26.at one's wits end 智穷计尽

wit的意思是“颖悟力，智力，理解力”。该习语的意思是“处在智力的末端”，意即“智穷计尽”了。例如：I'm at my wit‘s end with this problem. 我对这个问题真是束手无策。

A： I am at my wits' end. 我已经智穷计尽了

B： What's the matter？ 怎么啦？

A： If the bank won't lend us the money， we‘ll be stuck. 如果银行不肯给我们贷款，我们就寸步难行了。

B： Don't worry. You can ask Mary for help. 别着急。你可以请玛丽帮帮忙。

27.at sixes and sevens 乱七八糟；意见不一

该习语一般认为源于掷色子，原为赌博行话。据说在中世纪时，色子面上的最高点数是7，如想求得13点，即一个色子6点，一个色子7点，这谈何容易，只有那些心烦意乱或处于思想混乱状态下的人才会下此赌注，一试赌赢。该习语最初表示“漫不经心地下赌注”，后来转而表示“心烦意乱”，最后又引申出“乱七八糟”、“意见不一”等意思。乔叟在爱情长诗《特罗勒斯和克丽西德》中使用过该习语。

A： You have loused up the whole business； it's at sixes and sevens. 整个买卖让你弄得乱七八糟。

B： The dice is cast. It's incurable. 一切都成了定局，没救了。

A： I feel so terrible. 糟透了。

B： Me too. We just went to a lot of trouble for nothing. 我也这么想，一切都白忙了。

28.back to square one 退回起点；从头再来

该习语源自掷色子游戏。当掷出某个特定的号码时要受罚，于是还要重新再掷。该习语即指“无所进展，退回起点”，进而“从头再来”。例如：I'm back to square one with the work.（我的工作又得从头做起。）

A： Have you finished designing that office building？ 那座办公楼设计好了吗？

B： We are back to square one now. 我们正在重新设计。

A： Back to square one？ What's the matter？ 重新设计？ 怎么回事？

B： We've worked out the plan， but it‘s been decided that we must use cheaper material. So we have to redesign it. 本来我们都已经设计好了，但现在决定使用便宜点的材料，所以只得从头再来。

29.back to the drawing board 从头开始，失败后另起炉灶

drawing board指“画板”。该习语直议为“（退）回到画板前”，引申为“从头开始。失败后另起炉灶”。

A： How is Jim recently？ 吉姆近况如何？

B： Very well. Since he was back to the drawing board， he's been very successful. 非常好。自从他失败以后另起炉灶，就一直很成功。

A： I know he will get back on his feet sooner or later. 我知道他迟早会东山再起的。

30.ballpark figure 近似数，大致正确的估计

ballpark一词本指“棒球场”，引申为“活动领域”，在此为形容词，表示“大致正确的，八九不离十的”。此类常用短语还有in the right ballpark“大致正确，差不多”。 Ballpark figure 指大致不错的近似数。

A： What price is this building？ 这栋楼的成本是多少？

B： It's $1，00，000， just a ballpark figure. 一百万美元，这只是个大概数。

A： So much？ It must have been in excess of our budget. 这么多！肯定超出了预算了。

B： So. We go on or stop it now？ 那现在是干下去还是停下来？

A： Of course build it. Let's think of some ways to raise money. 当然要干下去，我们想法去筹些钱。

31.bang for the buck 货真价实

buck在美国俚语中是“美元”的意思。有这样一个短语，bigger bang for a buck，它的意思是“花钱取得更大效果”。Bang原是表示巨大声响的拟声词，这里引申为“效果”。

A： Listen！ It's mid-summer now. What do we need them for？ 嘿，现在已经是仲夏了，我们要这些东西干什么？

B： They may come in handy. Besides， these items can be true bang for the buck. 会有用得着它们的时候，再说这些东西是货真价实的呀。

A： True bang for the buck？ They're enough for ten years‘ use. 货真价实？都够用10年的了。

B： Stop getting on my nerves！ I'm not doing something for nothing！ 别烦我了，我可不是没事找事。

32.be brassed off doing 厌烦干… ，对 … 满腹牢骚

brass作名词指“黄铜”，作动词指“镀黄铜于 … ”，而brassed off是俚语，意思是“厌烦，不满，牢骚满腹”。

A： I am awfully sorry that I have kept you waiting. 真是很抱歉让您久等了。

B： To tell you the truth， I am really brassed off waiting. 说实话，我最讨厌等人。

A： Sorry. I had something urgent to deal with just when I was to leave. 对不起，我正要来的时候又有急事要处理。

B： You should have told me earlier. 你应该早点告诉我。

A： It was too late to inform you. 通知你已经来不及了。

33.be catty 爱搬弄是非的；爱诽谤人的

英语中，cat给人的联想总是不太愉快，如cattish的意思是“狡猾的、恶意的、偷偷摸摸的”。cat在英语中可用来指“恶意伤人的女人，包藏祸心的女人”，因此catty就有了诽谤的含义。

A： I thought you would cooperate. 我原以为你会跟我合作呢。

B： Well， I'm too busy to be catty and poke my nose into things that do not matter much to me. 我可不愿意搬弄是非去管那些跟我没关系的闲事。

A： How do you know that he won't do something against yourself？ 你怎么知道他不会做出什么对你不利的事呢？

B： You do seem to have a glib tongue. 你真能胡搅蛮缠。

34.be down in the dumps 垂头丧气，神情沮丧

the dumps在非正规的口语表达方式中的意思是“忧郁”或“沮丧”。be down in the dumps常指“闷闷不乐”或“打不起精神”，也可引申为“垂头丧气，精神沮丧”。

A： You're down in the dumps. What‘s happened？ 你看上去沮丧不堪。出什么事了？

B： I had a quarrel with our boss's secretary. She‘s been on her high horse these days. 我和老板的秘书吵了一架。这几天她总是盛气凌人。

A： Maybe she was only taking it out on you. Secretaries have a lot of pressure， too. 也许她仅仅是向你发泄。秘书的压力也很大。

B： But she jumped down my throat for no reason at all. I could not put up with her. 但她无理由地斥责我，我无法容忍。

35.be in a jam 陷入困境

jam指“拥挤，阻塞”。该习语的字母意思为“在拥挤之中”，引申为“陷入困难的处境”。例如：She is in a bit of jam about money. （她的手头有点拮据。）

A： Mike told me that his business was in a jam and he was in urgent need of money. He wanted to borrow some money from me. 迈克告诉我他的生意陷入困境，急需用钱。他想向我借钱。

B： Don't lend money to him. He‘s always lying. 别借钱给他。他总是说慌。

A： But I think he is really in difficulty this time. 但这一次我看他是真的遇上困难了。

36.be in full swing 正在全力进行，处于活跃阶段

in full swing的意思是“活跃”。该习语的意思即引申为“处于（工作的）全面展开、进行阶段”。例如：The building project is in full swing.（这个建筑工程正处在全力进行之中。）

A： I hear your company in expanding its business. 我听说你们公司正在扩展生意。

B： Yeah. We're setting up a new factory now and the work on it is in full swing. The project will be completed in three months. 是的，我们正在新建一个工厂。工程正处于全面施工阶段，三个月内就可以完工了。

37.be in high gear 全力进行

gear指“齿轮，传动装置”，high gear的意思是汽车的“高速档”。该习语字面意思为“机器正处在高速档（快速运转）”，实际指“事物正处在全力进行当中”。

A： By the way， how is your business going？ Is it proceeding smoothly？ 哎，你的生意最近如何？进展还顺利吗？

B： Yes， it's in high gear. 一切都在全力进行。

38.be itching for a chance to do 很想找个机会试一试

形容词itching的意思是“渴望的”，be itching to do意为“渴望做某事”；for a chance指“找机会”，因此整个习语的意思即为“渴望得到机会试做某事”。

A： I am itching for a chance to cooperate with Mike. I hear he's a very competent person. 我很想找机会和迈克合作一次。听说他特别能干。

B： Everyone who has worked with him will have a deep impression on that point. 是的。每个和他一起工作的人都对此深有体会。

39.be of one mind 意见一致，看法相同

mind可指“头脑，心神”。该习语直译为“一个脑子想出的问题”，由此可以引申为“意见统一、看法相同”的意思。

A： What do the board think about this plan？ 董事会对这项计划怎么看？

B： They are of one mind in passing it. 他们一致通过。

A： Good news. 太好啦。

40.be of two minds 拿不定主意

be of two minds和be in two minds的意思基本相同，均表示“左右摇摆”或“拿不定主意，下不了决心”。例如：Don't depend on him to decide. He always seems to be of two minds on important matters.（别指望他能做出决定。在重要事情上他好像总拿不定主意。）

A： Are you ready to take the plunge and pound the pavements for new one？ 你是否准备大胆采取措施，排除障碍，重新再来？

B： I'm still of two minds. But I do seem to like to quit my present job. 我依然犹疑不决。我确实想放弃现在的工作。

A： What kind of job are you aiming at？ I mean， do you have a particular job in mind？ 你想做什么样的工作？ 我的意思是说，在你脑子里有没有特别的选择？

B： I have a good mind to go into business. I think I can be equally successful as most other women in business. 我想进军商海。我想我会得到与商海里其他女性同样的成功。

41.be on a gravy train 走运，有赚钱的机会

gravy在美国口语中有“容易赚得的利润”的意思，gravy train意即“轻易发大财的工作”。该习语直译为“在一辆容易赚钱的火车上”，所以引申为“走运，有赚钱的机会”。

A： John seems to be on the gravy train these days. 约翰最近看起来很走运。

B： Yeah. He got a chance of going abroad to arrange an exhibition. 是啊。他得到了一个出国去办展览的机会。

A： I don't know why the sun is not shining on me. 我不明白为什么我的运气总是不佳。

B： Don't worry. You‘ll be in the chips sooner or later. 别着急，总有一天你也会很富裕的。

42.be on cloud nine 高兴得飘飘然

该习语原为美国气象用语。该习语的流行据说应归功于50年代播放的一个名叫《约翰尼。多拉尔》的广播节目。Be on cloud nine的字面意思是“坐早九重云霄之上”，引申为“高兴得不得了”或“飘飘然”。例如：He was on cloud nine after winning the competition. （他在比赛胜利后欣喜若狂。）

A： You seem to be on cloud nine these days. How is your restaurant business？ 你近来有些高兴得飘飘然。餐馆的生意怎么样？

B： How is my business？ It's none of your business！ 我的生意怎么样？这不关你的事。

A： It's rude of you to talk to me like this. 你这样跟我说话太粗鲁了。

B： I was only teasing you. You see， we have our clients eating out of our hands now. Both Mark and I are feeling on the top of the world. 我只是在逗你玩儿。你看，我们现在已经有了许多回头客了。马克和我都感到非常高兴。

43.be on pins and needles 坐立不安

pins指“大头针”，needles指“针”，be on pins and needles的字面意思是“如坐在大头针和针上”，喻为“坐卧不安”或“如坐针毡”。

A： It seems you're on pins and needles today. Anything troubling you？ 你今天似乎坐立不安。有什么事吗？

B： Yeah. I don't know why bad things keep happening to me. You see， my car was stolen and the warehouse had been broken into. I can‘t put my finger on the causes of this damned thing. 是的。我不知道坏事为什么总是找上我。你看，我的汽车被偷了，货仓也被盗了。我弄不明白怎么会发生这些倒霉事。

A： There must be someone who had planned that. He threatened to show you the color when you refused to give him a promotion. 也许这是有人精心策划的。因为你没有提升他，他要给你点颜色看看。

44.be over the hump 已度过难关

hump的本义是“小丘，山脉”，over the hump直译为“越过山脉”，引申为“度过难关”。

A： The Asian financial crises have almost paralyzed Asian economy. 亚洲金融危机几乎使亚洲经济瘫痪。

B： Your company must be influenced by it deeply. 你们的公司肯定也很受影响吧

A： Yeah. But we are over the hump now. 是的。但我们现在我们已经渡过了难关。

45.be saddled with 把任务或责任强加在某人身上

saddle在这儿作动词，意为“使负担，强加”，saddle sb. with sth. 意为“为某人负重担”，因此该习语意为“把任务强加予某人”。例如：I can't be saddled with any more responsibilities.（我再也不能承担更多的任务了。）

A： How is George recently？ 最近乔治怎么样？

B： Not very good. I hear that he is saddled with debts of his company. 不太好。我听说他的公司现在债务缠身。

A： What happened？ 怎么回事？

B： It's said that he was cheated by his partner. 据说是他的合伙人把他给骗啦。

46.be short of hands 缺乏人手，人手不够

short作表语时指“某物不够，缺乏某物”的意思，常与介词of搭配使用，既短语be short of something.

A： You look worried about something. What's the matter？ 你好像很着急，怎么了？

B： My computer isn't working and I have got an important contract to type. 我的电脑坏了，可我还有一份重要合同要打出来。

A： Why don't you call the computer company？ 你为什么不给计算机公司打个电话？

B： I did， but they said the company was short of hands and couldn't send any man today. 我打了，可他们说人手不够，今天不能派人来。

A： What should I do？ 我该怎么办呢？

47.be supposed to 认为应该，必须；认为可以

此语用被动语态表示“被许多人相信”，如：The castle is supposed to be haunted.（人们都说那座城堡闹鬼。）此语在口语中表示“认为可以做某事”，如：None of us girls is supposed to smoke.（我们女孩子都不吸烟。）此语中的supposed是动词的过去式，supposed作为形容词，意指“假定的，被信以为真的，想象中的”。

A： The train was supposed to get to Beijing at eight o'clock. 火车该八点钟到北京。

B： Eight o'clock？ It‘s already eight-thirty. 八点？现在都八点半了。

A： What if he didn't see us？ 要是他没看见我们怎么办？

B： He would take a taxi， I think. 他会打出租车的。

A： Maybe the train is late. 不会是火车晚点了吧。

B： It is impossible. I have heard the broadcast. 不可能。我已听见广播了。

48.be too quick on the trigger 操之过急，行动过于仓促

trigger指枪的“扳机，触发器”。该习语直译为“过早地扣动扳机”，引申为“行动过于仓促，操之过急”。

A： You shouldn't have had Bob do that job. He is still a green hand. 你不该让鲍勃做那项工作，他毕竟还是一个新手。

B： But he needs to be given a chance. 但是他也需要机会呀！

A： You should not have been too quick on the trigger. 可你不该太性急呀！

49.bear down 加倍努力

该习语本身就有“竭尽全力、加紧努力”的意思。例如：You will bear down if you expect to pass the exam. （你要是指望考试及格的话，就得加一把劲。）

A： If we can't finish the work before deadline， we will be fined according to the contract. 如果我们不能在规定的期限内完成工作，根据合同，我们将会被罚款。

B： We are already bearing down to do the work. 我们已经在很努力地工作了。

A： I know. What I mean is that we should improve our efficiency. 我知道。我的意思是我们必须提高效率。

50.beat someone at his own game 将计就计地惩罚某人

习惯用语beat someone at his own game直译为“以某人自己设计的把戏打击某人”，与汉语的“将计就计”近似。

A： You seem to be worried about something. 你看上去很担心。

B： Yeah. I don't know how to deal with that smart businessman. 是呀。我不知道该怎么对付那个狡猾的商人。

A： Don't worry. Let‘s beat him at his own game. 别担心，我们可以将计就计。

B： A good idea. 好主意