齐齐哈尔鹤城招聘信息:美国习惯用语（186-200）

第二百讲(2008.01.02)

1.      Honeymoon 人和人开始接触的融洽期（和新婚夫妇一样，人和人的关系一开始往往都有良好愿望，双方也能过得很融恰）

   Even after a hard-fought campaign, history tells us that a new president can usually expect a honeymoon with congress for a few months before the real political fighting starts up again.

   Shortly after her marriage, Sarah said she got along fine with her husband's son. But two weeks ago, she complained that the boy poured ink on her dress and last week he broke her car window with a stone. Well, I guess their honeymoon is over.

2.      Moonlight v. 指一个人除了白天做一份工作外，晚上还另外有一份工作

   My regular office job is from nine to five. But I also moonlight selling tickets at the movie theater from six-thirty to nine-thirty because I want enough money to get a new car.

   Most of my colleagues moonlight. One has his own restaurant, another one sells insurance, and several others are realtors. Yes, it's always nice to have more money to spend, but I think it's important to spend more time with my family.

第一百九十九讲(2008.01.01)

1.      to be cut out for 某人生来是做…的材料

   I'm going to apply for this job as computer operator at this big law firm. They use a software system I've had lots of experience with, so it sounds like a job I'm cut out for.

   My aunt Mary knows how to relate to people and is very persuasive. She is cut out to be a saleswoman. But my aunt Linda is different. She is quiet and shy. So she chooses to be a researcher at a lab and is very happy with her work.

2.      cut-up n.跟人开玩笑或者是大声喧哗以吸引别人注意的那种人

   John is always quiet as a mouse in the office. But he turns into a real cut-up at a party - playing silly jokes on people, flirting with all the women, and generally making a fool out of himself.

   John is one of the junior lawyers in the company. He's a real cut-up, joking and laughing all the time even at the business meetings. The senior partners like him but wouldn't take him seriously and have him as a partner.

第一百九十八讲(2007.12.31)

1．to cut a deal 在做生意方面，或者是在司法方面和对方达成一个协议

   The two of us argued a year - who got the house, the furniture, the car? But our lawyers finally cut a deal which we both thought was fair. So at last everything is settled.

   My dad has not been happy with my grades at school. But yesterday I promised him to work harder. Finally, we cut a deal. He said if I got all A's this semester, he'll let me go to the summer camp, or buy me a new car.

2. to cut corners找更方便的办法，或更便宜的办法来做一件事

   I tried to cut corners by fixing my car myself instead of taking it back to the dealer. But it cost me money in the long run. The whole transmission dropped out when I was driving on the beltway.

   Since the company laid off more than one hundred employees, I was given the responsibility not only for production and marketing, but also for personnel as well. No matter how hard I tried to cut corners, there's still not enough time for me to finish my work.

第一百九十七讲(2007.12.30)

1.      the works 全套服务，所有配料,所有部件

   French fries, please, and a large coke. And a hamburger with all the works - mustard, catsup, pickle, lettuce and onion.

   My mother and my sister have very different personalities. Mom always washes her hair before she goes to her hairdresser just to save money. But my sister asks for the works every time despite the fact she doesn't even have a job.

2.    in the works 一个正在计划中的工程，或者这个工程正在进行中

   Several automakers have projects in the works to put a practical electrical car on the market by the year two thousand. They hope to build a car that will run four hundred miles without recharging the batteries.

   I like to read books on different topics - medicine, energy, arts and whatnot. I've accumulated a lot of notes I took while reading. A plan to file these notes is in the works, but it's going to take a long time before I get to it.

第一百九十六讲(2007.12.29)

1．Workaholic 工作狂，一个只知道工作，忽视家庭，没有正常生活的人

   My brother Bill designs computers and he's turned into a real workaholic. He works twelve hours a day, talks about nothing else and pays no attention to his wife and three kids, or his old friends.

   Don't call me workaholic please! Yes, I spend most of my time in the office and can't go on vacation with you and the kids. But you think I like it? I have to work hard if I want to be promoted and make more money.

2. grunt work 会使得人感到非常疲劳的繁重的体力劳动

   The only job I could find was on a highway work crew. I spent most of my time digging ditches - nothing but grunt work. The good part was that it paid twice as much as work in a hamburger joint.

   It's not fair that I'm always assigned to do the grunt work with no chance of getting those juicy jobs like the others on my team. We make the same amount of money and I don't see any reason to be treated this way.

第一百九十五讲(2007.12.28)

1.      on thin ice 指各种危险的处境

   Young man, unless you start turning in your assignments on time and pull up your test scores, I have to tell you that you are on thin ice in this class. Right now you're very close to failing.

   As a professor of philosophy I don't know much about movies so I was silly to accept an invitation to speak on American films as an art form last week. I felt I was really on thin ice during the speech, scared to death of making a fool out of myself.

2.      thin-skinned脸皮很薄，对别人的批评比一般人更为敏感

   The trouble with Harry is that he is so thin-skinned. He does good work, but he must feel very unsure of himself. Ask him a friendly question about how his work is going and he thinks you're criticizing him.

   You shouldn't be so thin-skinned. You've changed jobs three times in three months and every time it was because somebody tried to correct your mistakes. Son, everyone has to listen to criticism sometimes. It's the only way to learn and grow.

第一百九十四讲(2007.12.27)

1.      fat cat 很有钱、很成功的人

I hate to see fat cats showing off all their money, but I would sure love to be one myself. But I guess my only chance of being a fat cat is to win ten million dollars in the lottery.

   Tom and I used to be quite close when we were poor students at college. After graduation he's become very successful and he's turned into a real fat cat. You know, he didn't even bother to say hello to me when I saw him on the street yesterday.

2.      fat chance 机会很少，甚至根本没有机会

   A fat chance I'll ever get a good grade in physics or chemistry; I'm just not very good when it comes to science. Maybe I ought to major in history or journalism instead.

   My dear there is a fat chance Michael will be chosen by any director at Hollywood. Look at him again. In the first place he's not the handsomest boy in the neighborhood. Besides, don't forget he stutters!

第一百九十三讲(2007.12.26)

1.      fat farm 一个健身的机构，去那里的人要做大量的锻炼，但是东西吃得很少

   My sister Sally is back from the fat farm again. She lost twenty pounds there. But the way she eats, I'm sure she'll gain it back and go back to the fat farm next year.

   Sally did something very embarrassing at the fat farm. One night she quietly phoned out to order a pizza thinking nobody would know, but she got caught by the fat farm manager. So she quit the next day and returned home.

2.      to chew the fat几个朋友、同事或一些熟人坐在一起随便聊天

After my next class I'm going back to my room to catch upon my sleep. I was up until four this morning chewing the fat with my roommate and a couple of friends who dropped in.

Jack is a quiet man who writes books. In fact, he has published several highly-regarded books on Asian history. But all his wife likes to do is chew the fat with her friends all day long. I'm surprised that their marriage still holds together.

第一百九十二讲(2007.12.25)

1．Hat in hand  在逼不得已的情况下去求人帮忙，然而又感到难以开口、很难堪

   With our new baby and my wife sick, my paycheck just isn't enough for my family to live on. With business so bad, I hate to do it, but I have to go to my boss hat in hand and beg for more money.

   I like my job as university president. But I don't like to go out hat in hand begging for money. Unfortunately, though, this is the most important part of my job. Otherwise the school simply couldn't survive.

2. to wear two hats at a time 一个人同时担任两个职务

   They're so shorthanded at my cousin Joe's office that he has to wear two hats. He was already a Vice President, but now he is also the treasurer because the old treasurer quit and they can't afford to hire a replacement.

   Since Mike's wife passed away, he's been wearing two hats at home as both father and mother. Not only is he the breadwinner of the family, he also takes care of the children's food and clothes and helps them with their homework.

第一百九十一讲(2007.12.24)

1.      to pass the hat 让大家捐钱为一个同事解决意外的灾难

   When Bill Brown's baby daughter was hurt in that auto accident last week, we passed the hat around the office and collected three hundred dollars to help pay the doctor's bill.

   People are making fewer contributions. We've passed the hat around to possible givers but still can't meet our budget needs. Seems the only way out is to cut some programs and downsize our organization.

2.      to take one’s hat off 向某人表示敬意

   I sure take my hat off to my boss. I don't know how in the world he did it, but somehow he pulled some tricks out of the hat and got us five million dollars to save the business.

   I really take my hat off to my sister. She raised five children all by herself after her husband died. I don't know how she managed, but all the children graduated from college and have good jobs.

第一百九十讲(2007.12.23)

1.        at the drop of a hat马上

   Tom Atkins is usually a good-hearted friendly guy. But he has one problem -- a hot temper. Say something he doesn't agree with, and he'll start a loud argument at the drop of a hat.

  My daughter Janet has decided to leave her abusive husband. I feel so relieved! If Janet uttered a word when John was in bad mood -- and most of the time he was -- he would hit her at the drop of a hat.

2.        to pull something out of the hat找到一个没有意料到的办法来解决面临的困难

   Our company is in deep trouble. We're out of money and have to pay back the bank a five-million loan by Tuesday. Unless the boss can pull something out of the hat, we'll be out of business.

   So much pressure for me this week -- a research report to finish, six pages of translation to hand in and two house guests arriving tomorrow. I don't think I can cope with all this unless I can pull something out of the hat.

第一百八十九讲(2007.12.22)

1.      to stand tall 指一个人很神气地站在那里，挺着胸，表现得很自豪和自信，毫无畏惧的样子

   John Wayne is so popular because he always stands tall in his movies, quiet and brave. He looks like he's ready to fight a dozen bad guys before breakfast and then go out and rope wild horses.

   All the boys my sister has dated so far are very short guys. This is not really my ideal image of a man any girl should spend the rest of her life with. A girl should choose a strong, powerful man, who stands tall.

2.      a stand-out 指一个人在自己专业方面非常突出而引起人们注意

   It was a sad day for sports when Magic Johnson announced he had to retire. Magic was such a stand-out in professional basketball -- one of the best players who ever lived!

   I admit Wendy is a good researcher, but nobody would call her a stand-out right now. She was so eager to get a promotion that she faked some of the results in her last research report and now she's a laughing stock among her colleagues.

第一百八十八讲(2007.12.21)

1.      to stand up someone 一个人没有能按时去赴重要的约会，特别是和女朋友或男朋友的约会

   Mary was two hours late for our wedding and I was afraid she had stood me up. But she finally got there, her head all bandaged -- she'd been in an auto accident on her way to church!

   I really love Joan. We've been dating for over two years now. But I simply can't stand the way she always stands me up. Last month, I waited in front of the theater for an hour without seeing her shadow. I've finally decided to break up with her.

2. a stand-in 一个临时去代替别人做什么事的人

   The mayor was sick in bed with a sudden attack of the flu so one of the city council members had to be a stand-in for the mayor and go out to meet the governor at the airport.

   You want me to be a stand-in for you again tonight at the dinner party? Let me tell you, I'm getting tired of being your stand-in all the time. If you don't want to perform your duties, why don't you let me take over your position.

第一百八十七讲(2007.12.20)

1.      to make tracks 一个人很快地从一个地方跑到另一个地方

   Sometimes I think the most important thing in Joe's life is his stomach. When he goes to a cocktail party, instead of talking to people, he makes tracks straight for the food table and he stays right there eating until it's time to go home.

   I still remember how I played hooky in high school and made tracks from one movie theater to another to see the latest movies. My all-time record was five movies in one afternoon. My parents were really mad when they found out.

2.      the wrong side of the tracks贫民区的那一边, 用来指出身贫贱的人

   Remember how we used to make fun of Bill Brown in school because he came from the wrong side of the tracks and only owned one pair of pants? Well, he turned out to be a brilliant student, went on to medical school and now he's a famous doctor in New York.

   Jack is from a very wealthy family. His father owns three banks on the East Coast. But Jack likes to make friends with anyone who has a good heart whether or not the person comes from the wrong side of the tracks.