I am all ears 洗耳恭听.doc

I am all ears 洗耳恭听One day, we hired a carpenter to repair our house. I dwelt on (详细讲述)all the details that needed repairing to him. then I asked him, Are you clear? Can you remember all that? Yes! the carpenter replied. I am all ears! I felt puzzled and did not know what he meant. Later my eldest son explained to me that he meant, I am listening attentively!.I am broke 我没钱了我要高分One day when I was walking in the school corridor, Anna ran over to me and said, Im broke. May I .? I thought she might have fallen somewhere and was injured, so I hurriedly supported her with my hands and asked her, Are you OK? Do you want me to send you to the clinic? She felt a little puzzled, but then she said , Im ok. Im broke. May I borrow some money?I assumed that she wanted to borrow money to go to hospital to see a doctor, so I responded quickly, Let me help you to call an ambulance to the hospital.Not until then did she realize that I had not understood what she meant. She told me that Im broke meant, Im penniless. I suddenly saw the light too.Have an affair with.与.有暧昧关系The president was forced to resign, for his having an affair with a film star was like a time-bomb that would sooner or later ruin his fame.It was reported that President Clinton had an affair with a girl called Monica.五官与英语习语eyeThe eyes are extremely precious to us. That is why we say“Mind your eye (当心)!”when we reminding someone to be careful.Not only human beings and animals have eyes, many things also have“eyes”- the eyes of a ship, the eye of a needle, the eye of a typhoon, and so on.earThe ear is the organ of hearing. A piece of light music is easy on the ear. (悦耳动听). We are usually all ears (专心聆听) for bit news.When they think somebody is overhearing, English people use either of the two proverbs: Walls have ears (隔墙有耳) and Pitchers have ears (壶罐有耳). They also think that little pitchers havee big ears(小孩子耳朵尖). Nice boys and girls respect other people. They will not secretly listen to others private conversations.noseThe English phrase face to face (面对面) and its Chinese counterpart(对应)are exactly the same. But English people, to express the same idea, can say nose to nose instead. There is no such substitute in Chinese.The word nose appears in many idioms. Here are two which are quite similar to their Chinese equivalents: lead somebody by the nose (牵着某人的鼻子走) and turn up ones nose at somebody or something (对某人或某物嗤之一鼻).lipWe have two lips: the upper lip and the lower lip. If ones two lips are closed, one cannot speak. So it goes without saying that dont open your lips (不要开口) means dont speak.His lips are sealed. Are his lips really stuck together by wax or glue? No, his lips are sealed when asked about something that he must keep secret. Sometimes a top secret is betrayed because it has escaped someones lips (脱口而出). Then the incident may become a piece of news that is on everybodys lips (众口相传).tongueWe all know we cannot speak without the tongue. So the tongue is closely related to speech. To hold ones tongue (保持沉默) means to keep silent. A person who has too much tongue (太多嘴) is disliked by all, for he is too talkative. Mother tongue is not the tongue of a mother: it is a persons native language.Dont you have a moth below your nose (你鼻子底下不是有张嘴吗)? The Chinese say so to blame a person who did not say what he should have said. But this not the right way to express the idea in English. English people would say, You have a tongue in your head, havent you?aim high 胸怀大志Frank aimed high, but achieved littleDialogue:Sue: You seem to be worried about something these daysBob: Yeah. Im running around in circles (忙得团团转)without achieving anything.Sue: Running in circles? Maybe you aim too high and youve taken more than you can chew.Bob: Maybe. but Icant tolerate doing nothing.Sue: You may take a break before buckling down on (开始认真地干)your targets.Its up in the air 尚未确定Once I met an old friend of mine at the schools celebration meeting. Hence it was quite natural that we had a talk.I am going to be transferred to another school, said my friend.When? I asked.Its up in the air, she answered.I felt rather confused and wondered why she said it was up in the air.Finding I looked puzzled, my friend knew that I did not understand what she meant. So she explained to me with the help of gestures.Finally I got the point that Its up in the air meant It is uncertain.cost an arm and a leg 付出过高的代价Eating in the restaurants in this street will cost you an arm and a leg.Buying an apartment in Beijing will cost you an arm and a legDialogueSandra: I say, Frank. Have you thought about changing the bed sets(床上用品)？Frank: Well, Ive actually been thinking of discarding them.Sandra: And have you thought about where we should go for the new sets?Frank: Well, I need to shop around a bit before I can decide.Sandra: How about the Johns in the Fifth Street?Frank: The Johns? They will cost you an arm and a leg. You have to pay through the nose（为买.付出过高的代价；被敲竹杠）， you know?Sandra: But their quality is first rate.Frank: I know. And their price is first rate, too.keep someone at arms length与某人保持距离She said that she couldnt put her finger on why everyone in the company should keep her at arms length. 她说他搞不清楚为何公司里的人都不愿已接近他。If youve kept her at arms length, she wouldnt be able to et hold of your weakness and take advantage of you.touch someone on the raw.触及某人的痛处The question asked by the Japanese lady seemed to have touched the president on the raw, and it had almost driven him on the wall.那位日本妇女向总统提出个问题，这一问就好像触及了总统的痛处，并把他逼上了绝境。When with friends, people always try to avoid the topics that would possibly touch them on the raw.Your acid comment made him lose face and the question you raised had touched him on the raw.You should avoid offending him by touching him on the raw.Childlike and childish 天真和幼稚I had been to America for only a few years, as I did not understand the actual meanings of the two words childlike and childish. A minor misunderstanding was the result, and I nearly offended my supervising professor.One day I had a chat with some professors and postgraduates in the office. the subject came to the character of my supervisor. She was a senior professor who was always very cheerful and enthusiastic, interesting and full of childlike innocence. I said without thinking, She is childish. Actually what I meant to say is, She is childlike.Not long after that, my professor was told that I had said she was childish. She was a little unhappy to hear that, and asked me, Did you say that I am childish? I felt at once that something bad would happen to me. I hurriedly explained what I meant, and she forgave my inappropriately using the word. Childlike and Childish are different, in that the former is a commendatory （褒义的）term, which praises one who is innocent and has characteristics of a child, while the latter a derogatory (贬义的)term, which describes an adult behaving like a child.Considerable and considerate 相当大的与考虑周到的Once I went on an outing with one of my American friends together. On the way he looked after me very carefully. I was very grateful to him in my heart. Besides saying thank you, I also added, Youre so considerable. In fact I meant to praise him for being thoughtful. However, as soon as I uttered that, my friend, previously wearing a bright facial expression, then quickly took on a ghastly (难看的，可怕的）look. I immediately perceived something wrong, but I did not know where my mistake laid and I felt very embarrassed.Fortunately, my friend was really good at understanding others. He hesitated and said, I think you wanted to say Im considerate. I hastened to ask him about the differences between the two words.It turns out that considerable means rather large in size, etc. or of noticeable importance, （and my friend happened to be an extremely burly （大块头的）man, which he was sensitive to) while considerate was what I wanted to express.It is really true that an error in the breadth of a single hair can lead you a thousand li astray（失之毫厘，差之千里）!Dead end 死胡同When I first caught sight of the sign Dead End, I was really startled. Literally it means the road to death. I wondered whether it was a dragons pool and a tigers den (龙潭虎穴)- a danger spot, or mines or bombs were laid there and once you made your entrance to it you were sure to die. Therefore a shocking sign was set up, warning people against getting into the forbidden area without authorization. Later I got to know that the sign Dead End tells people that the road is closed at one end, and therefore does not lead anywhere. Black Meat or dark meat 黑肉还是鸡腿肉This story happened when I just came to America. One day I went to the fried-chicken fast-food restaurant attached to the school for meal. A waiter asked me, What kind of meat would you like? At that time it occurred to me that I had learned in my college English class that white meat refers to chicken breast while dark meat means chicken leg. However, when I spoke, it went like, Black meat, please. Suddenly I found the waiter looking angry (for he happened to be a black). Then I realized that I had said something wrong. After I explained time and again that I just came to America and knew very little about slang, he became happy again.turn ones back on/upon.背弃.，抛弃.;对.不闻不问We requested that he look into the matter, but he just seemed to turn his back on our request.Did she really turn her back on his proposal?她真的拒绝了他的求婚？Dialogue:Nancy: You look upset these days. Whats troubling you?Selma: Ive requested to take a leave from work so that I can spend our annual holiday in Spain with my family. But our boss turned it down by saying that the company is short of hands.Nancy: Did you explain your situation and ask him again?Selma: Yes, I did. But he just turned his back on my request.Nancy: Maybe you can change your plan and put it off till later.by the back door 通过后门；用不正当的途径It is said that he got many of the spare parts into China by the back door.据说他把很多备件非法偷运到中国境内。Most government officials knew pretty well that this rubbish came into the country by the back door, but they did not know who exactly had given the smugglers the green light.The manager knew that the two new employees came in by the back door, but he didnt know exactly who were at the back. 总经理知道那两个人是通过后门进来的，但是他不清楚到底谁是他们的后台。bring home the bacon 养家糊口；成功，取胜In every country and regardless of their social systems, there must be someone in the house who will have to bring home the bacon.Dialogue:Frank: Im feeling under the weather(感到身体不舒服）. Im not in the mood for doing anything today.John: Play hooky（逃学，开小差）. I wont spill the beans（泄密）.Frank: I know, but I cant. Im swamped with work（有一大堆工作得做）. My job is no picnic（不是轻松的事）, you know.John: Well, hang in there. In the long run, youll be sitting pretty（处于有利的地位；过上优裕的生活）.Frank: I hope so. But I have to work hard and bring home the bacon.hold the bag背黑锅Although the four of them robbed the bank with joined efforts, it was Joe who had been left holding the bag.Dialogue:Martha: Do you know whats happened to Frank?Nancy: Not an inkling. Whats happened?Martha: He was caught stealing a file from a company.Nancy: Sorry to hear that. He should have mended his steps(注意自己的言行）.Martha: But the job was engineered by someone else.Nancy: Did that someone else stand up?Martha: Nobody likes to face the music（面对惩罚）， of course.Nancy: So it was Frank who was left holding the bag?Martha: yeah.fall asleep at the switch 玩忽职守Joe was dismissed by the boss for falling asleep at the switch.DialogueMark: The Boss is furious. There must be something that has enraged him.Lucy: Yeah. Someone fell asleep at the switch and the warehouse has been broken into last night.Mark: Who was on duty last night? He must be punished.Lucy: It was Joe. He is responsible for the lost property.Mark: He will get the bag(被解雇）, I supposeLucy: Not really. The boss only asked him to mend his steps （注意自己的行为）and told him that he wouldnt be lucky next time.Mark: Its kind of the boss to do so. Joe should feel guilty.be in the bag 已到手的，十拿九稳的The General Manager was excited because he knew he had already had several major contracts in the bag.The boss still had the jitters(忐忑不安）, though he knew that their success was already in the bag.A good harvest is already in the bag, though the farmers still have a share of worries.Dont be fooled by their babbling. Cant you see that theyve had everything in the bag? 别听他们的胡说八道了，难道你还看不出来他们已经到处做了手脚？rise to a (the) bait.中圈套，上钩Your trick might work ten years ago. But nowadays few are prone to rise to a bait as easily as you think.你的花招在十年前也许管用，但当今人们绝不像你所想象的会轻易上钩的。Look! A fish is rising to the bait.Be patient! he is rising to the bait.ball up.把.搞得一团糟，一塌糊涂Joe had balled up the business, but it was Jack who was blamed for the mess.Dialogue:Nancy: John dismissed Joe last week.Selma: What for? Not for his falling asleep at the switch again, I suppose.Nancy: No. He balled up Johns business by disclosing his companys secret.Selma: He should have mended his steps.Nancy: Can the leopard change his spots?Selma: No. And he will find it very hard to find another job.Nancy: That serves him right.more bark than bite 说得多，做得少I thought his lecture would be very informative, but to my disappointment, there was more bark than bite throughout the lecture: there was nothing practically important.The boss threatened Joe by saying that he would kick him out of the company, but Joe was certain that there was more bark than bite in his remark.There is generally more bark than bite in most of modern publications, either in literally or in academic writings.You dont have to take off your gloves to a girl like Jenny: theres more bark than bite in what she says.对像杰妮这样的女孩你没有必要如此不依不饶的。她说起话来只不过是嘴厉害了点儿，可他很少伤害人。Cave in 屈服，投降At our company Christmas party, a lot of wine, even vodka, was available. I knew Lao Zhang and Rob were heavy drinkers, so I egged them on (怂恿某人做某事）in a competition for drinking vodka. I was the judge. They readily （欣然地）agreed. After a few drinks, their faces were all very red. Rob then refused to drink more and said, I cave in. I did not understand, so I gain a farfetched （牵强的，不着边际的）interpretation of the work cave and considered it was equivalent to trap . No. NO, No cave, I said, Its a fair play. Robs face looked even redder and hastened to add: I give up. Lao Zhang wins.It turns out that cave in has the meaning as give up or give in.Change my dress 调离我的职位I worked in a big, well-known American firm more than two decades ago. My boss Caroline was a young and beautiful American girl. A promotion or raise of her subordinates （下属）by her depended solely on the number or value of presents that they gave her. As a result, the practice of giving dinners or sending gifts was in a vogue (盛行的，流行的）for a while. Later, here superior （上级