He really gets on my nerves. He always harps on the same old string by promising us a paid holiday., but he never keeps it.

　　She tried to save their marriage by talking her husband out of taking drugs. But she finally threw in the towel.

　　182——241

　　·　　　 stand on one's feet自食其力

　　·　　　 play the field不正经干

　　·　　　 an open sesame法宝，秘诀，关键

　　·　　　 e rotten to the core坏透了、烂透了

　　·　　　 keep up with the Joneses与别人比阔，与别人攀比

　　·　　　 have a memory like a sieve记性太差

　　Tom decided to take his father's words to heart and wash his hands off smoking.

　　meat and drink精神寄托

　　He has subscribed ten newspapers in order to keep tabs on the new developments in market management.

　　·　　　 be a notch above someone略胜一筹

　　·　　　 A clotheshorse讲究穿戴的人

　　Mr. Butcher, with a long family history of gambling, decided to wash his hand off gambling.

　　Don't you feel that people in the lab don't take kindly to a nosy reporter?

　　Once I went to a famous university. But the untidy campus left a bad taste in my mouth.

　　·　　　 feel like a square peg in a round hole感到格格不入，不适合

　　·　　　 Be touch and go万分危险

　　Although he was out of job, he still wrote to his parents saying he had many irons in the fire.

　　·　　　 Through thick and thin有甘也有苦

　　The wife was often beaten by her husband, but she never told others. She didn't want to air her linen in public.

　　·　　　 be hunky-dory挺不错的

　　·　　　 Have the inside track for something处于有利的地位

　　He hates learning foreign languages. But the challenging situation drives him to the wall. He decides to go to an evening class.

　　反义词为：close ranks with someone

　　I'll be with you in a jiffy.

　　·　　　 a stick-in the-mud老古董

　　等同于work against the clock

　　·　　　 let one's hair down无拘无束

　　Peter was nearly involved in a car accident. He called it a narrow escape. But it was really a cliff-hanger.

　　I just learned to type. I was all thumbs.

　　·　　　 Drive someone up the wall把某人搞得心烦意乱

　　·　　　 be stuck on someone迷恋上某人

　　I didn't know which button was for TV. I pushed one, and TV was turned on. It was mere a shot in the dark.

　　It's no use flying off the handle. You can reason with us.

　　You are sure to be lagged behind if you rest on your laurels.

　　He is really a playboy, He likes to play the field and is never serious with any one girl.

　　·　　　 break ranks with someone与……分道扬镳

　　·　　　 throw someone off the scent转移某人的视线

　　·　　　 call it quits作罢

　　·　　　 Not give someone a tumble不理睬某人

　　·　　　 sit up and take notice of something/someone对……刮目相看

　　·　　　 go easy on...酌情处理……；节约使用……；对……手下留情

　　·　　　 pocket one's pride放下架子

　　·　　　 pull strings for someone为某人走后门，幕后操作

　　·　　　 Clam up守口如瓶，拒不开口，沉默不语

　　I have searched my conscience, and believe I have never mistreated you. But you turned out to be a fair-weather friend.

　　A child is taught to keep a civil tongue in his head when he is small.

　　等同于one’s original idea

　　·　　　 build a fire under someone紧催促某人……

　　Do you think I'm a millionaire? Don't make free with my things.

　　The lawyer is quite successful. His clients sing his praises to others.

　　He is a well-known miser. I smell a rat when he invites me to his home for dinner. I was wondering if he is asking favors of me.

　　·　　　 be quick to take offense特别爱生气

　　Who would you vote for? You bet I won't vote for him. He likes sitting on the fence on important issues.

　　·　　　 goof off偷懒耍滑

　　He used to be called a young entrepreneur. But soon he was forgotten by the public. He was a flash in the pan.

　　·　　　 by hook or by crook千方百计得，不择手段得

　　·　　　 be at the end of one's tether山穷水尽

　　·　　　 see eye to eye with...与……意见一致

　　The old father flew into a rage when his daughter didn't obey his will.

　　Do you think the existence of life on Mars is an old wives’tale?

　　·　　　 pull someone's leg开某人的玩笑

　　·　　　 cut corners偷工减料、走捷径、图省事、节约

　　Though Jane has been engaged with Mr. Hall, Jimmy still carries a torch for her.

　　·　　　 try one's hand at...试着干……

　　·　　　 Have a chip on one’s shoulder叫阵，叫板

　　He has suffered a lot in his life. Losing his job this time was only a drop in the bucket.

　　Can you tell me how you popped the question to your wife? Maybe I can learn something from you.

　　·　　　 fly off the handle大发雷霆

　　Mary loves keeping diary. She can express her emotion to her heart’s content.

　　I like to discuss with Helen. She always hits the nail on the head.

　　·　　　 feel a lump in one's throat心里感到很难受

　　·　　　 Be on a gravy train走运，有赚钱的机会

　　Would you please talk in Chinese? You know I'm a pretty bad English speaker. You don't have to rub it in.

　　She won her spurs as a popular writer immediately after her first book became a best-seller.

　　·　　　 have a one-track mind死脑筋，一根筋

　　等同于to produce, to find out, to think out

　　It is reported that Sydney has greased the palms of someone members of IOC for the right to hold 2000 Olympic Games.

　　·　　　be over the hump已度过难关

　　My neighbor walked all over me. He left rubbish in my door, stamped on my grass and wax my windows. I decided to fight back.

　　·　　　 for a song以级低的价钱，廉价地

　　You're better watch your step when you go out with John. He is a trouble-maker.

　　You borrow money from me to pay the bank loan. It is like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

　　·　　　 turn the tables扭转局势

　　If you want to sell more, you should learn to blow your own trumpet.

　　I can no longer hold my tongue when I see so many wild animals have become extinct.

　　He has a hollow leg. He can drink all of us here under the table.

　　Look at our dean, He has seen better days.

　　·　　　 make fun of someone取笑某人

　　Keep an eye open for anyone who arouses your suspicion.

　　·　　　 be at large逍遥法外（也可以形容动物不受约束）

　　反义词keep one’s cool

　　·　　　 air one's linen in public家丑外扬

　　·　　　 be no picnic不是件轻松的事

　　·　　　 be dead on one's feet筋疲力尽

　　Don’t tell him that we need that material badly, He is good at fishing in troubled waters and will take advantage of it.

　　·　　　 get off to a flying start来了开门红

　　·　　　 be in the seventh heaven高心极了

　　A: How many times have you tried quitting smoking? B: It's not that the spirit is not willing, but that the flesh is weak.

　　give the green light给予批准，准许某人干……

　　Liu was extremely happy to have been admitted to Oxford, but soon he found he was out of his depth in his major.

　　·　　　 handle...with kid gloves小心，谨慎对待……

　　·　　　 harp on the same old string老调重弹

　　·　　　 be one's own man不受他人支配，自己管自己

　　Mark has a one-track mind. All he cares is earning money.

　　·　　　 have the gimmies患伸手病（来自小孩子give me的说法，后来就说成gimmies）

　　·　　　 Take a dim view of…对……抱悲观态度；不赞同

　　·　　　 Drive someone to the wall把某人逼得走投无路

　　·　　　 tip the scales扭转局势

　　·　　　 put one's foot down气愤的表示反对

　　·　　　 stand up to someone与某人大胆对抗

　　·　　　 Lose one’s cool沉不住气

　　·　　　 Stick out like a sore thumb特别扎眼

　　·　　　 bury one's head in the sand逃避现实

　　·　　　 the black sheep of the family有辱门楣的人

　　·　　　 Beat someone’s time with someone勾引别人的女朋友

　　·　　　 wash one's hands off something洗手不干某事

　　We're got the green light from our dean that we can have some changes on teaching curriculum.

　　This new job suits me to a T.

　　·　　　 hate somebody's guts恨之入骨

　　如果表示总出洋相可以在exhibition一词前加上形容词，　　　 regular

　　·　　　 a born loser一事无成者

　　·　　　 Come through with flying colors干得出色，大获成功

　　·　　　 tip one's hand无意中亮底

　　·　　　 rob Peter to pay Paul拆东墙，补西墙

　　The boy was smoking in the corner when his father caught him on the sly.

　　·　　　 land on one's feet安全摆脱困境

　　I don't want to jump to conclusions, I have to chew the cud on it for a few days.

　　·　　　 Ask for trouble自找麻烦

　　How long haven't you cleaned your kitchen? It'll use elbow grease to get it shine again.

　　Make someone hot under the collar

　　·　　　 know where the shoe pinches知道问题所在

　　China has opened its door to the outside world for twenty years. Reforms in every walks of life are in full swing.

　　Construction on the subway is in high gear.

　　The chairman put out a feeler to see people's reactions to his election speech.

　　·　　　 .make a slip of the tongue说走嘴

　　·　　　 pinch pennies节俭

　　·　　　 the lion's share最大的一份，绝大多数

　　·　　　 play into someone's hand正中某人下怀

　　Her sweet voice turned my stomach.

　　She will make a good teacher. She seems to have a way with even the most disobedient boy.

　　·　　　 a blind date初次约会

　　Sara is a successful woman, but she never allows her achievements to turn her head.

　　In the material world, money pulls the strings.

　　·　　　 Pave the way for…为……铺平道路

　　·　　　 be at one's wits' end不知如何是好

　　·　　　 marry a fortune嫁给了有钱人

　　1——60

　　The best man has a hollow leg. He drinks a lot instead of the bridegroom.

　　·　　　 jaywalk横穿马路

　　Mary has got a chip on her shoulder about not having obtained the scholarship.

　　I suppose Jack doesn't know me well. We have only rubbed elbows with other for several times.

　　·　　　 lead someone around by the nose牵着别人的鼻子走

　　·　　　 fly into a rage大发雷霆

　　·　　　 steal the show喧宾夺主

　　The way he boasted that he was an authority got my goat.

　　·　　　 have sticky fingers手不老实。有小偷小摸的陋习

　　He likes horrible films. Those spine-chilling pictures to us are pleasant to his eyes.

　　In the boxing match. Tyson lost his cool and bit Hollyfield’s ear.

　　·　　　 take a shine to someone一见就中意

　　Do you think it is a good idea to send a half-wit to a normal school?

　　The old lady fired the maid because she had sticky fingers.

　　·　　　 give someone an inch and he'll take a mile得寸进尺

　　·　　　 be sitting pretty享受安乐生活

　　Jack was so in love with Mary that he couldn't help playing footsies with her while having dinner.

　　I should thank your lucky stars that you missed the plane which crashed into the sea.

　　The new situation is putting the squeeze on all companies engaged in this business.

　　·　　　 a freeloader白吃白喝，爱占便宜的人

　　Sampras, the No. 1 tennis player in the world, always plays it cool when he wins in the match.

　　·　　　 Lose one’s temper发脾气

　　My heart was in my mouth when I heart someone tapping on my window one raining night.

　　Our kindergarten got off to a flying start by having 100 children to sign up in the first month.

　　Tying to straddle two boats, he took up two jobs with two salaries. At last, unable to do either well.

　　Having connections with VIPs is not an open sesame to success.

　　Mary and Tom had been in love for several years. But these days, they began to realize that they had very little in common. They decided to call it quits.

　　That guy is a slowpoke. I wish there were some way to build a fire under him.

　　·　　　 mind one's own affairs少管闲事

　　Though they are twins, they never see eye to eye with each other on anything.

　　I hear through the grapevine that Jim has been dismissed from his post.

　　·　　　 let someone down使某人失望

　　I've got the hang of the new computer system pretty soon.

　　·　　　 be in a rut千篇一律，一筹莫展

　　The boy saved a girl from the river and went back home. Seeing him all through, his mother jumped down his throat.

　　Think it over. If we reduce the price, I'm sure we're playing into his hand.

　　·　　　 be riding for a fall自讨苦吃

　　·　　　 Have another think coming大错特错

　　The two workshops are neck and neck in monthly output.

　　·　　　 a dime a dozen数不清，很多

　　·　　　 Be in hot water陷入困境

　　·　　　 have money to burn有花不完的钱

　　·　　　 turn one's head使某人满意

　　The student got stage fright when he stepped into exam room.

　　He gets a kick put of racing.

　　In the 13th Asian Games, Chinese athletic team came through with flying colors

　　·　　　 Throw in the towel认输

　　How dare you to have lodged a complaint against me with the director? Who put you up to it?

　　·　　　 bite the hand that feeds one恩将仇报

　　It's no use playing dumb with teachers. They know very well their students.