This expression is sometimes used to encourage someone at a time when they are not having any success or luck.

Former England Davies said: `Every dog has his day, although the way I kicked throughout the game, who would have thought that drop goal would even reach the posts?'

`I don't have any money to fight him. These people are all the time in court, anyway,' Cecchini says. every dog has its day I have lots of patience.'

it's a dog's life
People say `it's a dog's life' when they are complaining that their job or situation is unpleasant or boring.

It's a dog's life being a football manager.

you can't teach an old dog new tricks
If you say `you can't teach an old dog new tricks', you mean that it is often difficult to get people to try new ways of doing things, especially if these people have been doing something in a particular way for a long time.

It is a convenient myth that a person cannot change their personality. Or as the saying leopard cannot change his spots' `You can't teach an old dog new tricks'.

This expression is often varied. For example, if you say `you can teach an old dog new tricks', you mean that it is possible to get people to try new ways of doing something.

Our work shows that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

An old dog can learn new tricks if he has both the will and the opportunity.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:47
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

019dollars

to doughnuts
If you say that it is dollars to doughnuts that something will happen, you are emphasizing that you are certain it will happen. This expression is used mainly in American English.

It's dollars to doughnuts that the bank of the future will charge more for its services.

Well, I'll bet you, Alex, almost dollars to donuts that I'll wake up at 3am, as I do every morning now.

look a million dollars
feel like a million dollars
If someone looks a million dollars, they look extremely attractive and well-dressed. If someone feels like a million dollars, they feel very healthy and happy.

She looked a million dollars when she got off the plane.

Casual trousers, comfortable shoes, immaculate hair. He looks a million dollars.

After all my injury problems I now feel a million dollars.

It was the most relaxed I've felt in ages. I felt like a million dollars.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:47
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
020dream

a dream ticket
If two people are considered a dream ticket, they are expected to work well together and have a great deal of success. This expression is usually used to refer to people who are well known, for example politicians or actors. It is used mainly in British journalism.

The move raised the prospect of a `dream ticket' of Tony Blair as leader and John Prescott as his deputy.

It should have been Hollywood's dream ticket: husband and wife Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman starring together in a romantic blockbuster movie.

like a dream
If you do something like a dream, you do it very well. If something happens like a dream, it happens successfully and without any problems.

She had noticed, from across the dance floor, that he danced like a dream.

Wilson, an eminent American biologist who has done more than anyone else to popularise the notion of biodiversity, writes like a dream.

The first stages of installation worked like a dream. Then the procedure threw up an error message.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:48
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
021drop

at the drop of a hat
If you do something at the drop of a hat, you do it willingly and without hesitation. This expression is often used to suggest that someone does not think carefully enough about their actions.

Part of the answer is having officers on both foot and mobile patrols, and more people sorting out their own minor problems and not calling the police at the drop of a hat.

There is a myth that we are a uniquely uncaring generation, shoving our old folk into institutions at the drop of a hat.

a drop in the ocean
a drop in the bucket
If you say that something, especially an amount of money, is a drop in the ocean or a drop in the bucket, you mean that it is very small in comparison with the amount which is needed or expected, so that its effect is insignificant. `A drop in the bucket' is used mainly in American English.

The size of the grants have been attacked by welfare groups as merely a drop in the ocean.

For West Germany, the Albanian refugees are a drop in the ocean compared to the three thousand East Germans who used to arrive here every day.

It's a tax on what's considered unhealthy habits, like cigarettes and alcohol, it wouldn't unfortunately it wouldn't raise a lot of money. It would be a drop in the bucket, really.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:48
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

022fat

chew the fat
If you chew the fat with someone, you chat with them in an informal and friendly way about things that interest you.

We'd been lounging around, chewing the fat for a couple of hours.

It's a chat show Cilla's which gives her the chance to chew the fat with the likes of Tony Curtis, Diana Ross and Sir Peter Ustinov.

the fat is in the fire
If you say that the fat is in the fire, you mean that someone has said or done something which is going to upset other people and cause a lot of trouble.

Immediately the fat was in the fire, for in making an accusation directly and in the open, the minister for education and science had broken all the rules.

You can say that someone pulls the fat out of the fire when they prevent or stop trouble by taking acting at a very late stage.

Don't rely on pulling the fat out of the fire by launching a late, last-ditch negative campaign against Clinton.

the fat of the land
If you say that someone is living off the fat of the land, you mean that they have a rich and comfortable lifestyle without having to work hard for it. You often use this expression to criticize someone who is rich because they are exploiting people.

He was pretty fed up with these bloated royalists who were living off the fat of the land and off American aid while the rest of the country was starving, literally.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:48
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

023means

by fair means or foul
If someone tries to achieve something by fair means or foul, they are prepared to use any possible method to achieve it, and they do not care if their behaviour is dishonest or unfair.

She never gave up trying to recover her property, by fair means or foul.

He accused company of being hell bent on achieving its cuts by whatever means, fair means or foul, irrespective of the financial and emotional impact.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:48
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
024feelers

put out feelers
In a difficult situation, if you put out feelers, you carefully try to find out about other people's feelings or plans, so that you will know what to do next. You can replace `put' with other verbs such as `send', `have', or `throw'.

We're going to the United States in mid-May to put some feelers out and have a bit of a break, but we've really got more than enough work locally.

`I'm looking to play in Britain at the end of the next Australian season,' he said last night. `I've had some feelers out for one or two clubs already.'

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:48
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

025fig

a fig leaf
Something which is intended to hide an embarrassing or awkward situation can be referred to as a fig leaf.

My interpretation is that the pledge to rejoin the ERM was a fig leaf, designed to indicate that the government's economic strategy was not dead but merely sleeping.

The western world was swift to praise America's intervention, behind the fig-leaf of the United Nations in Somalia.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:48
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

026fish

a big fish
If you refer to someone as a big fish, you mean that they are important or powerful.

In the Seventies three MPs became embroiled in a scandal surrounding the corrupt activities of a Pontefract architect called John Poulson. Two of them were nonentities, the third was a very big fish indeed.

The four who were arrested here last September were described as really big fish by the U.S. Drug Enforcement agents here, and they are wanted for extradition to the United .

a big fish in a small pond
a big frog in a small pond
If you refer to someone as a big fish in a small pond, you mean that they are one of the most important and influential people in a small organization or social group. You often use this expression to suggest that they would be less important or interesting if they were part of a larger organization or group. This expression is very variable. In American English, you can also talk about a big frog in a small pond, with the same meaning.

In Rhodesia I was a big fish in a small pond. But here there'd be many lean years before I built up a reputation.

As a large fish in a small pond, Smith found it easy to dominate fashion photography in Australia.

Being a big fish in a tiny, stagnant pool clearly gives controversial columnists ideas way above their station.

You can refer to someone as a small fish in a big pond if they are not very important or influential because they are part of a much larger organization or social group.

I was used to being a big fish in a small pond. Now I'm the smallest fish in a very big pond. But that has its own advantages because it stretches you as a designer to try to achieve more.

a cold fish
If you refer to someone as a cold fish, you mean that they seem unemotional, and this makes them appear unfriendly or unsympathetic.

Since is generally seen as a cold fish, it is all the more impressive when he does show his feelings.

He didn't really show much emotion -- he is a bit of a cold fish.

drink like a fish
If you say that someone drinks like a fish, you mean that they regularly drink a lot of alcohol.

When I was younger I could drink like a fish and eat like a pig.

The father was not too bad but the mother drank like a fish.

a fish out of water
If you feel like a fish out of water, you feel awkward or ill at ease because you are in an unfamiliar situation or surroundings.

I think he thought of himself as a country gentleman and was like a fish out of water in Birmingham.

It's not as if I had any obvious trauma in my life; I just felt like a fish out of water.

You can use fish-out-of-water before a noun, to describe a situation where someone feels awkward or uncomfortable.

The fish-out-of-water feeling continued when she went to study in Cambridge, having already spent two years working in Africa.

have other fish to fry
have bigger fish to fry
If you say that someone is not interested in something because they have other fish to fry or have bigger fish to fry, you mean that they are not interested because they have more important, interesting, or profitable things to do.

I didn't pursue it in detail because I'm afraid I had other fish to fry at the time.

Although she nearly lost her temper with Baker, Linda Robinson tried to avoid wasting time on bureaucratic squabbling. She had bigger fish to fry.

This phrase is often varied. For example, if someone has their own fish to fry, they are not interested in doing something because they have business of their own to attend to.

Tony comes and goes. got his own fish to fry, as they say.

like shooting fish in a barrel
If you say that a battle or contest is like shooting fish in a barrel, you mean that one side is so much stronger than the other that the weaker side has no chance at all of winning.

I heard one case where some of the had come out and they were saying like shooting fish in a barrel.

While Taylor insists that he is not treating this game as a one-off opportunity to shoot fish in a barrel, he is well aware of the necessity for his players to take a high proportion of the chances that are bound to arise.

neither fish nor fowl
If you say that something or someone is neither fish nor fowl, you mean that they are difficult to identify, classify, or understand, because they seem partly one thing and partly another. People occasionally replace `fish' with `flesh'.

Brunel's vessel was neither fish nor fowl: a passenger liner too ugly and dirty to offer much beyond novelty value.

By the mid-1980s, Canada had a constitution that was neither fish nor fowl in terms of political philosophy.

He thought of that young man Corsari, neither flesh nor fowl, who had made a friend of both girls.

there are plenty more fish in the sea
there are other fish in the sea
If your romance or love affair has ended and someone says to you `there are plenty more fish in the sea' or `there are other fish in the sea', they are trying to comfort you by pointing out that there are still many other people who you might have a successful relationship with in the future.

If your daughter is upset because her boyfriend left her, declaring cheerfully `There are other fish in the sea' won't help.

Never mind, he says, there are plenty more fish in the sea.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:49
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

027flag

fly the flag
If you fly the flag for your country or a group to which you belong, you represent it at a sporting event or at some other special occasion, or you do something to show your support for it. Verbs such as `carry' and `show' are sometimes used instead of `fly'.

It doesn't matter whether you are flying the flag for your country, or the Horse Trials Group, or your sponsor, the image you present is all-important.

The Kuwaiti team however have made many friends. They won no medals, but said they were only in Peking to show the flag.

He believed in the sacred power of great music: he felt that he was carrying the flag of high culture, speaking of lofty truths to an educated elite.

keep the flag flying
If you keep the flag flying, you do something to show your support for a group to which you belong, or to show your support for something that you agree with.

I would ask members to keep the flag flying by entering some of their plants in both shows.

It's important that people artists say that they have an entirely different opinion and that they will keep the flag of tolerance flying.

a red flag
You can refer to something that gives a warning of a bad or dangerous situation or event as a red flag. This expression is more commonly used in American English than British. Compare a red flag before a bull; see bull.

These are devices that are necessary components of nuclear weapons, and clearly that raised a red flag in the minds of a lot of people.

I have never seen a set of financial statements that showed more red flags and raised more questions in my life.

Cholesterol was the red flag that alerted millions of Americans to the fact that diet really does matter.

wrap yourself in the flag
drape yourself in the flag
If you say that someone, especially a politician, is wrapping themselves in the flag or is draping themselves in the flag of their country, you are criticizing them for trying to do something for their own advantage while pretending to do it for the good of their country. These expressions are used mainly in American English.

Politicians always try to wrap themselves in the as politicians do on Independence Day, but I think people can see through that.

Mr. Doherty also chastised advertisers for fighting proposed cigarette ad restrictions by draping themselves in the flag and lecturing about their First Amendment freedoms of speech.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:49
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
028furniture

part of the furniture
If you say that someone or something is part of the furniture, you mean that they have been present somewhere for such a long time that everyone accepts their presence without questioning it or noticing them.

In ten years he has become part of the furniture of English life, his place on the stage firmly fixed and universally respected.

Once cameras have become part of the furniture, witnesses are so absorbed in answering questions that they forget the cameras are there.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:49
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
029genie

the genie is out of the bottle
let the genie out of the bottle
put the genie back in the bottle
If something has been done or created which has made a great and permanent change in people's lives, especially a change which people regret, you can say that the genie is out of the bottle or that someone has let the genie out of the bottle.

I would say get the criminals off the street rather than get the guns off the street because I think the genie's out the bottle. You can't get all the guns off the street.

If came to believe that parliament was too disruptive, he might dissolve it and call new elections. But having let the democratic genie out of the bottle, he has to be careful.

People often vary this expression, for example by saying that you cannot put the genie back in the bottle.

We cannot unlearn what we know. We cannot put the genie of knowledge back in its bottle of secrecy and mystery.

For a generation, the world's nuclear powers have talked about restraining the nuclear `genie' in its bottle.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:49
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

030God

play God
If you say that someone is playing God, you are criticizing them for behaving as if they have unlimited power and can do anything that they want.

insisted that the government should not play God: the market should decide what industries should set up.

These are intelligent people whose response to physicians who yelled and tried to play God was to walk out on treatment.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:49
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

031guest

be my guest
You say `be my guest' to someone when you are giving them permission to do something, or inviting them to do something. This expression is sometimes used in a sarcastic way. For example, you might use it to invite someone to do something difficult or unpleasant.

`Dad,' she in a tone that signified that a request was on the. `Tomorrow, I want to go swimming.' I indicated the cool, clear water before us. `Be my guest,' I said.

`Taking care of Pop, eh?' `You want to take care of him? Be my guest.'

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:50
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
032hay

make hay while the sun shines
make hay
If you make hay while the sun shines, you take advantage of a good situation which is not likely to last.

Making hay while the sun shines, the Egyptian government has taken radical measures to liberalise the economy.

You've got to make hay while the sun shines and it doesn't shine long in a sporting life.

This expression is often varied.

were determined to make hay while we could.

You can say that someone makes hay out of any situation that they take advantage of, especially if you disapprove of their behaviour.

There are unscrupulous therapists who will try to make hay out of the government's new-found interest in alternative medicine.

The New Zealand media made hay with the issue.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:51
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

033history

be history
If you say that an event, thing, or person is history, you mean that they are no longer important, relevant, or interesting. This expression is used mainly in spoken English.

He sometimes wonders if he made the right choice the age of 12 when he decided to give up football. which he represented Surrey as a `I might have made it in football, but that's all history now.'

If you forget to do your homework, you're out -- fail to pay attention, you're history.

The Charlottetown agreement is history.

the rest is history
If you are telling someone about an event and you say the rest is history, you mean that you do not need to say any more because you are sure that everyone is familiar with what happened next.

A job with the was advertised in The Daily Telegraph. I applied and the rest is history.

After Saint medical discharge, Berge, a failed painter who had transformed himself into a business manager for the artist Bernard hospital, he persuaded to start his own house, which he did in 1961. The rest is history.

After a few more secretarial jobs, she wrote to Brown editor Tatler. suppose that Tina might not have given me a chance if she had not known my parents,' says Shulman. She wrote one piece for them, was offered a staff job and the rest, as they say, is history.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:51
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
034home

at home1
If you feel at home in a particular situation, you feel relaxed, comfortable, and happy.

Suddenly Alice's doubts left her. She felt relaxed and at home. She went over to the bookcase and started looking at the titles.

Four Croatian girls began school in Berkshire yesterday after being brought to Britain from a Bosnian refugee They were greeted by teachers and pupils and each allocated a `special friend" to help them through their first days at Hungerford primary school. Shirley The head teacher said, `They seem to be quite at home and I'm sure they will settle in very well after all the excitement dies down.'

Melanie is equally at home singing oratorio, spirituals, jazz or performing in musical theatre.

Whatever scenes he had to play were always shot with the minimum number of takes. From the day we arrived he was completely at home with the camera.

at home2
If someone or something looks at home somewhere, they look as if it is normal, natural, or appropriate for them to be there.

Bulging muscles are packed into every inch of her frame. The 16-year-old's huge shoulder and arm muscles would look more at home on a male hammer thrower.

Le Moulin's painted chairs with cane or rush seats are typically French, but would look quite at home an English country kitchen.

bring home the bacon1
The person in a family who brings home the bacon is the person who goes out to work and earns enough money for the family to live on.

The question `Who brings up the baby and who brings home the bacon?' will, increasingly in coming years, be the most important of all political questions.

If divorces were rare in the past, it wasn't because husbands and wives loved each other more in the old times, but because husbands needed someone to cook and keep house, wives needed someone to bring home the bacon, and children needed both parents in order to eat, sleep, and get a start in the world.

bring home the bacon2
In sport, if someone brings home the bacon, they win or do very well. This expression is used mainly in journalism.

But Reid and Duffield showed that, given the right horsepower, they and many more less fashionable jockeys like them are equally capable of bringing home the bacon in style.

fact is, Mansell continues to bring home the bacon.

bring something home to someone
If you bring something such as a problem, danger, or situation home to someone, you make them fully aware of how serious or important it is. Verbs such as `drive', `press', and `hammer' are often used instead of `bring'.

I think it is grossly irresponsible that a bar such as this should serve people with alcohol when they are clearly intoxicated. I believe the police should consider bringing a prosecution against them.' He added: `A tragedy like tragic brings it home to people in the drinks trade just how dangerous alcohol can be.

It was beginning to be brought home to me how very rash I had been.

He will drive home the message that heterosexuals cannot continue to dismiss AIDS as a disease of the poor, the gay and drug-addicted.

The current drought has hammered home the point that trying to raise cattle in a fragile habitat with low rainfall is not viable.

close to home
If you say that a remark is close to home, you mean that it makes people feel uncomfortable or upset because it is about a sensitive or very personal subject.

I just finished listening to Susan Stamberg's piece on young, fat people attending camp near New York. The message it conveyed struck so hard and so close to home it moved me to tears.

The spectacle touched too close to home for a man whose grandparents had died in the Holocaust.

hit a home run
If someone hits a home run, they do something that is very successful. This expression is used in American English.

On Wall Street, was considered a minor leaguer whose client list occasionally enabled him to hit a home run.

Bartlett Giamatti, Professor of English at Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse,' Yale, 96 pages, hits a home run here with his memoir of encounters with W.H. Auden over many years.

hit home
strike home
If a situation or what someone says hits home or strikes home, people realize that it is real or true, even though it may be painful for them to accept it.

In many cases the reality of war doesn't hit home with reservists until they're actually called upon to fight.

Whether we all agreed with the feminist movement or not, some of the messages it preached hit home.

The severity of the situation struck home last week when hundreds of including some from elite, British-trained units stationed around Maputo, the mutinied because they had received no pay for nine months and no food for two.

home and dry
home and hosed
If you say that someone is home and dry in a contest or other activity, you mean that they have achieved victory or success, or that you are certain that they will achieve it. This expression is used mainly in British English.

I was watching with Mark he said, `Look at that, she's nine seconds up on anyone else -- she has to be home and dry.'

There are still three weeks to polling day and Labour is not yet home and dry.

You can also say that someone is home and hosed. This form of the expression is used mainly in Australian English.

Queensland back with a try to five-eighth Kevin Walters and almost snatched a draw least in the final 90 seconds when Meninga made a 60m sideline run. I thought he was home and hosed.

the home stretch
the home straight
If you are in the home stretch or the home straight of a long or difficult activity, you are on the last part or stage of it.

As the campaign hits the home stretch, opinion polls show that the Labor Party and a conservative alliance, called the Liberal National Coalition, are running head and head.

Club football will take second place to World Cup fever this month, when Wales take on the Czech Republic in the home straight of the qualifying competition.

make yourself at home
If you make yourself at home somewhere, you relax and feel comfortable as if you were in your own home or in a very familiar situation.

Arnold and had found the hidden key just where it was supposed to be and made themselves at home.

Once the boat left, the passengers all made themselves at home.

You say `make yourself at home' to a guest to make them feel welcome and to invite them to behave in an informal, relaxed way.

`Sit down,' said. `Make yourself at home.'

Please make yourself at home. Maria has put a quiche and salad and fruit and cheese in the refrigerator for your tea. Help yourself to anything you want.

nothing to write home about
something to write home about
If you say that something is nothing to write home about or not much to write home about, you mean that it is not very interesting, exciting, or special.

Yes, there is cheese, bread and meat in Brighton market and the surrounding shops, but it's nothing to write home about, whereas in Dieppe the quality is quite simply dazzling.

The nightlife is not much to write home about but untracked snow lasts longer than at fashionable resorts like Val d'Is=e2re and Chamonix.

If you say that a thing is something to write home about, you mean that it is interesting, exciting, or special.

And you're giving that poor man a new start in life. That's something to be proud of and, incidentally, something to write home about.

on home ground
If someone is on home ground, they feel confident and secure because they are in the area where they work or live, or are doing something that is very familiar to them. The nouns `turf' and `patch' are sometimes used instead of `ground'.

Students benefit by experiencing interviews with prospective employers on their own home ground, without too much of a disruption to their studies.

Compared with the flashy triviality of `The Office Party' and `On The Piste', this is play where Godber is on home ground, writing with cold-eyed affection about the Yorkshire mining communities of his formative years.

Communications Minister David Beddall was back on home turf in Brisbane yesterday vigorously defending his performance in the pay TV fiasco.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-9-30 07:51
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

035ins

the ins and outs
If you refer to the ins and outs of a situation or system, you mean all the complicated details or facts about it.

Without medical qualifications it is impossible to understand the ins and outs of heart remedies.

There are many helpful books now available written by cookery and dietary experts who can advise on the ins and outs of dieting in great detail.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-1 07:48
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

036limb

out on a limb
on a limb
If you go out on a limb, you do something risky or extreme, which puts you in a position of weakness. If you are left out on a limb or are on a limb, you are left in a position of weakness without any help or support.

It to me that you fear change and would prefer to stay in your present situation even though it seems to be tiresome, rather than go out on a limb and try something completely new.

No company wants to be the first to put its rates up. The companies who have tried have found themselves out on a limb.

She felt on a limb at the ministry Europe and quit the government in October 1990.

tear someone limb from limb
If someone threatens to tear you limb from limb, they are extremely angry with you and threaten you with violence.

Police were lucky they found before I did because they would have been arresting he said. I would have torn him limb from limb.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-1 07:49
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
037lines

on the right lines
along the right lines
If someone is on the right lines or is proceeding along the right lines, they are behaving in a way which is likely to result in success. This expression is used in British English. On the right track means the same.

Sometimes all you really require is detached opinion and impartial advice, or even just a friendly voice to tell you that you are on the right lines.

We are, it seems, proceeding along roughly the right lines with government action encouraging more efficient engines, while keeping an eye on developing alternatives.

You can also use this expression to suggest that someone is almost, but not completely, managing to achieve the required result.

The treatment offered so far has been along the right lines, but not successful in curing the condition completely.

read between the lines
If you read between the lines, you understand what someone really means, or what is really happening in a situation, even though it is not stated openly.

If one reads between the lines of their public statements, one is left with the impression that they're just to through the and that the decision to go ahead with mining has already been made.

He was reluctant to go into details, but reading between the lines it appears that the Bank of England has vetoed any idea of a merger between British banks.

You can also talk about the message between the lines.

He didn't give a reason, but I sensed something between the lines.

Mr Major's speech seemed hostile to the idea of a single currency. Yet, between the lines, there was much to suggest that he is not against it for ever.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-1 07:49
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
038lions

throw someone to the lions

If someone throws you to the lions, they allow you to be criticized severely or treated roughly, and they do not try to protect you. Throw someone to the wolves means the same.

Tanya isn't sure exactly why she's been thrown to the lions. She traces it back to quotes she made about the business that were reproduced out of context.

The mystique of the film star has been steadily eroded over the years by an increasingly inquisitive press. And so Hollywood, in its desperate need to make money in a world which no longer worships the cinema, has thrown its stars to the lions

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-1 07:49
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

039look

a dirty look

a filthy look

a black look
If someone gives you a dirty look, a filthy look, or a black look, they look at you in a way that shows that they are very angry about something.

Tony was being a real pain. Michael gave him a dirty look and walked out of the kitchen.

He caught the filthy look his daughter flashed him.

Passing my stall, she cast black looks at the amount of stuff still unsold.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-1 07:49
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
040loud

loud and clear
If someone says something loud and clear, they say it openly, unambiguously, and forcefully so that it cannot be misunderstood or ignored.

The message must come across loud and clear from the manager: No matter how hard I ask you to work, I work as hard or harder.

The message coming through loud and clear is that men expect much more of their women than they do of themselves.

In the past we didn't have an African Caribbean voice in the council. Now our views and our voices are being heard loud and clear in the town hall.

You can also use loud and clear before a noun.

The statement said the international community had transmitted a loud and clear message that all expressions of hatred and intolerance are unacceptable to enlightened nations.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-1 07:50
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
041lump

like it or lump it
have to lump it
If you say that someone has to like it or lump it, you mean that they will have to accept a situation even though they do not like it, because they cannot do anything to change it. This is an informal expression.

Like it or lump it, Cannes is the place where the entire spectrum of world film has its annual meeting.

If you're a shareholder in the club then you have some sort of say in the way things are run. But as a paying customer you like it or lump it.

You can also say that someone will have to lump it when they have to accept a situation whether they want to or not.

When we pointed out they'd effectively taken part of our garden, they said they hadn't even noticed. We just had to lump it.

a lump in your throat
bring a lump to your throat
If you say that you have a lump in your throat, you mean that you have a tight feeling in your throat because of a strong emotion such as sorrow, nostalgia, or gratitude. You can also say that something brings a lump to your throat. Compare a frog in your throat; see frog.

Meg felt a lump in her throat. She was going to miss Dot, even though the two of them had never been particularly close.

It brings a lump to my throat. We are so proud of her.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-1 07:50
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
042wounds

lick your wounds
If you say that someone is licking their wounds, you mean that they are feeling sorry for themselves after being thoroughly defeated or humiliated.

England's cricketers are licking their wounds after being soundly defeated in the second Test against Australia at Melbourne.

The island has never supported a farming community, just a single farm doing the best it can. One by one the farmers have tried, failed and withdrawn to lick their financial wounds.

open old wounds
reopen old wounds
If you say that something opens old wounds, you mean that it reminds people of an unpleasant or embarrassing experience in the past that they would rather forget about. You can also say that something reopens old wounds.

But that afternoon my world was overturned. Ted's diagnosis had opened old wounds and I no longer felt secure.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the extreme-right National Front, has suggested that it is `not a good idea to open old wounds. The past does not interest the French people, who are more concerned with unemployment, immigration problems, crime and AIDS.'

Our Political Correspondent, Andrew Whitehead, says the row is reopening old wounds among Conservative MPs.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-1 07:50
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
043million

one in a million
If you say that someone or something is one in a million, you mean that they are very special or the best of their kind. You can replace `one' with a noun.

At 25, Bernstein was a star. One in a million.

He'll be a horse in a million if he wins.

You can also use one-in-a-million before a noun.

We still want love and the unique experience of a close, lasting partnership with that one-in-a-million man.

a one in a million chance
a chance in a million
If you say that something is a one in a million chance or that there is a chance in a million of it happening, you mean that it is very unlikely to happen, and that you would be either extremely lucky or extremely unlucky if it happened to you.

Martyn's accident occurred at the end of a tough practice session yesterday morning, and was described as being a one-in-a-million chance.

It is amazing really. He had a chance in a million of surviving. We are so relieved he is all right.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-1 07:50
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

044pile

the bottom of the pile
the top of the pile
Someone who is at the bottom of the pile is low down in society or in an organization. Someone who is at the top of the pile is high up in society or in an organization. The expressions the bottom of the heap and the top of the heap mean the same.

Tragically, organized labour has paid for its disregard of workers at the bottom of the pile.

Their position, at the bottom of the social pile, has resulted in them suffering from indifference at best, exploitation and oppression at worst.

You may not like to admit that you are ambitious but you must know deep down that you want to be on the top of the pile.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-1 07:50
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
045pill

sugar the pill
sweeten the pill
sugar-coat the pill
If you sugar the pill or sweeten the pill, you try to make bad news or an unpleasant situation more acceptable for someone by giving them or telling them something good or pleasant at the same time. These forms of the expression are used in British English; in American English, the usual form is sugar-coat the pill.

Ministers may reprieve Harefield hospital, the world's leading heart transplant centre, to sugar the pill of a further of hospital cuts and closures in London and the South-east.

Actors -- even the most famous -- are often insecure and, anyway, we all thrive on encouragement. A few words of praise help to sweeten the pill of criticism.

His bitter pill was sugar-coated with a promise of `free and fair' elections.

These expressions are often varied.

The appalling timing of that which brought an instant end to so many promotion and relegation issues and the disappearance at short notice of three has brought the game's followers to an anger rarely equalled. Now comes the sugared pill in the shape of the Conference, and not surprisingly Geoff Highfield's was not prepared to swallow it.

All that about Canal and our `mutual' concerns was nothing, of course, but sugar-coating meant to ease the pill down his throat.

swallow a bitter pill
a bitter pill to swallow
If someone has to swallow a bitter pill, they have to accept a difficult or unpleasant fact or situation.

Mr Major Pounds 76,234 hopes that with Ministers taking a lead in the bid to keep down wages, the nation can be persuaded to swallow the bitter pill.

Gordon Hodgson, Cowie's chief executive, said the failure to win was `a little bit of a bitter pill to swallow'.

New music is no longer a bitter pill that must be swallowed before we can wallow in old favourites.

You can also refer to a difficult or unpleasant fact or situation which you have to accept as a bitter pill.

I'm not going to tell you this is not a bitter pill for the armed forces, because clearly it is.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:17
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
046soap

no soap
You can say `no soap' to mean that you have tried to do something but have failed. This expression is used in American English.

I went out and wandered around the halls looking for him. Then finally I went home. I called him at home this morning. No soap.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:17
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
047miles

miles away
If you say that someone is miles away, you mean that they are unaware of what is happening or of what someone is saying, because they are thinking deeply about something else.

She looked up at Siobhan. `Sorry, I was miles away.' `Thinking about all the money Mike could win?' Siobhan said with a grin.

Her mother was pacing up and down and seemed miles away. She hadn't noticed them at all.

The nearest neighbors were miles away.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:17
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
048month

a month of Sundays1
You say that a period of time seems to last for a month of Sundays to emphasize that it seems to be very long.

Torrential rain and jet-black skies can make each seem like a month of Sundays.

a month of Sundays2
If you say that something will not happen in a month of Sundays, you are emphasizing that it is very unlikely to happen.

`I think I know what you're about,' he `but it'll never work -- not in a month of Sundays.'

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:17
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

049murder

get away with murder
If you say that someone gets away with murder, you are complaining that they seem to be able to do whatever they like without anyone trying to control, punish, or criticize them.

His charm and the fact that he is so likeable often allows him to get away with murder.

British firms are being clobbered time and again by this power-hungry Commission when continental firms get away with economic murder.

It's hard for old women to travel. If you're a man you can get away with murder. Everywhere you go you're made welcome. But a single woman, no way!

scream blue murder
scream bloody murder
If you say that someone is screaming blue murder or screaming bloody murder, you mean that they are making a lot of noise or fuss about something. Other verbs can be used instead of `scream'. `Scream blue murder' is used only in British English.

People are screaming blue murder about the amount of traffic going through their town.

On the one hand, politicians want to be told what the policy is the president have a strong voice. On the other hand, they would scream bloody murder if they weren't consulted.

The push forward, shrieking blue murder, standing out on their kicking down barriers, till they reach the high perspex wall that separates the gangs.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:18
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

050overdrive

go into overdrive
be in overdrive
If someone or something goes into overdrive, they begin to work very hard or to perform intensely or very well. You can also say that someone or something is in overdrive.

When the bodies were discovered, the media went into overdrive. Antena 3 devoted all but two minutes of its main news bulletin to the story.

My imagination went into overdrive. I tried to make new dishes, not from recipe books but from books about wild plants.

The campaign that began in the cold of New Hampshire is in overdrive now with Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross crisscrossing the nation in a final push for votes.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:18
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

051parrot

parrot fashion
If a child learns something parrot fashion, they learn it by repeating it many times, but they do not really understand what it means. This expression is used in British English.

Under the old system pupils often had to stand to attention and repeat lessons parrot fashion.

There are no books, pens or chairs here, just a blackboard and a dirt floor where 150 dusty sit in rows, learning their words parrot-fashion.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:18
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
052part

look the part1
If someone looks the part, they dress or behave in the way that is characteristic of a particular kind of person.

You look the part of an English gentleman, so he is half ready to believe you as soon as you meet.

He won't say which army but friends suspect it may have been the Foreign Legion. He certainly looks the part: his hair is crew cut and he has a raw gash above his left eye.

look the part2
If you want to say that someone or something seems impressive, you can say that they look the part. This expression is used mainly in British English.

Strachan believes that Cantona has always had the hallmark that distinguishes world-class players from the rest. `When I played for Scotland in France, Eric scored against us, and even then I thought he looked the part,' he says.

The Alpha 5 CD certainly looks the part with a stylish slimline design, moulded front panel and finely-textured paint finish.

part and parcel
If one thing is part and parcel of another, it is involved or included in it and cannot be separated from it.

It was a house healthy -- and noisy -- with political argument and dissent; strong views and humour were part and parcel of home life.

There comes a time during every player's season when his form dips and the goals don't go in. It's part and parcel of being a professional.

He said it's all part and parcel, just a day's work really, you know, it's nothing serious.

take someone's part
If you take someone's part, you support them or defend them, especially in a dispute with other people. This is an old-fashioned expression, which is used in British English.

It seemed to me that she should have taken my part, should somehow have defended me from my father.

China, which in the past had taken North Korea's part, abstained.

take something in good part
If someone takes something such as criticism in good part, they are not offended or upset by it. This expression is used in British English.

I tried to eliminate from the critical comments the casual, the superficial and the trivial, but I nevertheless agonized over having to pass on to Pasternak even the sort of objections with which I could not myself agree. But he took it all, however unusual, in good part.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:18
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
053pat

a pat on the back
pat someone on the back
If you give someone a pat on the back, you congratulate them or show your appreciation for something they have done. If you give yourself a pat on the back, you feel pleased about something you have done.

Any mail order shop that gives such rapid response to a customer's complaint deserves a pat on the back.

The industry can give itself a little pat on the back for the constructive moves it has made to help towards its own recovery.

You can also say that one person pats another on the back, or that someone pats themselves on the back.

The editor of the newspaper asked to see me, and I thought he would pat me on the give me a bunch of and say, `Well done!' Instead he fired me.

I decided if giving up smoking was going to be so hard, I'd need more pleasurable things in my life, so each day I kept patting myself on the back and treating myself.

stand pat
If someone stands pat, they do not change something or they refuse to change their mind about something. This expression is used mainly in American English.

The last time the cut short-term rates, long-term rates rose due to investor fears of inflation, all of which makes it hard for the to do anything but stand pat till the economy's direction becomes clearer.

Building society managers are willing to stand pat on mortgage rates for the moment.

There are certain issues on which Britain would stand pat and insist on unanimity.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:18
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

054pile

the bottom of the pile
the top of the pile
Someone who is at the bottom of the pile is low down in society or in an organization. Someone who is at the top of the pile is high up in society or in an organization. The expressions the bottom of the heap and the top of the heap mean the same.

Tragically, organized labour has paid for its disregard of workers at the bottom of the pile.

Their position, at the bottom of the social pile, has resulted in them suffering from indifference at best, exploitation and oppression at worst.

You may not like to admit that you are ambitious but you must know deep down that you want to be on the top of the pile.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:19
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
055pilot

on automatic pilot
on autopilot
If you are on automatic pilot or on autopilot, you are acting without thinking about what you are doing, usually because you have done it many times before or because you are very tired.

Razzall has worked at number 28 Lincoln's Inn Fields since he joined as an articled clerk in 1966. `I expect I'll turn up here on auto-pilot for the first few weeks before I find I'm in the wrong place,' he says.

seemed to be on automatic pilot and able to go on driving without a word of complaint or apparent fatigue.

When the kids came home I just switched on to autopilot, making the tea, listening to them fight.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:19
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

056poor

poor as a church mouse

If you say that you are as poor as a church mouse, you are emphasizing that you have very little money. This is an old-fashioned expression.

I was as poor as a church mouse, but I bought that wreck of a car.

I suspect we'll continue to be poor as church mice.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:19
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
057pride

swallow your pride
If you swallow your pride, you decide to do something even though it is shameful or embarrassing, and you would prefer not to.

However, if political compulsions demand, he can swallow his pride and ally himself with his political enemies.

States like Illinois have cut programs for the general assistance grants and winter energy assistance. Governments, industries and small businesses have laid off They and members of their families are swallowing their pride and looking for charity.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:19
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

058ride

a free ride
If you say that someone is getting a free ride in a particular situation, you disapprove of the fact that they are getting some benefit from it without putting any effort into achieving it themselves.

I never wanted anyone to think I was getting a free ride or special treatment from the boss.

Tyrone will graduate soon and try to get his high school diploma. Many like him are hoping around, go to college. And then there are others who are just in for the free ride.

go along for the ride
come along for the ride
If you say that someone is going along for the ride or is coming along for the ride, you mean that they have decided to join in an activity but are not doing it seriously or getting deeply involved in it.

Your boyfriend is not likely to be serious about anything this week except having a good time. Go along for the ride.

`Who's that with you?' `A friend of mine. He came along for the ride.'

a rough ride
a bumpy ride
an easy ride
If you say that someone will have a rough ride or a bumpy ride, you mean that they are likely to have a lot of problems and that it will be very difficult for them to achieve something.

The government is likely to face a rough ride in parliament.

The recession yesterday continued to provide a bumpy ride for the lower and middle range of the art market.

You can say that someone will have an easy ride if you think that they will achieve something without difficulty because they do not face much opposition.

You don't come into politics expecting an easy ride.

take someone for a ride
If you say that someone has been taken for a ride, you mean that they have been deceived or cheated.

You've been taken for a ride. Why did you give him five thousand francs?

Why do I have this sneaking suspicion that is taking us all for a ride?

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:20
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
059sails

trim your sails

If you trim your sails, you adapt your behaviour to deal with a difficult situation, for example by limiting your demands, needs, or expectations.

Mr Lee, for his part, has already begun trimming his sails in preparation for dealing with new government.

Would he trim his conservative sails to suit a Democratic Senate?

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-2 08:20
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
060save

save someone's ass
save someone's butt
If you do something to save someone's ass or to save their butt, you do it in order to save them from a dangerous or very unpleasant situation. You can also talk about saving your own ass. These are informal expressions, which are used mainly in American English. Many people consider them offensive.

who's a terrific guy, up to me and `Thank you, thank you, you saved my ass.'

I thought you'd want to know closer to the , such as how I managed to save Grace's butt from Parish for this long.

Lenny said she climbed out the back of the car to get away, to save her own ass.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:22
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

061shape

knock something into shape
whip something into shape
lick something into shape
If you knock something into shape or whip it into shape, you use whatever methods are necessary to change or improve it, so that it is in the condition that you want it to be in. In British English, `lick' can be used instead of `knock' or `whip'.

Most experts agree that agriculture can be knocked into shape and be successful.

After a successful career at the Italian central bank, few people doubt his ability to whip the economy into shape.

We were licked into shape by the long-serving departmental managers to whom we reported.

shape up or ship out
If you tell someone to shape up or ship out, you are telling them that they should start behaving in a more reasonable or responsible way, or else leave the place where they are or give up what they are doing.

Out there, there are people who want to humiliate you. Grind you down, destroy you. You've either got to take all this, you've got to stomach it, join in, or you'll go under. Shape up or ship out.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:22
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

062sights

have something in your sights
If you have something in your sights, you are aiming or trying hard to achieve it, and you have a good chance of success. If you have someone in your sights, you are determined to catch, defeat, or overcome them. You can use other verbs instead of `have'.

Usually, at this stage of the season, are lying first or second in the table and have the Championship firmly in their sights.

I am studying at university, with good job prospects firmly in my sights.

As Lehmann began to crumble, it was clear Boardman might catch him and, with just a couple of laps left, Boardman had him right in his sights.

Virgin earns just over half its revenues from the business travellers it has kept in its sights since it started in 1984.

set your sights on something
have your sights on something
If you set your sights on something, you decide that you want it and try very hard to get it. Other verbs can be used instead of `set'.

These days not all Russian girls are setting their sights on marriage to the boy next door.

Although she came from a family of bankers, Franklin set her sights on a career in scientific research.

Gareth Jenkins and his assistant, Alan Lewis, have clearly set their sights on winning the championship.

She could now fix her sights on continuing at school for another three years.

If someone has made up their mind to try to get something, you can say that they have their sights on it.

who has not dropped a stroke in 36 and Torrance now have their sights on the ￡111,000 first prize in the first qualifying event for next September's Ryder Cup.

And, proving she's just a kid at heart, she already had her sights on her next goal -- hero Linford Christie's autograph.

You can say that someone sets their sights high when they are trying to get something that is hard to achieve. If you say that someone sets their sights low, you mean that they are unambitious and do not achieve as much as they could.

Women tend to end up in low-status jobs with low pay. Often we only have ourselves to blame. We just do not set our sights high enough.

Don't go expecting Dannii to become a regular TV presenter. She has set her sights on higher things.

A joint study by Ernst and Young and the American Quality has criticized American car makers for setting their sights too low and with being content to build automobiles are merely .

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:22
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
063sitting

at one sitting
in one sitting
at a single sitting
If you do something at one sitting or in one sitting, you do not stop doing it until you have finished it. You can also say that you do it at a single sitting.

does not have to be read at one sitting, but is broken conveniently into self-contained chapters.

Be as complete as possible, but go slowly. Don't expect to fill out these lists in one sitting.

She loved to go through a box of cookies at a single sitting.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:22
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

064means

by fair means or foul
If someone tries to achieve something by fair means or foul, they are prepared to use any possible method to achieve it, and they do not care if their behaviour is dishonest or unfair.

She never gave up trying to recover her property, by fair means or foul.

He accused company of being hell bent on achieving its cuts by whatever means, fair means or foul, irrespective of the financial and emotional impact.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:22
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

065straw

draw the short straw
If you draw the short straw, you are chosen from a number of people to perform a task or duty that nobody wants to do. Other verbs are sometimes used instead of `draw'. This expression is used mainly in British English.

Brenner drained his glass with a sense of relief, thankful that it was someone else, probably Hean, who had drawn the short straw.

It sounds very much as though you pulled something of a short straw there, Jim. There's not very much we can do about it, I'm afraid.

the last straw
the final straw
If you say that something is the last straw or the final straw, you mean it is the latest in a series of unpleasant or difficult events, and it makes you feel that you cannot tolerate a situation any longer. Compare the straw that breaks the camel's back.

societies have been under enormous pressure to increase savings rates to get the money they need. But that would mean putting mortgage rates up, and have compelling reasons for keeping them down. an increase now could be the last straw for thousands of borrowers.

The increased hardship caused by water and power cuts appears to have been the last straw and provoked open rebellion.

Mr Elton was already distraught over his mother's death. The final straw came when his attractive wife asked for a divorce.

a man of straw
a straw man
If you say that a man is a man of straw, you mean that he does not have the ability or the courage necessary to carry out a particular task or fulfil a particular role. This is a fairly formal expression, which is used mainly in British English.

The problem of the Labour Party supposedly radical party, and this is not a is that it is once again firmly in the grip of men of straw without guts and without principles.

You can also talk about straw men. This form of the expression is used in both British and American English, especially in journalism.

These also represent the reflex responses of straw men with straw policies.

the straw that breaks the camel's back
the last straw that breaks the camel's back
You can say that something is the straw that breaks the camel's back when it is the latest in a series of unpleasant or difficult events, and it makes you feel that you cannot tolerate a situation any longer. Compare the last straw.

Last week, I broke my wrist skateboarding. I'm a good skateboard rider and love the sport -- but that was the straw that broke the camel's back as far as my dad was concerned. He I'm cursed and has ordered me to stay away from anything that could get me into an accident.

In British English, you can also say that something is the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

He tried to reassure my father, but said all the wrong things: `I wouldn't worry about it. You've educated your daughter, she can work!' My father went berserk. This was the last straw that broke the camel's back. He ordered him out of the house.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:23
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

066street

in Queer Street
If you say that someone is in Queer Street, you mean that they are having difficulties, especially financial difficulties. This is an old-fashioned expression, which is used in British English.

Had he spent more time then listening to the educators, he might not now be in Queer Street.

Beneath the glitzy surface, the financial whizzkids of the world are mostly on the road to alcoholism, loneliness, a bedsit in Queer Street, or sometimes all three.

the man in the street
the woman in the street
When people talk about the man in the street, they mean ordinary, average people. Words such as `woman' and `person' are sometimes used instead of `man'.

The man in the street will be able to buy all that he could reasonably need the glaring exception of motor anywhere in Europe.

It was in terms that the more ordinary man and woman in the street could understand.

But how do these massive changes appear to people in the street? The general mood of the population seems to be contradictory.

right up your street
just up your street
If you say that something is right up your street or just up your street, you mean that it is the kind of thing you like or know about. This expression is used mainly in British English. Right up your alley means the same.

There's a real quality and fighting spirit in this squad that's right up my street.

Actor Roy Barraclough has taken on a role that's right up his street -- as Sherlock Holmes' bumbling sidekick Watson.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:23
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
067wounds

lick your wounds
If you say that someone is licking their wounds, you mean that they are feeling sorry for themselves after being thoroughly defeated or humiliated.

England's cricketers are licking their wounds after being soundly defeated in the second Test against Australia at Melbourne.

The island has never supported a farming community, just a single farm doing the best it can. One by one the farmers have tried, failed and withdrawn to lick their financial wounds.

open old wounds
reopen old wounds
If you say that something opens old wounds, you mean that it reminds people of an unpleasant or embarrassing experience in the past that they would rather forget about. You can also say that something reopens old wounds.

But that afternoon my world was overturned. Ted's diagnosis had opened old wounds and I no longer felt secure.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the extreme-right National Front, has suggested that it is `not a good idea to open old wounds. The past does not interest the French people, who are more concerned with unemployment, immigration problems, crime and AIDS.'

Our Political Correspondent, Andrew Whitehead, says the row is reopening old wounds among Conservative MPs.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:23
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
068table

drink someone under the table
If you say that someone can drink you under the table, you mean that they can drink much more alcohol than you can without getting drunk.

Donna is the only person I know who can drink me under the table.

They arrived back in the hotel room and the drink flowed even faster. His dad opera drank him under the table and a then tucked him up in bed.

on the table
If you put a proposal, plan, or offer on the table, you present it formally to other people so it can be discussed and negotiated, in the hope that it will be accepted.

Most other delegations here said a few days' delay was of no matter -- in any case the Americans and others had not yet put their proposals on the table.

The United States said Europe must put a new offer on the table to save the talks.

The offer on the table at present is part of the long-term movement to align and control indirect taxation within the EU.

under the table
If you do something under the table, you do it secretly because it is dishonest or illegal. This expression is used mainly in American English; the usual British expression is under the counter.

Athletes sometimes cheated, sometimes scalped took money under the table.

distributors are here selling their films at the festival's market but they're doing it under the table.

An under-the-table payment or deal is one that is secret and dishonest or illegal.

Charges flew about and ineligible students and under-the-table payments.

There will be no more press junkets, no more free photocopies and tapes, and above all, no more under-the-table cash.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:24
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
069teeth

armed to the teeth
Someone who is armed to the teeth is armed with a lot of weapons or with very effective weapons.

They stationed themselves, armed to the teeth, at vantage points near the union hall.

The police are grossly underpaid and underequipped while the criminals are armed to the teeth with the most modern equipment.

cut your teeth
If you do something new which gives you experience and helps you learn how to do more advanced or complicated things, you can say that you cut your teeth doing that thing.

For Dennis, the experience forms part of his plan to cut his teeth on demanding theatre parts before making the break for TV and film.

He cut his teeth in the sixties as director of Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre.

He had cut his editorial teeth on the London Evening Standard.

fed up to the back teeth
sick to the back teeth
If you are fed up to the back teeth with something or sick to the back teeth with it, you feel annoyed, irritated, or tired because it has been going on for a long time and you think it should be stopped or changed. These expressions are used in British English.

I've always been a very strong Conservative but I am fed up to the back teeth with them at the moment.

It also shows how frustrated and sick to the back teeth the US public is of big-time, big-money, slick Washington politics.

get your teeth into something
sink your teeth into something
If you get your teeth into something or sink your teeth into it, you become deeply involved with it and do it with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.

Half the trouble is having nothing interesting to do. We've not had a case to get our teeth into for weeks.

When Jeff came to Britain in 1956 from his native where he was a his welcome was harsh and so he wasted little time in sinking his teeth into combating prejudice.

gnashing of teeth
wailing and gnashing of teeth
weeping and gnashing of teeth
When people become very worried or agitated by something unexpected or unnecessary that has happened, you can say that there is gnashing of teeth or wailing and gnashing of teeth, especially when you want to suggest that they are overreacting or showing their concern in an excessive way. You can also say that there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

In times of widespread strife and much gnashing of teeth, a sense of community is needed to stop everyone plummeting into the dark depths of despair.

It was the biggest earthquake to hit LA in years. epicentre a mere eight kilometres from the San Andreas Radio preachers gibbered about the end of the world. There was a whole lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Without this expert guidance, the gamut of amateur rug repairs often causes weeping and gnashing of teeth among professionals.

gnash your teeth
If you say that someone is gnashing their teeth, you mean that they are showing their anger or annoyance about something in a very obvious way.

If Blythe heard that piece, I bet he was gnashing his teeth.

He naturally gnashes his teeth over the product-liability and number lawsuits that have made doing business in America increasingly expensive and unpredictable.

grind your teeth
If someone is grinding their teeth, they are very angry or frustrated about something, but feel that they cannot say or do anything about it.

Men respond sniping (at the Freeing the Spirit session, a man from East Germany was the that if women are in charge they don't do anything for other women either. The predominantly female audience was grinding its teeth.

You can also talk about grinding of teeth, teeth-grinding, and tooth-grinding.

There has been much grinding of not least in the light of decisions in the European Court of about what is seen by the government as the harshness of the European Community's decisions on the environment in relation to Britain.

When you are a little boy of nine, your father can seem like a hero one minute, only to cause you tooth-grinding embarrassment the next.

grit your teeth
If you grit your teeth, you decide to carry on even though the situation you are in is very difficult.

says that there are no simple solutions, that it's going to take time, that there is going to be hardship, but we have to grit our teeth and get on with it.

We were very tired after Sunday which was understandable and we now face five games in nine days. The players gritted their teeth and kept going.

have teeth
If you say that an organization or law has teeth, you mean that it has the necessary authority or power to make people obey it.

Trade union committees should have teeth, and not be convenient partners for management.

Pro-democracy in complain that the assembly will have no teeth.

This legislation has teeth, but I am getting reports back that magistrates are not imposing the tougher penalties.

lie through your teeth
If you say that someone is lying through their teeth or is lying in their teeth, you mean that they are telling very obvious lies and do not seem to be embarrassed about this.

We ought to be mad that public officials lie through their teeth.

`We were on vacation in Barbados a few years ago and we met Freddie Mercury in a bar,' says Phil, lying through his teeth.

I should have known he was lying in his teeth when he said he would pay more than we were owed.

like pulling teeth
If you say that doing something is like pulling teeth, you mean that it is very difficult. This expression is used mainly in American English.

The whole scene over the last year is that people are just not buying. To get a car sold is like pulling teeth. And it's getting progressively worse.

Identifying excess and duplication is says John Doing something about it is like pulling teeth.

set your teeth on edge
If something sets your teeth on edge, you find it extremely irritating or unpleasant.

He stood and took down the portrait. Something about it had lately been setting his teeth on edge.

His casual arrogance never failed to set my teeth on edge.

There is a long roof above the old body of the church and this roof has been re-tiled fairly recently in hard, livid-red shiny tiles which set the teeth on edge.

show your teeth
If you show your teeth, you show that you are capable of fighting or defending yourself.

The bureaucracy was still showing its teeth, resisting and trying to sabotage our efforts.

We need to show some teeth if we are going to solve the problems we have been experiencing.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:24
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

070tower

a tower of strength
a pillar of strength
If you say that someone was a tower of strength during a difficult period in your life, you mean that they gave you a lot of help or support and you are very grateful to them for this. You can also say that they were a pillar of strength.

My eldest daughter, Therese, who's six, was a tower of strength for me then. When I was sick she would clean up after me and look after the other kids.

In her terrible sadness has found Charles to be a pillar of strength.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:24
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

071tricks

up to your tricks
up to your old tricks
If you say that someone is up to their tricks or up to their old tricks, you mean that they are behaving in a deceitful, dishonest, or foolish way which is typical of them.

Homeowners wondering if estate agents are no longer up to their tricks should think again.

Bosnian seemed to be up to their old tricks of promising one thing and doing the opposite.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:24
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

072two

put two and two together
If you put two and two together, you correctly guess the truth about something from the information that you have. You can replace `put' with `add'.

He never came out and said, `I am Jewish', but after a period of time, I put two and two together, and I assumed he was.

He knew perfectly well who mother had been. He had only to think back to the time he'd dropped in on Grace and seen that book on pregnancy to put two and two together.

If you say that someone puts two and two together and makes five, you mean that they reach the wrong conclusion about something.

Mr Lane's solicitor said after the case that police put two and two together and made five.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:24
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

073Peter

rob Peter to pay Paul
If someone is robbing Peter to pay Paul, they are using money meant for paying off one debt to pay off a different debt and so they are still in debt.

His mortgages ran into arrears and he borrowed from loan companies. He started robbing Peter to pay Paul.

I have not starved yet but I am very conscious of shelving debts, of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:25
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
074depth

depth
out of your depth
If you are out of your depth, you feel anxious and inadequate because you have to deal with a situation or subject which you know very little about.

You may feel out of your depth on an honours degree course, in which case a change to a diploma course may be a good idea.

Faced with the latest in medical high-tech, the baffled prince admitted being out of his depth.

who struggled for 90 embarrassing minutes, hopelessly out of his depth, managed to come up with the most honest assessment -- `We just didn't play that well.'

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-6 07:25
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

075limits

off limits
If an area is off limits to someone, they are not allowed to go there. If a thing is off limits to someone, they are not allowed to use it or do it.

The area was kept off-limits to foreign journalists until early this year.

The ideal is to have one room that's off-limits for the kids.

Many of the biggest and most desirable trees in those forests would soon be off limits to the timber industry.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-7 07:25
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

076view

a bird's-eye view
If you have a bird's-eye view of a situation, you are able to form a clear impression of what is happening. Compare a worm's eye view.

Before I left England, I was a parliamentary lobby correspondent, getting a bird's eye view of the way politicians encourage people to believe in dreams.

People often change `bird' to a word that is relevant to what they are talking about.

He seems to have a soldier's eye view.

a child's eye view of the war based on his own experiences.

His pilot's licence enabled us to have a bird's-eye view of the beautiful countryside.

I remember with affection the dmus and splendid Glasgow `blue trains' which gave the added bonus of a driver's eye view.

take a dim view of something
take a poor view of something
If you take a dim view of something, you disapprove of it. In British English, you can also say that you take a poor view of it.

Back in 1989 he took a dim view of lotteries, and wrote to a proposer: `I do support your proposal for a lottery and would wish not to be involved at this stage.'

The French take a dim view of anyone who only snacks at lunchtime and it is usually best to choose one of the fixe set menus, chalked on boards outside.

Fellow critics took a poor view of a critic who reviewed Paramount films and accepted a fee from the studio.

a worm's eye view
If you say that someone has a worm's eye view of something, you mean that they are able to form an impression of what is happening in a situation, but that they have a low status, or are considered inferior in some way. Compare a bird's-eye view.

Let me offer, then, a worm's eye view of what Thatcherism was, and what its legacy may be.

were considered to leaders who, for the most part, `were complete fools, with a worm's eye view of the world and a poor understanding of their jobs'.

If only gardeners would care, occasionally, to get down and take a worm's eye view of their lawns, they would discover a mass of fascinating and horticulturally very useful information.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-7 07:25
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
077stump

on the stump
If politicians are on the stump, they are travelling to different places and speaking to voters as part of their election campaign. This expression is used mainly in American English, but is becoming more common in British English.

He began appearing frequently on the stump and in one celebrated incident mounted a soapbox and grabbed a megaphone to shout down hostile demonstrators.

Despite his falling popularity, the president braved it on the stump today on behalf of his fellow Republicans.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-7 07:26
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
078chain

pull someone's chain
yank someone's chain
If you pull someone's chain or yank their chain, you tease them about something, for example by telling them something which is not true. These expressions are used mainly in American English.

sat next to Wade's car, and he decided to take it: what the hell, why not? Let the man show him just how far he could go. Pull his chain, rattle his cage, shake the man up a little.

I glared at her, and she smiled. When would I learn to smarten up and ignore her when she yanked my chain?

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-7 07:27
标题: 回复: 知识加油站－词汇天地

079red-handed

catch someone red-handedIf someone is caught red-handed, they are caught while they are doing something illegal or wrong.
In fact, the burglar wasn't inside the flat, but on the roof and was caught red-handed by the police.
Three smugglers caught red-handed with several kilograms of uranium and other radioactive materials were detained last week in the southern Polish city of Rzeszow.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-7 07:27
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
080straight

the straight and narrow
If someone keeps you on the straight and narrow, they help you to live an honest, decent life and prevent you from doing immoral or illegal things.

He depended on me when he was working to keep him on the straight and narrow, to keep some sense of perspective about what life was all about.

Education a devout Catholic, is determined to introduce a new classroom culture of morality to set youngsters on the straight and narrow.

The goal is to prevent them from straying from the straight and narrow.

straight as a die1
If you say that someone is straight as a die, you mean that they are completely honest. This expression is used in British English.

But I got the impression that deviousness is not one of characteristics. He is, as the know more about deviousness and deception than any other race in the would say, as straight as a die.

straight as a die2
If you say that something is straight as a die, you are emphasizing that it is very straight. This expression is used in British English.

The streets are lined up, straight as a die, along the left bank of the Guadiana estuary.

He pauses to point out a trunk that rises straight as a die -- an ash tree.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-7 07:27
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
081deal

a done deal
If something such as a plan or project is a done deal, it has been completed or arranged and it cannot be changed. This expression is used mainly in American English.

We're rushing it as fast as we can, and it ought to be a done deal by the middle of next week.

The pact is far from being a done deal. It must be ratified by the legislative bodies of all three countries.

get a raw deal
You can say that someone gets a raw deal when you feel that they have been treated unfairly or badly. Verbs such as `have' and `give' are often used instead of `get'.

must ask why bank customers get such a raw deal. And then find ways to make sure they get treated fairly in future.

White people were gloomy about prospects for racial harmony, with 53 per cent seeing no end to racial tension from 44 per cent in and 30 per cent thinking Blacks got a raw deal in the job market.

I have seen numerous cases where the foreign-born minority were given a raw deal and were treated as second-class or third-class citizens.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-7 07:28
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
082wake

in something's wake
You say that an event leaves an unpleasant situation in its wake when that situation happens after that event or is caused by it.

A deadly cloud of gas swept along the valleys north of Lake Nyos in western Cameroon, leaving a trail of death and devastation in its wake.

Mr has disappeared, leaving in his wake debts of over ￡2 million.

in the wake of something
If an event, especially an unpleasant one, follows in the wake of a previous event, it happens after the earlier event, often as a result of it.

The trouble at Shotts prison follows in the wake of unrest at several prisons in England.

He remained in office until 1985 when he resigned in the wake of a row with the Socialist government.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-7 07:29
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

083small

make someone feel small
make someone look small
If you say that someone makes you feel small or makes you look small, you mean that they deliberately say or do something which makes you look or feel stupid, especially in front of other people.

He made me feel small, like an idiot.

When your children misbehave, tell them without making them feel small.

I could see he was going to do whatever he could to make me look small.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-7 07:29
标题: 回复: 知识加油站－词汇天地

084cats

it's raining cats and dogs You say `it's raining cats and dogs' to emphasize that it is raining very heavily. This expression is considered old-fashioned in British English.
`Could you see how he looked?' `Not really. It was raining cats and dogs by then.'
`You mean she wasn't wearing a coat, even though it was raining cats and dogs?'

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-7 07:30
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
085chop

chop and change
If you say that someone is chopping and changing, you mean that they keep changing their plans, often when you think that this is unnecessary. This expression is used in British English.

After chopping and changing for the first year, Paul and Jamie have settled down to a stable system of management.

Chopping and changing around does not always pay and tends to get confusing.

for the chop1
get the chop
If someone is for the chop, they are about to lose their job. If they get the chop, they lose their job. These are informal expressions, which are used in British English.

rumours that he is for the chop.

He had hardly settled into his new job when he got the chop due to cutbacks.

You can say that someone is trying to avoid the chop when they are trying to avoid losing their job, or that they face the chop when they are likely to lose their job.

clockwatchers at other banks in are turning up to work earlier, and leaving later, in a bid to avoid the chop.

He must play by next week or face the chop for the Challenge Cup final.

for the chop2
get the chop
If something is for the chop, it is not going to be allowed to continue or remain. If it gets the chop, it is not allowed to continue or remain. These expressions are used in British English.

He won't say which programmes are for the chop.

Some of the steamier scenes that got the chop in America will be put back in for the Australian release.

You can say that something is threatened with the chop when it is likely that it will not be allowed to continue or remain.

Weekly broadcasts the other two (Cleveland and are now threatened with the chop.

were known to loss-making factories that deserved the chop.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-7 07:31
标题: 回复: 知识加油站－词汇天地

085chop

chop and changeIf you say that someone is chopping and changing, you mean that they keep changing their plans, often when you think that this is unnecessary. This expression is used in British English.
After chopping and changing for the first year, Paul and Jamie have settled down to a stable system of management.
Chopping and changing around does not always pay and tends to get confusing.
for the chop1get the chopIf someone is for the chop, they are about to lose their job. If they get the chop, they lose their job. These are informal expressions, which are used in British English.
rumours that he is for the chop.
He had hardly settled into his new job when he got the chop due to cutbacks.
You can say that someone is trying to avoid the chop when they are trying to avoid losing their job, or that they face the chop when they are likely to lose their job.
clockwatchers at other banks in are turning up to work earlier, and leaving later, in a bid to avoid the chop.
He must play by next week or face the chop for the Challenge Cup final.
for the chop2 get the chopIf something is for the chop, it is not going to be allowed to continue or remain. If it gets the chop, it is not allowed to continue or remain. These expressions are used in British English.
He won't say which programmes are for the chop.
Some of the steamier scenes that got the chop in America will be put back in for the Australian release.
You can say that something is threatened with the chop when it is likely that it will not be allowed to continue or remain.
Weekly broadcasts the other two (Cleveland and are now threatened with the chop.
were known to loss-making factories that deserved the chop.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-9 07:50
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

086fault

to a fault
If you say that someone has a good quality to a fault, you are emphasizing that they have more of this quality than is usual or necessary.

She was generous to a fault and tried to see that we had everything we needed.

He's honest to a fault, brave, dedicated, and fiercely proud of the New York Police Department.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-9 07:51
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
087door

as one door closes, another one opens
If you say `as one door closes, another one opens', you mean that if one thing you do fails, you will soon have an opportunity to try to succeed at something else. This expression is often used to encourage someone to keep trying after they have had a disappointment or failure.

Earlier in the week, Roberts was philosophical after losing his Sheikh Mohammed, who will not have one retained rider next . `Obviously, I am a little disappointed,' he explained, `But one door closes and another one opens. You can't dwell on these things and I will just put my head down and work a bit harder.'

beat a path to someone's door
If people are beating a path to your door, they are eager to talk to you or do business with you.

Gone are the days when the man who made a better mousetrap than his neighbour could expect the world to beat a path to his door.

Business leaders should be beating a path to Mr Eggar's door demanding that tough environmental laws be passed.

Fashion editors now beat a path to door and thousands of followers flock to get into Mugler of his .

by the back door
through the back door
If someone gets or does something by the back door or through the back door, they do it secretly and unofficially. This expression is used mainly in British English.

de said the government would not allow anyone to sneak in by the back door and seize power by force.

There will be no more increases for top officials through the back door.

Back door can be used before a noun.

David Hinchliffe, for Labour, accused the Government of introducing a back door method of closing council homes.

close the stable door after the horse has bolted
close the barn door after the horse has gone
In British English, if you say that an action is like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, you mean that it is too late to take this action now, because the problem which it would have prevented has already occurred. This expression is often varied. For example, you can use other verbs with similar meanings to `close' and `bolt', and you can use `door' instead of `stable door'.

It is nice to see Severn Trent taking positive action, even though it might look like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Ever heard of shutting the stable door after the horse has run away?

At best, say critics, this strategy is like shutting the door after the horse has bolted.

In American English, you say that an action is like closing the barn door after the horse has gone. This expression can also be varied.

This all has the feeling of closing the barn door after the horse gone.

Like the guy who closes the barn door after the proverbial horse has run off, I suddenly became very diet conscious.

knock at your door
come knocking at your door
If something such as a problem or opportunity is knocking at your door or comes knocking at your door, it is likely to happen soon or is starting to happen.

During these tough economic times, feeling the spirit can be difficult, especially when the recession has come knocking at your door.

All of his life he had been hankering after his personal freedom, and now freedom was knocking at his door, begging him to come in.

knock on the door
If someone is knocking on the door of a club or group, they are trying to join it or become part of it.

and are two players I'm sure will be knocking on the England door soon.

Until recently women were knocking on the door of a man's world asking to be let in.

lay something at someone's door
If you lay something at someone's door, you blame them for something unpleasant that has happened.

The Morning Star has no doubt about who is responsible for the riot. Its editorial says the blame must be laid at the door of the government.

The robberies now laid at Brady's door.

not darken somewhere's door
never darken someone's door
If someone never goes to a place, you can say that they do not darken its door. If someone tells you never to darken their door again, they are ordering you never to visit them again because you have done something to make them very angry or upset. You can use `doorstep' instead of `door'. This is an old-fashioned expression.

He had not darkened the door of a church for a long time.

The law firm controls them told to destroy all dossiers and never darken their doorstep again.

push at an open door
If you say that someone is pushing at an open door or is pushing against an open door, you mean that they are finding it very easy to achieve their aims. These expressions are used in British English.

`Most departments were helpful,' she says, `although enthusiasm was a bit muted in a few cases. In the main we now seem to be pushing at an open door.'

not much effort required, when you are pushing against an open door.

the revolving door1
If you talk about the revolving door of an organization or institution, you are referring to the fact that the people working in it do not stay there for very long, and so, for example, it is difficult for anything effective to be achieved.

The revolving door at Wests has only just stopped spinning. A huge turnover of players is usually not the ideal basis for success.

For the next 25 years, Caramoo had a revolving door of executives.

You can also use revolving-door before a noun.

High spending in the '80s by Italy's revolving-door governments swelled the public sector debt.

the revolving door2
In politics, the revolving door is used to refer to a situation in which someone moves from an influential position in government to a position in a private company, especially where this may give them an unfair advantage. Sometimes this expression is used to refer to a situation where someone moves from the private sector to government, and then back again.

Mr Smith also spoke of with directorships in industries where they set up the regulatory environment, and of the revolving door for senior civil servants getting jobs in industry connected with their former department.

Bill Clinton ran a campaign that included a strong pledge to stop the revolving door between public service and the private sector.

the revolving door3
You can use the revolving door to refer to a situation where solutions to problems only last for a short time, and then the same problems occur again.

East Palo Alto juveniles, like others nationwide, are caught in the revolving door of the justice system, ending up back on the streets after serving time, faced with their old life.

You can also use revolving-door before a noun.

This is the revolving-door syndrome: no home, no job, no money; hence crime, increasing isolation from society, imprisonment; hence no home on release, and back again to prison.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-9 07:51
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
088fuel

add fuel to the fire
add fuel to the flames
If something that someone says or does adds fuel to the fire or adds fuel to the flames, it makes a bad situation worse. Fan the flames means the same.

You must not take the route of trying to borrow your way out of trouble when over-borrowing got you into this state in the first place. This really would be adding fuel to the fire.

The -- trying to maintain is warning that a return to the traditional system of wage indexation will only add fuel to the inflationary fires.

These expressions are very variable. For example, you can say that something fuels the fire or fuels the flames, or just that it adds fuel.

I'm not going to fuel the fire here: people are perfectly entitled to their own opinion. I would just hope that we might see a little more reason and a lot more understanding in the debate.

These are both recognised as factors which have fuelled the flames of conflict.

His comments are bound to add fuel to the debate already taking place within the party about the Greens' public image.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-9 07:51
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

089true

soften the blow
cushion the blow
If something softens the blow or cushions the blow, it makes an unpleasant change or piece of news seem less unpleasant and easier to accept.

Although attempts were made to soften the blow, by reducing what some people had to pay, the tax still met with widespread opposition.

Although it will reduce weekly pay packets by around ￡50, the firm is offering to cushion the blow with a ￡4,000 cash handout spread over two years and by guaranteeing jobs and minimum hours.

strike a blow for something
strike a blow against something
If you strike a blow for something such as a cause or principle, you do something which supports it or makes it more likely to succeed. If you strike a blow against something, you succeed in weakening its harmful effect.

If she her coalition together for long enough to a vote of confidence in as she is expected she will become the country's first woman Prime Minister. Her appointment would strike a blow for women's rights in Poland.

Johan has struck a blow for equality against an obvious and intolerable anomaly in the law.

`We have struck a major blow against drug dealing and crack manufacture in London,' said Drugs Squad Inspector Richard Woodman.

true
ring true
If a statement or promise rings true, it seems to be true, sincere, or genuine. Compare ring hollow; see hollow.

It is Mandela's argument that rings true to American ears.

When I heard the initial reasons, they didn't ring true. It was only when Bill's statement came out it began to make sense.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-9 07:52
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
090words

eat your words
If someone has given an opinion about something and is now proved to be wrong, you can say that they will have to eat their words.

England made Denmark eat their words with a brilliant victory in the European basketball championship. Danish coach Steen Knudsen had criticised England prior to their semi-final clash.

The company's embattled Sir Denys has had to eat his words about the company being recession-proof. `When I suggested that I saw no return to the dark days of recession, I was clearly wrong,' he acknowledges.

famous last words
If you claim that something will definitely happen in a certain way and then say `famous last words', you are suggesting light-heartedly that it is quite possible that you will be proved wrong.

`There won't be any more positive tests from the ones completed in Britain before the Olympics,' he assured us. Then, he added: `These might be famous last words.'

`All under control,' said Bertie. `Famous last words,' added Idris with a wide grin.

You can also use famous last words to point out that you were in fact wrong about something.

When I set out from Birmingham I thought, at least I'm going to get an early finish. Famous last words.

in words of one syllable
If you say that you are going to tell someone something in words of one syllable, you mean that you are going to say it as simply and clearly as possible. You often use this expression to suggest that the other person is stupid or slow to understand something.

Then he wanted to know if I would help out, if it became necessary, by accepting the nomination for Vice-President. I told him in words of one syllable that I would not.

I'm sure I don't have to spell things out in words of one syllable to you.

lost for words
at a loss for words
stuck for words
If you are lost for words or at a loss for words, you are so amazed, shocked, or moved by something that you do not know what to say or how to express your feelings in words. You can also say that you are stuck for words.

It has been a long time, a very long year since was killed, and now at last we have justice. At a time like this, I have thought of so many things I wanted to say, but I'm lost for words.

I had the feeling they were all waiting for me to say something. But for the first time in my life I felt at a loss for words.

I was stuck for words when I heard the news. I couldn't believe it. I got a phone call from our assistant saying I had been picked and I thought he was winding me up.

not mince your words
If you do not mince your words or do not mince words when you are giving an opinion, you state it clearly and directly, even though you know that some people will not like what you are saying.

She did not mince her words when she came to the platform to demand a vote of no confidence in the president.

Ordinary people by Western do not mince their words in expressing their worries about the effects of the price rises.

I tell it like it is. I don't mince words.

put words into someone's mouth
If you accuse someone of putting words into your mouth or in your mouth, you mean that they are reporting opinions or statements which they claim are yours, but which you have never actually held or made.

You're trying to get me to say things and I'm rather annoyed with you! You're putting words into my mouth which have got nothing to do with me or my book!

At medical school, students are shown videos of bad doctors being arrogant, reaching for the prescription pad as soon as patients walk in, putting words in patients' mouths.

take the words out of someone's mouth
If you take the words out of someone's mouth, you say the thing that they were just about to say.

`Well, it's been amazing,' she said in closing. `You took the words right out of my mouth, Lisa.'

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-9 07:52
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
091purposes

at cross purposes
If two people are at cross purposes, there is a misunderstanding between them because they think they are talking about or trying to do the same thing as each other, but they are actually talking about or trying to do different things.

They had been talking at cross purposes earlier, Enron realized. The Hungarian hadn't been offering Israel a slice of the deal at all.

Now that Council members are working together instead of at cross purposes, the chances for a third major project, Gateway 101, look considerably brighter.

The contract had been signed on his behalf by a new, inexperienced agent who was somehow working at cross-purposes with Faulkner's usual representative.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-9 07:52
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地

092cold

catch someone cold
In sport, if you are caught cold, you are not prepared for an attack by your opponent, and you suffer because of it. This expression is used mainly in British journalism.

Northern, seeking their eighth successive League win, were caught cold by Castleford.

Dewsbury maintained their two-point lead at the top of the Third Division with a 29-14 win after Cumbrian had caught them cold to lead 8-4 at the interval.

cold as ice
If you say that someone or something is as cold as ice, you are emphasizing that they are very cold.

A hand that felt as cold as ice touched her forehead.

The next morning, Snoot sat cold as ice through breakfast, unyielding to Claire's hand on his shoulder as she passed his chair.

People also use the much more frequent adjective ice-cold to mean the same thing.

He took a mouthful of the ice cold beer.

He felt a lash of fear, running ice-cold down his spine.

come in from the cold
bring someone in from the cold
If someone or something comes in from the cold, they become popular, accepted, or active again after a period of unpopularity or lack of involvement. You can also say that they are brought in from the cold.

have been looking to come in from the cold for five years. Their in one hand and ballot box in the other strategy has stagnated.

Over the past two years, Swedish investors have come in from the cold.

Grenada's former Health Minister who was fired from office two months ago has been brought in from the cold by the Prime Minister.

leave someone cold
If something leaves you cold, it does not excite or interest you at all.

Given the world situation, chit-chat about shopping and hairdos leaves you cold.

I am not proud that modern `classical' music leaves me cold: just honest.

out in the cold
If a person or organization is left out in the cold, they are ignored by other people and are not asked to take part in activities with them.

The Association of South-East Asian has expressed concern that developing countries might be left out in the cold in current world trade talks.

is why Burma still finds itself partly out in the cold.

has complained in public that husband doesn't pay her enough attention. `He's leaving me out in the cold,' 29-year-old Ghost told guests.

when one person sneezes, another catches cold
If you say that when one country or person sneezes, another catches cold, you mean that the things that happen to one country or person have a great effect or influence on other countries or people. This expression is used mainly in British English.

When America sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold. Applying this adage to financial markets, some onlookers fear that this week's necessary increase in American interest rates may hinder equally necessary interest-rate cuts in Europe and Japan.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-9 07:53
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
093diamond

a rough diamond1
a diamond in the rough
If you refer to someone, especially a man, as a rough diamond, you like and admire them because of the good qualities they have, even though they are not very sophisticated or well-mannered. This form of the expression is used mainly in British English; in American English, the usual form is a diamond in the rough.

Marden was the rough diamond of the three, feared for his sardonic ruthlessness respected for his First World War Military Cross.

`The character I'd like to have met,' Stanley Marric said, `was Arthur Crook. I could really identify with a rough-diamond kind of lawyer like him.'

I liked Neil Murphy, good AA-type treatment who is somewhat of a diamond in the rough.

a rough diamond2
a diamond in the rough
If you refer to someone or something as a rough diamond, you mean that they have a lot of talent or potential which needs hard work before it can be revealed. This form of the expression is used mainly in British English; in American English, the usual form is a diamond in the rough.

British first novels are more likely to be rough diamonds, with flashes of inspiration in an imperfect whole.

When I heard this lady sing, thought, I said `Oh, my goodness.' So I ran to the theater, I said, `Chick, I found myself a diamond in the rough.'

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-9 07:53
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
094tracks

cover your tracks
If someone covers their tracks, they hide or destroy evidence of their identity or actions, because they want to keep them secret.

He was a very clever man, a very careful man who never took a chance, a man who totally covered his tracks.

The killer Norfolk schoolgirl Johanna Young may have returned to the scene of the crime to cover his tracks.

from the wrong side of the tracks
If you say that someone comes from the wrong side of the tracks, you mean that they come from a poor, unfashionable, and lower-class area of town.

I know kids back home who come from the wrong side of the tracks. go to school, haven't eaten and their clothes are all torn.

Black music, in the Western world, has always been considered to have emanated from the wrong side of the tracks.

make tracks
If you make tracks, you leave the place where you are, usually in a hurry.

Webb looked at the bar clock. `Ten past nine. We might as well be making tracks.'

Hawkins knew it was time to make tracks out of the country.

About 8pm, we decided it was time to start making tracks, but we all found it difficult to get going.

stop someone in their tracks1
stop someone dead in their tracks
If something stops you in your tracks or stops you dead in your tracks, it makes you suddenly stop moving or doing something because you are very surprised, impressed, or frightened.

Seen across wide fields of corn magnificent cannot fail to stop you in your tracks.

They stopped in their tracks and stared at him in amazement.

They turned round. And then they stopped dead in their tracks, their hearts beating fast. Somebody was behind them.

stop something in its tracks2
stop something dead in its tracks
If someone or something stops a process or activity in its tracks or stops it dead in its tracks, they make it immediately stop continuing or developing.

If Chancellor pulls the plug on the ￡22 billion programme, the resulting job losses could stop Britain's economic revival dead in its tracks.

Francis felt he would like to stop this conversation in its tracks. He wished neither to confirm nor deny Cosmo's suspicions.

作者: 与你同行 时间: 2008-10-9 07:54
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
095apple

the apple of your eye
If you say that someone is the apple of your eye, you mean that you are very fond of them.

I was the apple of my father's eye.

Penny's only son was the apple of her eye.

a bad apple
a rotten apple
a bad apple spoils the barrel
If you refer to someone as a bad apple or as a rotten apple, you mean that they are very dishonest, immoral, or unpleasant, and that they have a bad influence on the people around them.

It's an opportunity for them to make clear that they are not going to tolerate a bad apple in the United States Senate.

In any profession, there's always the rotten apple, isn't there.

People talk about a bad apple spoiling the barrel or a rotten apple spoiling the barrel when they are talking particularly about the bad influence which the person has. This expression is very variable.

Let's be positive, not Doehring said: One bad apple doesn't spoil the barrel.

He says there are some rotten apples in our security barrel.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-10 07:28
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
096part

look the part1
If someone looks the part, they dress or behave in the way that is characteristic of a particular kind of person.

You look the part of an English gentleman, so he is half ready to believe you as soon as you meet.

He won't say which army but friends suspect it may have been the Foreign Legion. He certainly looks the part: his hair is crew cut and he has a raw gash above his left eye.

look the part2
If you want to say that someone or something seems impressive, you can say that they look the part. This expression is used mainly in British English.

Strachan believes that Cantona has always had the hallmark that distinguishes world-class players from the rest. `When I played for Scotland in France, Eric scored against us, and even then I thought he looked the part,' he says.

The Alpha 5 CD certainly looks the part with a stylish slimline design, moulded front panel and finely-textured paint finish.

part and parcel
If one thing is part and parcel of another, it is involved or included in it and cannot be separated from it.

It was a house healthy -- and noisy -- with political argument and dissent; strong views and humour were part and parcel of home life.

There comes a time during every player's season when his form dips and the goals don't go in. It's part and parcel of being a professional.

He said it's all part and parcel, just a day's work really, you know, it's nothing serious.

take someone's part
If you take someone's part, you support them or defend them, especially in a dispute with other people. This is an old-fashioned expression, which is used in British English.

It seemed to me that she should have taken my part, should somehow have defended me from my father.

China, which in the past had taken North Korea's part, abstained.

take something in good part
If someone takes something such as criticism in good part, they are not offended or upset by it. This expression is used in British English.

I tried to eliminate from the critical comments the casual, the superficial and the trivial, but I nevertheless agonized over having to pass on to Pasternak even the sort of objections with which I could not myself agree. But he took it all, however unusual, in good part.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-10 07:29
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
097here

neither here nor there
If you say that something is neither here nor there, you mean that it is completely unimportant or irrelevant, and does not affect the situation in any way. This expression is used mainly in spoken English.

That the Vikings may have got to America earlier is simply neither here nor there. The critical factor in the development of the modern world was the arrival of Europeans in the Americas exactly at a time when they were best prepared to make the most of it.

You know, five hundred pounds is neither here nor there most of them.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-10 07:29
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
098wake

in something's wake
You say that an event leaves an unpleasant situation in its wake when that situation happens after that event or is caused by it.

A deadly cloud of gas swept along the valleys north of Lake Nyos in western Cameroon, leaving a trail of death and devastation in its wake.

Mr has disappeared, leaving in his wake debts of over ￡2 million.

in the wake of something
If an event, especially an unpleasant one, follows in the wake of a previous event, it happens after the earlier event, often as a result of it.

The trouble at Shotts prison follows in the wake of unrest at several prisons in England.

He remained in office until 1985 when he resigned in the wake of a row with the Socialist government.

作者: lspjy 时间: 2008-10-10 07:30
标题: 回复：知识加油站－词汇天地
099drunk

drunk as a skunk
If you say that someone is as drunk as a skunk, you are emphasizing that they are very drunk. Nouns such as `lord' or `coot' are sometimes used instead of `skunk'.

I'm sorry, honey. I put you through all this. It was my fault. I was drunk as a skunk.

She was drunk as a lord for seventeen days. She could do nothing.

I heard he was drunk as a coot last night and got into a big fight at Toby's.

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