Lame duck:不中用的人

A lame duck manager cannot bring his business back on to the normal track.一个无能的经理无法把他的企业重新拉回正常经营轨道上去.

The Water Planet, another lame duck, is to have further help from the government.水厂是另一个难以经营的企业,需要政府的进一步扶持.



double whammy:双重灾难;祸不单行

A: Yestersay I had a real whammy. My boss fired me, and my wife asked for a divorce.

我昨天真是祸不单行.老板把我炒鱿鱼,我太太又要求离婚.

B : Cheer up, man. Things are not as bad as you think.

振作点,老兄.事情没有像你想的那么糟.



fool's paradise:a state of contentment that is based on false beliefs 黄粱美梦

A: Does the chairman realize that our company's business is going downhill?

董事长知道我们公司的业务在走下坡吗?

B:I don't think so. I'm afraid he is still living in a fool's paradise.

我想他不知道.他恐怕还在做他的黄粱美梦呢.



all washed up 彻底完蛋

Did you hear that Gloria's marriage is all washed up? She found her husband was seeing another woman, so she packed up, took the kids and moved out. Now she's suing for divorce.

你听说了没有,格洛里亚的婚姻是彻底完蛋了.她发现她的丈夫有外遇,因此她收拾起自己的东西,带着孩子搬出去了.现在,她向法院申请离婚.

That man over there used to be one of the best players in baseball. But then he started drinking, turned into an alcoholic, and just two years later he was all washed up.

那边那个人以前是最好的棒球运动员之一.但是,后来他开始喝酒,逐渐酗酒成习.这样,只过了两年.他的棒球生涯也就完蛋了.



out of thin air:from nowhere or nothing, as if by magic 凭空;无中生有地

Unfortunately, I can't just conjure up the money out of thin air! 遗憾的是,我可不能用戏法凭空变出钱来.



Get a foot in the door 迈出了第一步

You know that beautiful girl who sits ahead of me in English class? She keeps turning me down for dates, but I finally got a foot in the door today: she met me for coffee after class.

你知道英语课坐在我前面那个很漂亮的女孩子吗?我请她出去玩,她老是拒绝我.可是,今天我算是迈出了第一步:她下课后和我一起喝了咖啡.



basket case 毫无能力和希望的情景

I'm really worried--our company is losing so much money these days that if things don't get better in the next two months we'll be a basket case and have to go out of business.

我真是非常担心,我们公司这些日子亏损了那么多钱,要是在今后两个月里情况没有好转的话,我们就彻底没有希望,只好倒闭了.




You' ve been around the block a couple of times.

"been around the clock"＂精通,有经验,是个老手＂

eg: Let' s ask Justin how to deal with this situation. He' s been around the clock a few times.去问问Justin怎么处理这种事,他非常有经验.

I' ve been around the clock a few times.I know what I' m doing.我已经做过很多次了,我知道我在做什么.(别对我指手画脚的意思)



He doesn' t just pay lip service to them.

"give /pay lip service to"＂只是说说而已,不采取实际行动＂

eg: Politicians often pay lip service to many important issues during an election but they don' t fulfill their promises once they are elected.政治家们在大选中对很多大事都只是嘴上工夫而已,一旦当选就不会履行诺言.

Arnold Schwartzenneger gave lip service to immigrant rights before he became governor.Let' s see if he actually does what he said he would. 阿诺德·施瓦辛格在成为州长前曾许诺过在移民的权利方面采取一些措施,现在让我们去实际看一下他是否兑现了他的诺言.



He' s gonna run with the money guys.

"run/ run for"＂竞选,竞争＂

eg: In American schools, students can run for positions in the student government.在美国的学校里,学生可以竞选在学生会中的职位.

There are no female candidates running for president this year.今年没有参加竞选总统的女性候选人.



down and out 穷困潦倒

John is a big spender and never thinks of saving a penny. So since he lost his job last month, he has been completely down and out.

约翰花钱大手大脚从来不知道存钱,所以上个月丢了工作以后就完全落魄了.



A chip off the old block!

"a chip off the old block "＂(性格上)特随父母,和父母象＂

eg: My mother and I are very alike. I'm a chip off the old block. 我个我妈特象,简直几是她的翻版.



You know she' s bound to run off.

"run off "＂闪人,突然离开sb/sth/某地＂

eg: A: Why did you run off in the middle of the movie?你咋在电影演半道就走了呢?

B: I wasn' t feeling well so I went home.我觉得不太舒服就回家了.



You know better than to go off all alone.

"to know better (than to do sth) "＂你知道不该去做sth＂

eg: A: A stranger man was following me when I was walking home last night.昨晚我回家的时候有个陌生男人一直跟着我.

B: You should know better than to walk alone at night.你该知道别晚上一个人走.