托福学生生活片语笔记(续)
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last straw：最後極限
　EX:I tried to be nice and patient, but when John started to laugh at my girefriend's height and weight, that was the last straw.

kink：抽筋
　EX:When she turned around to talk to Jenny, she suddenly had a kink in her neck.

cream puff：性能良好的二手車
　EX:Sammy likes to take out his cream puff for a drive on weekends.

culture vulture：對文化藝術成痴的人
　EX:There were a lot of culture vulture gathering in New York last Christmas for the grandng of the New York Art Festival.

cup of tea：喜歡的東西（或活動）
　EX:Basketball is my cup of tea, and I usually play it in the back yard after school with some of my best pals.

crocodile tears：假惺惺，假悲傷
　EX:The little girl cried crocodile tears as she told her teacher how she forgot to bring her textbooks to school.

in a pickle：困境
　EX:Oh, darn! We're in a pickle because our car broke down a couple of minutes ago. How are we able to get to the game on time？

pep-talk：口頭鼓勵
　EX:Johnny got a pep-talk from his coach after he finished the first game.

short fuse：急性子，脾氣壞
　EX:That basketball coach had such a short fuse that the umpire had to give him an oral warning.

wake up and smell the coffee (或smell the coffee)：覺悟 ，了解實情
　EX:Finally she decided to smell the coffee, leaving the sad memory behind.

going-on 事件，行為
　EX:There are a lot of fishy goings-on at the meeting.

hangout 常去的地方
　EX:The gym is a hangout for our classmates.

hash out費力地去做
　EX:The professor and his assistants are hashing out a new solution to this project.

the butt of jokes 嘲笑的對象
　EX:He is the butt of the jokes because of the way he talks.

cover all the bases面面俱到
　EX:When you are a career woman and a single mother, it is hard to cover all the bases.

live out one's fantasy 夢想實現
　EX:I hope in the nearest future I will have sufficient money and time to live out my fantasy.

long and hard 謹慎，仔細地
　EX:The attorney suggested that we should look long and hard at the lease before we sign it.

pander to 和…掛鉤
　EX:A politician of integrity ought to avoid pandering to big business.

pick up the tab 付帳
　EX:Most people think that it should be the man that picks up the tab on a date.

snub 冷落，不理睬
　EX:Sandra treated me very well and made me feel like home until her pals arrived, and then she snubbed me.

sneaky 鬼鬼祟祟
　EX:Larry is always sneaky in the office and he tends to be fond of snooping around.

be taken aback 嚇一大跳（僅用於被動語態）
　EX:We were all taken aback by her announcement that she would get married before graduation.

quickie: anything done or made quickly很快可做完的事
　Ex: A:Do you have to go to the bar for a quickie?
　 B:That's exactly what I need.

nose-bleed section:距離中央最遠的位置
　EX:A:I couldn't get the orchestra section for the concert.
B:Of course you couldn't. You know, when you are late buying tickets, you will usually have seats in the nose-bleed section.t.

low-down：內幕；詳情
　EX:A:Everybody has been in a weird mood lately.What's happened?
　 B:Haven't you heard about the rumor? Come here; let me fill you in on the low-down.

Madison Avenue：氣派（原為紐約街道名，為美國廣告業中心）
　EX:A:You just got back from the head office in New York. What's it like?
　 B:What can I say? It's totally Madison Avenue.

gravy train：尸位素餐
　EX:Many government officials in the United States are on the gravy train.

fly-by-night：信譽不佳
　EX:That institution is a fly-by-night operation,so don't waste your money.

flip out：因興奮或生氣而失控
　EX:Those young groupies flipped out when they saw Tom Cruise in person.

fender-bender：小車禍，小擦撞
　EX:We had a fender-bender on the way to work this morning, and nobody got hurt.

catch 22：進退兩難
　EX:I have to go to grad school to earn more money after I graduate, but I need more money before I can go to grad school. It's a catch 22.

osmosis：不費力而自然吸收（技術，知識）
　EX:The little gril learned to play the piano by osmosis. She's a real music genius

bring to mind 想起
　Ex:This film has brought to mind a story I once heard from my professor.

the last thing to crsoss sb's mind 做夢都想不到
　Ex:It was the last thing to cross my mind that he would cheat in the test.

basket case失魂落魄的人
　Ex:After he lost his job, Bob became a real basket case, drinking and messing around every day.

loony (or looney) 瘋狂的；無厘頭的
　Ex:Sometimes he is really loony enough to crack everybody up.

pull sb's leg; jerk sb. around 開玩笑
　Ex:My buddy always enjoys pulling my leg in front of my girlfriend.

primp:（花時間）打扮，梳妝
　Ex:She has been primping for hours for her frist date.

savvy 機伶，對···瞭若指掌
　Ex:I'm the one in charge, savvy?
　Ex:You have to be street savvy to keep yourself from being held up.

scope out 瞧瞧
　Ex:"Why do we go to the beach?" "Dummy,to scope out some girls, of course."

spin-off 翻版
　Ex:Your marriage is exactly a spin-off of the soap opera.

spit it out 說出來
　Ex:Don't be afraid of telling the truth. No one is gonna hurt you. Just spit it out.

spread the word about 替…作宣傳
　Ex:We would like to spread the word about our club to catch people's attention.

in stitches呵呵大笑
　Ex:His talk show kept me in stitches for 30 minutes.

hold water 站得住腳
　Ex: Did you check my hypothesis?
　Yeah, but I don't think it holds water. Your data are not sufficient.

hold on to 留著；保有
　Ex: Can I hold on to the paper fill next Friday?

bring down the house 贏得滿堂采，叫好叫座
　Ex: The actress brought down the house with her act in this movie.

hard to face 難以忍受
　Ex: I think the manager's sarcastic tone is really hard to take.　Yeah, you can say that again.

hash out 費力地做出來
　Ex: The administration office is hashing out a new policy to increase the budget.

crop up 突然出現；發生 (pop up)
　Ex: There are usually problems cropping up with the intallation of the new software.

crack-pot 神經病，腦筋〝秀逗〞
　Ex: Valerie is sure a crack-pot. She thinks she is haunted by a ghost from the Computer.

iffy 不確定
　Ex: How much budget we can get is still iffy because the board hasn't made the final decision.

huff and puff 氣喘吁吁
　Ex: He was huffing and puffing while walking all the way up to the 10th floow.

low-key 隨和的
　Ex: He owns many famous organizationgs, but he always gives people a low-key impression.

loophole 漏洞
　Ex: There are some loopholes in his testmony.

much-touted 議論紛紛的
　Ex: The much-touted murder was still suspended, and there were a lot of speculations going around.

shrug off 一笑置之 (shrug 聳肩)
　Ex:The neurologist's opinion should not have been shrugged off.

a laundry list of… 一長串的
　Ex:My nephew always asks for a laundry list of gifts when he has a chance.

a hole in the wall不起眼的地方
　Ex:This cafe is a hole in the wall, but it has a very nice selection of salads.

high on… 沉迷，熱衷於…
　Ex:I don't need drugs because I'm high on my life.

all hell will break loose 鬧得不可收拾
　Ex:If you don't apologize for what you have done to her, all hell will break loose.

hefty 發福，變胖
　Ex:John has gotten a little hefty since he began working in the restaurant.

sell oneself short 妄自菲薄
　Ex:You're capable of much more, Tommy. Don't sell yourself short.

hoax 騙局
　Ex:He said that the health food could do wonders, but we just found that it was a hoax.

set in 開始
　Ex:The freezing weather won't set in until next week.

rig 動手腳(V.)
　Ex:They rigged the raffle so nobody would win.

rain on one's parade 掃…的興致
Ex:I'm really sorry to rain on your parade, but the funding for your research project has been canceled.

mudsling(V.)抹黑
　Ex:That politician's specialty is mudslinging his campaign opponents.

fall flat:不能引起興趣；完全失敗
　Ex:His jokes fell flat because no one could catch on to them.
　Ex:Far from being received with the enthusiasm that he had expected, his speech fell flat.

for the birds:沒趣的，乏味(常用作補語)
　Ex:I saw the movie you've been raving about. It's just for the birds.

get one's own back on a person報復某人(報仇)
　Ex:He has cheated me this time, but I'll get my own back on him one day.

get one's money's worth:得到所花錢的價值
　Ex:We enjoyed the film so much that we felt we'd got our money's worth.

hang by the wall:指擱置不用；被遺忘
　Ex:He has hundreds of books but most of them hang by the wall.
　Ex:Most of the problems were solved at the meeting, but two were left hanging by the wall.

have a bone to pick with sb.:與某人有爭論；對某人有意見
　Ex:I've got a bone to pick with you. How about the two hundred dollars you promised to pay me back today?

have a thin skin:指臉皮薄，對批評十分敏感
　Ex:He has a thin skin and doesn't take kidding very well.

have an ear to the ground:注意，留心可能發生的事
　Ex:The city manager kept an ear to the ground for a while before deciding to raise the city employees' pay.

have sb. in one's pocket:可任意支配別人
　Ex:If you want to get something out of the chief, just get his secretary on your side, and it'll be done. She has got him right in her pocket.

hit below the belt:用不正當的手段打人，暗中傷人
　Ex:Most of the criticism of his new book hit below the belt.

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