实用英语：“发泄压力”的表达

　　7. to let off steam：to give vent to one's anger(发泄、出气，像放掉蒸汽以减少压力似的。这与“to fly off the handle”意思相近，但比“to lose temper”委婉客气些)

　　What will you do if your wife lets off steam？(假如你太太大发脾气的话，你该怎么办呢？) (因为谈论的对象使对方的太太，所以语气要委婉客气些)。

　　但是谈到第三者，就可不必太委婉，可用lose temper：What will you do if one of your staff lose temper？(如果你的同事冲你发脾气你该怎么办呢？)

　　Occasionally we should be given a chance to let off steam.(我们应该不时的发泄一下情绪。)

　　8. to pay through the nose： to pay too much for something or excessively expensive(花费太多，代价过高，与“ to cost an arm and a leg”意义相近)

　　Don't pay through the nose when you buy the furniture. (不要花太多的钱买家具。)

　　Mrs. Lin always takes center stage at a party. (林太太总能成为宴会上的焦点。)

　　President Bush takes center stage wherever he goes. (布什总统不论走到哪里，都是公众瞩目的焦点。)

　　His constant taking center stage could deprive him of his privacy. (他好出风头的毛病让他毫无隐私可言。)

　　10. to drag(one's)feet：to procrastinate or postpone(慢慢的拖延，行动迟缓，拖拖拉拉)

　　It is not a good idea to drag your feet when the work needs to be done. (拖延工作是不好的。)

　　No employers like for their employees to drag their feet on any project. (工作拖拖拉拉的员工总是不受欢迎的。)

　　11. to paint(someone or oneself)into a corner：to trap oneself or someone； to be in trouble(使自己或某人陷入困境，应该注意的是即使主语是复数形式，corner仍然用单数)

　　Don't try to paint yourself into a corner. (不要让自己身陷困境，无法脱身。)

　　After a heated debate with his boss， Mr. Chen has painted himself into a corner. (和老板激烈的争辩之后，陈先生处境十分不妙。)

　　12. to ask (someone) for (one's) hand： to ask girl's parents for marriage approval(指男人请求女方家长应允将女儿嫁给他，这里的“someone”是指女方的家长，“one”则是指要求婚的对象，hand只能用单数形式)

　　Mr. Su asked me for my daughter's hand. (苏先生到我家来向我女儿提亲。)

　　He hopes to move onward and upward with his current company. (他希望能在现在就职的公司里顺利发展，步步高升。)

　　Many young couples try to move onward and upward during their marriage. (许多年轻夫妇都希望能够婚姻美满幸福。)

　　14. to call a spade a spade： to be honest， blunt or frank(直言不讳，有啥说啥)

　　My wife always calls a spade a spade about her work situation. (我妻子对别人谈起她的工作时，总是直言不讳。)

　　Calling a spade a spade on foreign affairs sometimes seems difficult for diplomats. (外交官在处理外交事务的时候很难做到直言不讳。)

　　15. to play cat and mouse：to play games with aggressive and passive attitude(玩猫戏老鼠的把戏，欲擒故纵)

　　In business negotiations， there are always cat-and-mouse games. (在商业谈判中，常会有一些猫戏老鼠的把戏。)

　　The police have played cat and mouse with the murderer. (警察对凶犯采用的是欲擒故纵的策略。)

　　16. to go on the dole：(of the unemployed) to live on public welfare(失业人员依靠政府救济金生活。)

　　Thousands of Americans are out of jobs and may go on the dole. (美国成千上万的失业者靠领取政局救济金生活。)

　　Some people have gone on the dole for years. (有些人多年来就是靠政府救济生活的。)

　　17. to be in the hot seat：to be under lots of pressure or in a difficult position(处于困境，面对很多压力)

　　He has resigned from his job because he has been in the hot seat for years. (由于不堪多年的工作压力，他终于辞职了。)

　　When testifies before Congress， he will be in the hot seat. (在国会作证的时候，他将面临巨大的压力。)

　　18. to make waves：to make trouble(惹是生非，与“rock the boat”意思相近)

　　Many politicians like to make waves in order to be kept in the media. (许多政客为了能在媒体上路脸儿而不惜哗众取宠。)

　　Teenagers tend to make waves with their parents and teachers. (一些青少年总是会给父母和老师惹麻烦。)

　　19. to keep (one's) nose clean：to keep away from trouble(远离是非，少惹麻烦)

　　The newly released inmates are trying to keep their noses clean. (刚刚获释的犯人总是尽量少惹是非。)

　　A law-abiding person needs to keep his (her) nose clean. (奉公守法的人应该避免制造麻烦。)

　　20. to drive (someone) up the wall：to annoy or upset someone(惹人生气或者不高兴)

　　The boy is driving his mother up the wall because of his ill behavior. (这个不听话的孩子让他妈妈大为头痛。)

　　After a hot argument， she wrote off her boyfriend. (她和男朋友大吵了一架之后，就把他甩了。)

　　He will write off the charitable contributions from his income taxes. (他从所得税中扣除了慈善募捐的金额。)

　　22. to take up with (someone)：to date someone or to fall in love with someone(对某人产生兴趣，或与某人开始亲密交往)

　　After he met her at the bar， he took up with her. (自从在酒吧见过一面之后，他对她产生了兴趣。)

　　As she is such a pretty woman， many men would like to take up with her. (像她这么漂亮的女人，许多男人都对她有兴趣。)

　　24. to pave the way to (or for)：to make the path or to lay a groundwork of something(为……铺平道路或为……做好准备)

　　A good education will pave the way to finding a decent job.(好的教育是好的工作的基础。)

　　Early space exploration has paved the way for the current space station.(早期的太空探索为如今的太空站建设奠定了基础。)

　　25. to paint the town red：to enjoy oneself； to have a good time(尽情享受)

　　He is going out tonight to paint the town red.(他今天晚上要玩个痛快。)