29)bite off more than one can chew 贪多嚼不烂；心有余而力不足；不自量力；力不从心 

　　Model: 

　　--I hear you’ve been taking an advanced physics course this semester. How’s it going? (我听说这学期你在上高等物理课。这门课怎么样？) 

　　--I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. (我是心有余而力不足啊。) 

　　30)break new ground 创新 

　　Model: 

　　--His architectural design broke new ground in the field. (他的建筑设计是这个领域里的创新。) 

　　31)do the trick 做成功；达到理想的结果 

　　Model: 

　　--I’ve been trying to get the furnace started, but I can’t find the right switch. (我尽力想让炉子燃起来，可不知道该按哪个键。) 

　　--Here, I believe this one in the back will do the trick. (这里，我相信后面按这个键，可以让炉子燃起来。) 

　　32)drag one’s feet 行动缓慢；磨磨蹭蹭不情愿 

　　Model: 

　　--How’s Bob coming along on his dissertation proposal? (Bob的论文计划进展地怎么样了？) 

　　--He’s really been dragging his feet. (他很磨蹭的。) 

　　33)draw the line 拒绝，拒不容忍 

　　Model: 

　　--Paul expects me to clean the room every week. (Paul想让我每周打扫房间。) 

　　--That’s where I draw the line. (可是我绝对不会答应的。 

　　34)feel down in the dumps 心情不好；情绪低落 

　　Model: 

　　--Kate was really feeling down in the dumps about her latest chemistry assignment. (Kate为最近的化学作业成绩感到很沮丧。) 

　　35)few and far between 不多；少而分散的；不常碰到或发现的；稀少的 

　　Model: 

　　--Steve is really a terrific guy. (Steve真是不简单。) 

　　--He sure is. Ones like him are few and far between. (当然。像他那样的人可不多见。) 

　　36)fit as a fiddle 身体很健康 

　　Model: 

　　-- Harry! How have you been? I haven’t seen you in ages. (Harry，你好吗？好久没看见你了。) 

　　--I’m fit as a fiddle. This exercise program I’m following is terrific. (我身体好极了。我正进行的这个锻炼计划太棒了。) 

　　37)grin and bear 任劳任怨；毫无怨言地忍受 

　　Model: 

　　--Carla,I can’t take this job any longer. (Carla，我不能再做这份工作了。) 

　　--If you need the money, you’ll just have to grin and bear it. ( 如果你需要钱，你就得忍耐。) 

　　38)hit the spot (特指吃了食物，喝了饮料之后)精神完全恢复过来或感到满足；恢复精力；提精神 

　　Model: 

　　--This Lemonade sure hits the spot.(柠檬汁太提神了。) 

　　--And how! (当然了！) 

　　39)keep between the two of us 不让第三者知道，保密 

　　Model: 

　　--What I’m going to say is rather personal, so let’s keep between the two of us. (我要讲的纯属私事，所以希望你能保密。) 

　　40)know a thing or two about 略知一二 

　　Model: 

　　--Do you think Andy could help us plan the camping trip to West Virginia? (你认为Andy会帮我们计划去西弗吉尼亚州野营吗？) 

　　--Well, since he spends every summer there, he might know a thing or two about it. (可能吧。他每个夏天都去那儿，应该知道一些事儿。) 

　　41)leave no stone unturned 不遗余力；全力以赴 

　　Model: 

　　--Lynn left no stone unturned in her research, and handed in an excellent paper. (Lynn全力以赴做她的研究，交了一篇优秀的论文。) 

　　42)on cloud nine 沉浸在幸福之中；非常高兴 

　　Model: 

　　--Marcia looks like she’s on cloud nine. Do you know what made her so happy? (Marcia好象沉浸在幸福之中。你知道她为什么这么高兴吗？) 

　　--She just had a paper accepted for publication. (她有一篇文章要发表了。) 

　　43)on the tip of one’s tongue 一时想不起来，话到嘴边又忘记 

　　Model: 

　　--Are you sure you can’t remember the name of that record? (你肯定记不起来那张唱片的名字吗？) 

　　--It’s just on the tip of my tongue! (我就是一时想不起来了。 

　　44)reach the bottom of the barrel 用完，弹尽粮绝 

　　Model: 

　　--Don’t you have any other clean shirts? (你还有其它干净衬衫吗？) 

　　--I guess I’ve reached the bottom of the barrel. (我想我已经用完了。) 

　　45)rub sb. the wrong way 使(某人)有点恼火；惹怒；引起反感；烦扰，打搅 

　　Model: 

　　--What do you think of our new economics instructor? (你觉得新经济学老师怎么样？) 

　　--I don’t know. Something about him rubs me the wrong way. (不知怎么的，他有点让我反感。) 

　　46)scratch the surface 只懂皮毛，很不了解(通常和限制性副词如only, hardly等词连用) 

　　Model: 

　　--You’ve certainly done a lot of research for your project. (你显然对你的课题做了不少研究。) 

　　--It seems like a lot, but actually I’ve only scratched the surface. (看上去不少，但事实上我只懂一些毛皮。) 

　　47)up in the air 尚未决定的；捉摸不定的；悬而未决的 

　　Model: 

　　--Her plans for the weekend are still up in the air. (她尚未决定如何度过这个周末。) 

　　48)wear and tear 磨损；消耗 

　　Model: 

　　--Why do you always put on slippers when you go into your apartment? (为什么你老是一进公寓就穿上拖鞋？) 

　　--It saves wear and tear on the carpet. (拖鞋不磨损地毯。) 

　　49)with flying colors 大获全胜；胜利地 

　　Model: 

　　--How did Ellen do on her Ancient History exam? (Ellen古代史考得怎么样？) 

　　--She passed with flying colors. (她考得好极了。) 

　　50)get off on the wrong foot 开始就不顺利；一开始就犯了个错误 

　　Model: [1995.5.] 

　　--I hate to get off on the wrong foot. (我讨厌一开始就犯错误。) 

　　51)get on someone’s nerves 使人不安，使人心烦 

　　Model: [1996.8.] 

　　--Why did you come to the meeting late? I left a message with your roommate about the time change. (为什么你开会迟到？我让你的同屋告诉你改时间的事了。) 

　　--She has a very short memory and it really gets on my nerves sometimes. (她记性不好，有时真让我心烦。) 

　　52)give someone a break 不要去管，饶了某人吧 

　　Model: [1994.5.] 

　　--Give me a break. I’m nervous enough as it is. (不要管我，我已经够紧张了。) 

　　53)head and shoulders above (在…方面)强于某人 

　　Model: [1991.10.] 

　　--In computer programming, Susan is head and shoulders above the rest of us.(在计算机编程上，Susan比我们强。) 

　　54)in the red 赤字，负债 

　　Model: [1996.5.] 

　　--So far the clubs are about three hundred dollars in the red, and we still have four months to go before membership renewal. ( 到目前为止，俱乐部有300元赤字，然而还有4个月才到交会员费的时间。) 

　　--Well, we may have to raise our dues.(那么，我们必须提高会员费了。) 

　　55)in the dark 一无所知；不了解情况 

　　Model: [1994.1.] 

　　--Do you have any idea what this notice is about? (你知道这通知讲的是什么吗？) 

　　--I’m as in the dark as you are. (我也跟你一样不了解情况。)