in a bind　 窘迫
例句： when he asked me to marry him, I felt in a bind.
　　　　　当他向我求婚时， 我感到很窘迫。

in the dog　house　 窘迫，陷入困境
例句： The whole team was in the doghouse because they lost the game.
　　　　　由于输掉了比赛，整队都陷入困境。
in luck　 幸运
例句： Mary dropped her glasses and they did not break, so she was in luck.
　　　　　玛丽的眼镜掉在地上而没有摔坏，所以她是幸运的。
ins and outs　 错综复杂事物的因果
例句： After careful investigation, he got to know the ins and outs of the accident.
经过仔细的调查，他终于弄清了事件的前因后果。
It's in God's hands 　听天由命
例句： It's in God's hands and we have prepared for the worst.
　听天由命吧， 我们已经做最坏的准备了。
J

K

L
Lay stress on / upon 　着重，重视
例句： In his speech Mr. Brown laid stress on the sagacity of cats.
　　　　　布朗先生在他的讲座里强调了猫的灵性。

let sleeping dogs lie 　莫惹是非
例句： Don't tell the teacher what you have done. Let
　　　　sleeping dogs lie.
　　　　　不要告诉老师你做了什么。莫惹是非。

lose one's temper　 发脾气
例句： he lost his temper when he broke the key in the lock.
　　　　　他把钥匙弄断在锁里了，就发起了脾气。
M

make ends meet 　使收支平衡
例句： I have to take two part-time jobs at the same time to make ends meet.
　　　　　为了收支平衡， 我不得不同时作两份兼职。

make use of 　使用，利用
例句： He will make use of all the odds and ends.
　　　　　他会利用所有这一切零碎东西。

monkey business 　胡闹
例句： he told the boys to quit their monkey business, or he
　　　　would call a teacher.
　　　　　他告诉那些男孩子不要再胡闹，不然他就叫老师。
N
O

on and off　 间断地
例句： It rained on and off all day long。
今天断断续续地下着小雨。
on the up and up　 坦率，诚实
例句：How can we know whether a person is on the up and up by his appearance!
从一个人的外表我们怎么能知道他是坦率的呢！

out and about 　户外活动
例句： Mr Smith recovers quickly，and he'll be out and about very soon.
史密斯先生复原得很好，很快他就能到户外活动了。
out and out   完全地，彻底地
例句：What I said is an out and out truth.
我说的全都是事实。
out of sorts　 发脾气的
例句： Don't talk to him, he is out of sorts.
　　　　　别跟他说话，他在发脾气。
out of temper　 发怒的，发脾气　
例句： The children were frightened to find him out of temper.
　　　　　孩子们一见他发脾气，都吓坏了。
over and over 　多次地，重复地
例句：The foreigner repeated what he said over and over，but I still couldn't understand him.
外国朋友一遍一遍地重复，但我仍然没有听懂他说什么。
P
pull one's leg　 愚弄
例句： If you remain stuck-up, they will often try to pull your leg.
　　　　　假如你还是目中无人的话，他们会常常想愚弄你的。
put away　 把…收起来
例句： Put away the heavy clothes. The weather is becoming much warmer.
　　　　　把厚衣服收起来吧， 天气越来越暖和了。
Q

R

S
set the world on fire 　做显赫的事情
例句： People do not count him as a hero for he has not set the world on fire.
　　　　　人们并不把他看作民族英雄，因为他并未做出惊天动地的事情。
silly as a goose　 像鹅一样蠢
例句：Since he is as silly as a goose, he will not get a promotion.
　　　　　既然他如此的不开窍，他肯定得不到提升的。
slip of the tongue　 说溜了嘴
例句： The mayor really made a slip of the tongue!
　　　　　市长可真是说溜了嘴了！
so long as　 只要
例句： Any man will be equal to the task, so long as he is careful.
　　　　　任何人都会胜任这个工作，只要他细心。
stand one's ground　 坚持己见；坚守阵地
例句：
　　　 John's friends said he was mistaken, but he stood his ground.
　　　　　约翰的朋友都说他错了，可是他仍然坚持己见。
T
take a chance　 冒险
例句： 　e will take a chance on the weather and have the party outdoors.
　　　　　我们将冒天气的险在室外聚会。
through and through　 完全地，充分地
例句：You can trust him，for he's honest through and through.
你可以信任他，他是真正诚实的。
turn the cold shoulder on 　冷淡
例句：He will not turn the cold shoulder on me when I am in trouble.
　　　　　他不会在我困难时疏远我。
U
up and about　 病愈
例句： I'm much better now，I've been up and about for almost a week.
我现在感觉好多了，我已经病愈差不多一个星期了。
ups and downs 　盛衰，浮沉
例句： Life is hard．There are a lot of ups and downs in one's life.
生活是艰辛的，生活中充满了大多的盛衰的浮沉。
V
W
waste one's breath 　白费唇舌
例句： it's no use talking to him, you'll only waste your breath.
　　　　　和他谈话没有一点用处，你只是在白费唇舌。
X
Y
You can't beat it. 　这是第一流的，比不上的。
You can't beat me. 　表示自己了不起。
例句：When it comes to playing football, you can't beat Billy.
论踢足球，没有人比得上比利。

1. Abandon oneself to something 　 - allow onself to be completely controlled by something, especially passions or impulses. 　 - 完全屈服于……；陷入…… 　 Example: Tom tried and tried but failed again and again. Finally, he abandoned himself to despair.

2. Abase oneself 　 - make oneself humble. 　 - 降低自己的身分 　 Example: In ancient times, people of low social status often abased themselves in the presence of an influential or powerful person.

3. Abide by something 　 - observe or follow something. 　 - 遵守某事 　 Example: When you play a game, you must abide by the rules and regulations concerned.

4. Back a/the wrong horse 　 - put one's faith in someone who later loses or something which fails. 　 - 下错了赌注；支持输家 　 Example: The manager backed a wrong horse by giving the much-coveted job to Jack, who turned out to have a criminal record.

5. Back away (from doing something) 　 - move away (from doing something) because of dislike or fear. 　 - 因害怕或厌恶而后退 　 Examples: 1. The cat backed away as the stranger raised his hand to hit it. 2. In the face of strong opposition, the government has backed away from increasing taxes.

6. Call forth/out something 　 - cause something to be seen or used. 　 - 使某事物出现；引出某事物 　 Examples: 1. Lily's outward appearance was so attractive that it called forth admiration from every man in the office. 2. Difficulties in life may call out a person's good qualities not easily seen in good life.

7. Call in someone/something 　 - ask someone to come. 　 - 请某人来 　 Example: Please call in my family doctor. 　 - request the return of something. 　 - 下令收回某物 　 Examples: 1. The banks have called in all the old one-dollar notes. 2. A Japanese car maker has called in some cars with engine faults.

8. Dab hand at (doing) something, a 　 - clever at (doing) something. 　 - (做)某事的能手 　 Example: As Susan is a dab hand at interior design, let her decorate the new apartment for you.

9. Dabble in something 　 - play with water by moving one's hands and feet about. 　 - 涉水 　 Example: The children enjoyed dabbling in the river water after the rain. 　 - do things in a half-serious manner. 　 - 涉猎；浅尝辄止 　 Example: Sean does not like stamp-collection but only dabbles in it at his leisure.

10. Had better 　 - it would be wise to. 　 - 最好 　 Example: You had better go home before rain comes.

11. Haggle over/about something 　 - argue in an attempt to fix a price on something. 　 - 讨价还价 　 Examples: 1.Mrs Li haggled with the storekeeper over the goods she was buying. 2. I seldom haggled about the food price when I found it reasonable.