当一只猫生气的时候，它往往把它的背拱起来，嘴里还发出呼呼的声音，显得它随时准备施展它那爪子的威力。美国一个常用语就出自猫的这种形像。 这个常用语就是：to get one's back up。To get one's back up就是生气的意思。下面这句话是一个妻子在说他的丈夫：

"One thing really gets my back up -- the way my husband leaves his clothes on the bed or on the floor so I have to pick them up all the time."

她说：“我的丈夫总是把衣服往床上、地上乱扔，我老得把它们拣起来，真叫我生气。”

可是，妻子的批评使做丈夫的很生气。他对朋友说：

"And there's one thing that really gets my back up: my wife nagging at me to hang my clothes up as soon as I walk in the house at night after a hard day at the office."

他说：“每天在办公室辛苦地工作了一天，可是晚上一走家门，我老婆就开始唠叨，要我把衣服挂好。这实在让我生气。”

kiosk
n.(车站、 广场等处的)书报摊, 音乐台, 广告亭, 公共电话间, 问讯处, 机器房
例：
Soon Mr.Ho will install an iron gate across the side entrance to his 10-by-4-foot stall, and then he says he will be able to sleep again. But just as he is saying this, a motorist opens a car door and bangs it against the back of the kiosk and the proprietor nearly jumps out of his skin.
不久何先生就会在他的十尺长四尺宽的木屋的侧门前面装一个铁门。他说那样他就可以高枕无忧了。话犹未了，一个驾车人打开车门时，猛然撞到报亭后墙，吓得报亭主人几乎魂不附体。