地道海外生活口语

1. Absent-minded 健忘，心不在焉

Definition: forgetful; constantly having other things on one’s mind

A: Do you know where the keys to my apartment are?

B: That’s the third time you’ve lost them this week! How could you be so absent-minded?

A: I don’t know. I guess I am thinking about other things.

英文中absent和present是一组互为相反的形容词，可分别表示某人“不在场”或“在场”。某人可能只是身体“在场”，但心却“不在场”。Ab sent-minded便是此意。此词常用来描述学生在课堂不专心的表现，如：Harry was absent-minded during the historical lecture.哈里在历史课上心不在焉。

2. Good taste 品位高

Definition: having a sense of style and refinement

A: Lila has good taste. All of the furniture in her apartment is beauti ful.

B: Lila’s mother is an artist and her father is a carpenter, so she kno ws what kind of furniture is suitable for different rooms.

A: I want Lila’s help when I buy new furniture because I never see

m to be able to find something that looks good in my home.

taste一词从指食品的味道引申到指生活其它领域的品位。描述某人时，taste指某人的审美观和鉴赏力。

3. Got licked 被压倒，被制服

Definition: to be defeated

A: The team got licked by their archrivals.

B: I thought we would win. What happened?

A: The other team played better so they made fewer mistakes. Our te am couldn’t score many points.

在动物界中可见到牛或猫等用舔幼仔的方式使小动物们顺服。此习语的含义似乎由此而来。

4. Cocksure 自认为十拿九稳

Definition: take for granted; used as an adjective to describe someone who takes something for granted

A: I really don’t like George because of his cocksure attitude.

B: I understand. He takes many things for granted and thinks that he is incapable of ever making a mistake.

一般指太过于自信的人。说话人的语气中带有一定的蔑视。

5. Edge of one’s seat 坐不住了

Definition: very exciting

A: Did you like the new James Bond movie?

B: I loved it! It was so exciting that it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time that it was on.

中国人在形容一个人激动的态势时有“坐立不安”或“脚下生风”等妙语。在英语中与之对应的形象说法是“坐到椅子的边棱上”。用到名词seat的短语还包括suicide seat这个非常有趣的习语，它谑指驾车者旁边的座位，因为在车祸时乘坐此座位的其死亡率最高。

6. Jump on someone 向某人发脾气

Definition: be upset or mad at a person

A: Dad is really upset today. I don’t know what ha ppened at work b ut it wasn’t a good day.

B: I don’t want him to jump on me. After dinner I’m going to my r oom to study so he can’t get mad at me for doing something that mi ght irritate him.

这里描述的是言辞之激烈，而不是指“身体扑上去”，形容当人们情绪不好时，说话气冲冲的。又如：She jumped on her husband if he c ame back too late. 她丈夫回家太晚就会招来一顿呵斥。

7. Not so hot (Not that hot) 不怎么样

Definition: not very good

A: Why didn’t you go to class yesterday?

B: I woke up with a stomachache and a fever so I took some medici ne and rested.

A: How do you feel today?

B: Not so hot, but I have a quiz today so I have to go to class.

描述某人或某物的状态不佳。

8. Run around 东跑西颠来回折腾

Definition: directed and redirected to different places apparently witho ut result

A: Don’t give me the run around! I’ve been here for seven hours an d no one has answered my question.

B: I am sorry, miss, but you are going to have to talk to the custom er service department.

A: I have already talked to several people in customer service. Each of them told me to go see different departments. I finally decided tha t the only way to get help was to come here and talk to someone in the main office.

人们在打问某事或找某人时常常会遭遇这样的事；一会儿跑到东，一会儿跑到西，来回折腾。

9. Sit on the fence (Straddle the fence) 举棋不定

Definition: be undecided

A: I’m not sure how I will vote on this issue. I think it’s important

for schools to have more money to improve education but I think people pay a lot of taxes. Not everyone can afford to pay more.

B: You may sit on the fence for this issue but I know how I will v ote. My children need more teachers and better conditions in school.

I support the tax to improve education.

指某人对某事持骑墙派的立场，不明确表示赞同或不赞同任何一方，只是居于中间。

10. Get rusty 手生了

Definition: to lose one’s ability to do something due to lack of practi ce

A: I don’t think Eileen plays bask etball as well as she did when she was in high school.

B: It’s been seven years since she played. You get rusty if you don’t practice, no matter how well you used to play basketball.

用铁生锈来比喻一个人的技艺长久不用变得不熟练了。

11. Cutthroat 你死我活的

Definition: very competitive

A: I heard that the computer company might have broken some laws

in producing their new software. Do you think that they would hav

e purposely done such a thing?

B: I don’t know. The computer industry is a real cutthroat business. Many people want to make a lot of money real fast and might eve

n consider breaking the law.

cutthroat原指杀人凶手。用作形容词要描述世态炎凉。常见的搭配有cutthroat competition严酷无情的竞争；cutthroat price跳楼价。

12. Cozy 舒适

Definition: warm and comfortable feeling

A: How do you like your new apartment?

B: I absolutely love it! It is so nice and cozy, so much nicer than li ving in the dorms at school.

此词可用来描述处所、环境等。Cozy是美语拼法，而英语拼法是c osy。

13. Burst one’s bubble 向某人泼冷水

Definition: show a bream or wish will not come true

A: I can’t wait to take a long, hot shower when we arrive.

B: I don’t want to burst your bubble, but we are going camping so t here won’t be any long, hot showers until our vacation is over.

人们一般认为，人的梦想或愿望十分脆弱，象肥皂泡一样容易破灭。bursting a bubble指打消某人的梦想。

14. Don’t make me laugh 别说傻话，快别逗了

Definition: don’t kid me; don’t say such foolish things

A: Who do you think the next President of the United States will b e?

B: I don’t know. I think I would like to have Michael Jackson electe d President.

A: Michael Jackson? President of a country? Don’t make me laugh!

本句话的含义是“不要异想天开”。还可以说You make me laugh! 你说的真可笑；你真有意思！

15. Hold your horses 先别急眼前的事

Definition: stop what you are doing

A: We need to go to the park. A lot of famous singers are performin g this afternoon so we have to leave as soon as possible.

B: Hold your horses. Before we go we need to bring money in case we have to buy tickets and we should bring food and drink in case we get hungry and there is nothing to buy at the concert.

A: You’re right. We need to prepare before we go.

Hold your horses 意为“勒紧马的缰绳”。马不再前行象征着“暂时打住”。

16. Jerk (Heel) 缺心眼的人

Definition: an inconsiderate person

A: What a jerk! I never want to see Tom again.

B: He seemed like a nice guy. What happened on your date?

A: Tom invited me to eat dinner and watch a movie but he made m e pay for everything. I also noticed the flowers he gave me were fro m my neighbor’s yard. He didn’t even spend a few dollars on flower s.

B: It sounds like Tom is very rude and self-centered.

用来形容一个做事或人品不讨人喜欢的人。

17. Make yourself at home 不要客气，尽可随意

Definition: be comfortable

A: Please come in and make yourself at home. I need to make a pho ne call, and then we can go.

B: Thanks, but I can wait outside. I don’t want to inconvenience you. A: Oh, it’ s no trouble at all. You can sit down and get something t o drink.

这是在家中招待客人时的礼貌用语。主人这样说是为了让客人不要见外，希望对方能有宾至如归的感觉。

18. Make a barrel of money 挣大钱

Definition: earns a large income

A: What kind of work does Maria do?

B: I think she’s a junior vice-president with a local company.

A: She probably makes a barrel of money.

B: I don’t think she earns a lot because she works for a small comp any that started business two years ago.

用barrel(大桶) 来形容数量之多，是口语的说法，似乎是多得拿不了，只好用桶来盛了。还可以说：a barrel of fun 特别有趣。

19. On top of the world 欣喜若狂，十分得意

Definition: feel great joy

A: I can’t believe I won the lottery.

B: You must be on top of the world right now.

A: I feel really great. Now, I can pay for my kids’ college education s and take a long vacation in Africa.

在用到此语时，人们通常流露出一种幸福感、满足感，或无比的快乐，好像命运已经掌握在自己手中。此短语通常与动词feel连用，又如：The sea and the warm sun made us feel like we were on top of the world. 我们与海水和阳光相伴，感到无比的快乐。

20. Pull through 冲破阻力

Definition: work hard to overcome an obstacle

A: If everyone works together we can still pull through and win the game.

B: The other team is seventeen points ahead of us. What do we do? A: We will have to force the other team to make mistakes by applyi ng pressure on each of the opposing players.

常常指群体的奋斗精神。在企业界和其它竞争领域，众人要齐习合力共渡难关。