1 Be in the air 将要发生的事情
The feeling or idea that something new is about to happen or is going to change.
Example: From the arguments going on at the meeting, it seems that a change in policy is in the air.
2 Clear the air 消除误会
To settle a dispute and restore good relations
Example: We had a meeting with the workers, and I think we’ve cleared the air now.
3 Cost an arm and a leg 极其昂贵
To be very expensive
Example: I love that fur coat. However, I don’t think I’m going to buy it because it costs an arm and a leg.
4 A bad egg 缺乏道德的人
Somebody who has no moral principles and should be avoided
Example: You mustn’t lend Tim money, he’s a bad egg. You’ll never see him or your money again!
5 In the Bag 稳操胜券
Said of an achievement which is secure
Example: We have the deal in the bag. The client came in this morning to sign the agreement.
6 In the balance 未知的,不可预测的
Said when the outcome of a situation is unknown or unpredictable
Example: His career as a pilot is in the balance, as his eyesight does not seem good enough.
7 Drive a hard bargain 极力讨价还价
To have the negotiating strength and skills to get the most advantageous price and conditions
Example: Amanda is negotiating the best price from the suppliers. She drives a hard bargain.
8 Ring a bell 看上去或听起来非常熟悉
To look, sound or seem familiar
Example: That face rings a bell, where have I seen him before?
9 Tighten one’s belt 节衣缩食
To cut down on spending because there is less income than before
Example: Now you are out of work, you’ll have to tighten your belt and give up buying new clothes and going out so often.
10 Kill two birds with one stone 一石二鸟
To complete two tasks together, with less effort than doing them separately
Example:Since I’d gone to the store to buy some bread, I thought of killing twobirds with one stone and invited Mr. Biggs to the party.
11 Be in a black mood 情绪极差
To be so negative about everything that it is impossible for anyone to reason with him/her
Example: My father has been in a black mood for days, we dare not say anything to him.
12 New blood 新成员
New people brought into an organization to introduce different and original ideas
Example: It was decided to bring new blood into the school by employing teachers with the latest training.
13 Feeling blue 感到无精打采
Feeling sad or depressed
Example: She’s feeling blue, because the man she loves is far away.
14 Get to the bottom of something 弄清真相
To find out the truth about something
Example: I’m trying to get to the bottom of why David left without saying goodbye.
15 A piece of cake 轻松的事
Something which is very easy to do
Example: Here…let me put the batteries in for you. It’s a piece of cake.
16 Pay a call 拜访
To visit somebody
Example: As we’re in this neighborhood, we might as well pay the Jacksons a call, we haven’t seen them for ages.
17 By chance 偶然, 意外的
Unexpectedly; with no prior planning
Example: By chance, I bumped into my wife in the shopping mall
18 Round the clock 夜以继日的
To do something continuously, without a break or pause
Example: The ambulance services worked round the clock hauling people trapped in the building to safety.
19 Keep one’s cool 保持冷静
To stay calm in a difficult situation
Example: If the traffic is jamed, the only thing to do is keep your cool, or get out of the car and walk!
20 In a tight corner 处于困境
In an extremely difficult situation
Example: Whenever I get into a tight corner, I try to rely on quick thinking to get out of it.
21 Keep in the dark 隐瞒
To keep something secret
Example: We know my brother has a new girlfriend, but he's keeping her name in the dark.
22 Fall on deaf ears 不加理睬的, 不听取
Not to take any notice of what is said
Example:The city council’s order that garbage should be put in the bins fell ondeaf ears; the sidewalks are still littered with trash!
23 Take things easy 放轻松
To relax
Example: It's better for our health to take things easy than to worry about
problems all the time.
24 Eat like a horse 吃得很多
To eat a lot; to have a very big appetite
Example: Fred eats like a horse. When I was a growing lad like him, I used to eat a lot, too.
25 Catch one’s eye 吸引某人注意
To attract somebody’s attention
Example: A movement behind the curtain caught my eye – I thought it was a burglar and rushed out of the room!
26 Have an eye for something 对某事(某物体)了解得非常清楚
To be very good at doing something, or have a great understanding of something.
Example: As a botanist, he has to describe and draw plants accurately, so he must have an eye for detail.
27 Turn a blind eye .熟视无睹
To ignore an action, even though one should do something about it
Example: Parents will spoil their children if they constantly turn a blind eye to their bad behavior.
28 Keep an eye on 照看, 密切注视
To watch carefully; to look after
Example: Keep an eye on my purse – I'm just going to the bathroom.
29 Lose face 丢脸
To have one's reputation spoiled; to be embarrassed
Example: The large drug houses have lost face, because smaller companies are selling similar products at a cheaper price!
30 Lead the field 处于领头地位
To be the most successful person or group in an activity
Example: For decades, the House of Dior led the field in elegant fashion design.
31 Get out of hand 失去控制
To be out of control
Example: The problem of suicide bombings is getting out of hand; there seems to be no way to stop them.
32 Give a hand 提供帮助
To help somebody with something
Example: Please give me a hand and hold this board while I paint it.
33 Learn by heart 牢记
To memorize something; to have learned something word for word or very precisely.
Example: At school we often learned Shakespeare’s sonnets by heart and recited them in front of the class.
34 On hold 尚未办理的事情
Something set aside and waiting to be dealt with
Example: Our vacation plans are on hold right now; because my Dad’s just been admitted to hospital with a stomach ulcer.
35 A dark horse 出乎意料的嬴家
An unexpected winner.
Example: A dark horse in this year’s basketball cup was Japan!
36 The bottom line 本质内容
The most essential part of something
Example: We’ve talked a lot about taxation and immigration, but the bottom line is that we have to create more jobs.
37 Live it up 狂欢一场
To enjoy a high standard of living and lead a carefree life
Example: The neighbors having been living it up ever since they won the sweepstakes.
38 Look forward to 期待着
To relish some future prospect; to eagerly await meeting somebody.
Example:You can tell Jake is looking forward to his vacation – he keeps tellingus how many days there are left until he finishes college.
39 Bear in mind 记住
To remember something which can be of help in the future.
Example: Before you start your perspective drawing, bear in mind you should first establish a vanishing point.
40 Have a mind to 想做某事, 计划做某事
To be decided on ; to intend to
Example: The service in our hotel was terrible. I have a mind to write a letter of complaint.
41 Be in the mood 想要做某事
To feel like doing something
Example: She is not in the mood for playing cards and says she should really be preparing her lecture notes.
42 Over the moon 欣喜若狂
Extremely happy
Example: She’s over the moon about her promotion – she really wasn’t
expecting it.
43 Get a move on 赶快
To hurry up
Example: Get a move on! The train is about to leave.
44 Over and above 除…这外, 额外的
In addition to
Example: Over and above our salary, we are getting a large bonus, because business has been very profitable this year.
45 Get the picture 了解某事
To understand something, to grasp some meaning
Example: When they started cutting back and laying people off at work, I got the picture and starting looking for another job.
46 Be out of pocket 花光了钱的
To be without money
Example: He’s complaining because he spent all of his money on slot machines and now he’s out of pocket.
47 Keep somebody posted 传达消息
To regularly give somebody up-to-date information or details of the progress being made.
Example: I phoned in at the end of each working day to keep my boss posted about developments at the trade conference.
48 In the long run 最终, 最后
Over a long period of time, once a process has matured
Example:The grocery store is making a loss right now. In the long run, however,we hope to achieve a situation of stable profit.
49 On a shoestring 生活拮据
In a thrifty manner; with costs or spending down to a bare minimum
Example: She lives on a shoestring – she gets a tiny pension and has to budget very tightly.
50 Lose track of 失去消息, 失去线索
To lose contact with somebody to not know where something is
Example: I lost track of Fran when she moved to Boston. I’ve even tried to locate her on the Internet.
Beat generation 垮掉的一代
Tea-ceremony 茶道
Badger game 美人计
Scene stealer 抢镜头的人
Hooligan 阿飞，足球流氓
Repeated offender 惯犯
Double agent 双重间谍
Mr. Big 黑社会老大
Love child 私生子
Hand-to-hand fighting 肉搏
Box news 花边新闻
Screen agers 整天看电视玩电脑的孩子
June-December wedding 双方年龄悬殊的婚姻
King’s English 标准英语
Leap day/year 闰日2.29/年366
Maid of Orleans 圣女贞德
Narrow squeak（口）九死一生的脱险
Ninja turtle 忍者神龟
Poet laureate 桂冠诗人
Ponytail 马尾辫
Protestant 新教徒
Pulitzer Prize 普利策奖
Rat race 激烈的竞争
Red-light district 红灯区
Reader’s Digest 读者文摘
Russian roulette 俄罗斯轮盘赌
Sexual harassment 性骚扰
Short fuse 易怒的脾气
Soft-soap 奉承讨好
Silent contribution 隐名捐款
Silly money 来路不明的钱
Silver screen 银幕，电影界
Summer complaint 夏季病，拉肚子
Tenth-rate 最低等的，劣等的
Vertical/lateral thinking 纵向，横向思维
Wide-body 大部头的作品
Wheel of life （佛教）轮回
Xenomania 媚外
Yearbook 年鉴年刊
Zen 禅
Paparazzi 狗仔队
Show people 娱乐界人士
Exotic dance 脱衣舞
Bearish 行情下跌的
Bullish 行情上涨的
State prisoner 政治犯
Stowaway 偷渡者，逃票的乘客
Plainclothesman 便衣警察
Police dog 警犬
Police post 派出所
Negligent homicide 过失杀人
Impostor 江湖骗子
ICJ International Court of Justice 国际法院
Espionage 间谍 间谍活动
Lifer 职业军人
Mine 地雷 水雷
Panzer 装甲车 坦克
Off limits 军事禁区
Q-boat 伪装成商船或渔船的武装船只
Riot corps 防暴部队
Standing army 常规军
Sniper 狙击手
Bermuda Triangle 百慕大三角洲
Brain drain 脑力人才外流
Brawn drain 劳力外流
Break- dancing 霹雳舞
French windows 落地窗
Funeral home 殡仪馆
Taillight 车尾灯
Visiting team 客队
Runner-up 亚军
Black referee 黑哨
Foul play 犯规动作
Standing broad jump 立定跳远
Underachiever 差等生
Hothouse 对儿童进行学前教育
Whiz kid 神童 优等生
Newsbreak 重要新闻
Needle trade 成衣业
Massage parlour 挂按摩牌子的妓院
Moonlight 作动词，干第二职业
Mixed marriage 异族通婚
Moon roof 汽车的顶窗
Egghead 对知识分子的蔑称
Dog days 七八月份的酷暑期，伏天
Connoisseur 鉴赏家
Box office 票房
Bridesmaid 女傧相
Bee （美）为互助友好而举行的聚会
Bigtime 红极一时的，赫赫有名的
Bank of issue 发行银行
Cater ∏ 美国总统克林顿 （卡特二世。。。）
Big stick大棒政策
Oxbridge 牛津和剑桥大学
Multiversity 综合大学
CDV compact video disc 激光光碟
Beeper BP机
Exclusive 独家新闻
Divorcee 离了婚的人
disposable worker 临时工
Eden 伊甸园
Bandwagon 见风使舵
Sapphire 蓝宝石
Scrappage 报废物
Shangri-la 香格里拉
Obituary 补告
Hangover 宿醉
Full scholarship 全额奖学金
Stone-cold fox 冰山美人
Brain trust 政府的智囊团
A-list 名流群，精英
all-expense tour 自费游
Bard-of-Avon 埃文河诗人，莎士比亚的别称
Beau monde 上流社会
Beautiful people 上流社会的时髦阶层
Bagstuffer 街头广告传单
Antichoice 反堕胎
Backwater 死水，死气沉沉的地方
Intercom 对讲机，闭路通讯装置
In vitro fertilization 体外受精，试管受精
Cottonmouth snake 百步蛇
Laser surgery 激光外科手术
Intercept 截球
Unscrupulous bombing 狂轰滥炸
Tommy gun (美)冲锋枪
Strafe 扫射，猛烈炮击
Superbomb 氢弹
Unconditional surrender 无条件投降
Losing battle 必败之战
Military operation 作战
Missile equipped destroyer 导弹驱逐舰
Mess 军用食堂
Rock-bottom 最低的
Seed money 本钱
Principal 本金，可生息
Securities 证券，有价证券
Sag 萧条，下跌
Profiteer 投机商，奸商
Prime 银行贷款的最低利率
Red ink 赤字，亏损
Ready money 现钞
Bell-bottom trousers 喇叭裤
Julibee 五十周年大庆
Jim Crow 对黑人的蔑称
Iron lady 指铁娘子撒切尔夫人
Itinerant 巡回的
Intelligentsia知识分子的总称，知识界，知识阶层
Jack 千斤顶
Blue moon 千载难逢的时机
Benefit 义卖，义演，义赛
Brainwave 灵感，突然想到的主意
Honor man （美）优等生
Full professor 正教授
Doctorate博士学位
Alma Mater 母校
Academician 院士
Pony report 每日要闻报道
Peter Funk （美俚）拍卖中冒充卖家抬高价格的冒牌出价人
Pep rally 动员大会
Pipe dream 白日梦，空想
Pay TV 收费电视
Plastic operation 整形手术
Made man 成功的人
Manicure 修指甲
Mad money （美俚）私房钱
Lotusland 逍遥乡
Jolly Roger 海盗旗
Invalid 病号，伤残者
Informed sources 消息灵通的人士
Hot air 吹牛，空话
Idiot box （口）电视机
Ins and outs 迂回曲折，底细
In-flight meal 航空餐
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