爱思英语编者按：夏天不爱太油腻，就来点清新的蔬菜吧。今天一起来学学跟蔬菜有关的“清新”短语。

1.To be “full of beans” is to talk nonsense, and to “not know beans” is to be ignorant or uninformed.

“full of beans”指所讲内容毫无意义，“not know beans”表示无知或缺乏常识。

2.To be “not worth a hill of beans” is to be worthless.

毫无价值，微不足道。

3.To “spill the beans” is to tell a secret.

泄露秘密。

4.To “dangle a carrot” before someone is to encourage them with an incentive.

在某人面前吊一个胡萝卜是指刺激，鼓励某人，吊某人胃口。

5.The carrot in “carrot and stick” is an incentive or reward. (The stick is the punishment.)

在大棒与胡萝卜(软硬兼施)中，carrot指奖励刺激，stick是惩罚措施。

6.A “carrot top” is a red-haired person.

红头发的人。

7.Someone “as cool as a cucumber” is very self-possessed under pressure.

在压力下仍然保持自我，泰然自若。(冷静沉着；镇静勇敢)

8.To “pass an olive branch” is to make peaceful or reconciliatory overtures.

抛橄榄枝，指倾向和平或和解的提议。

9.A “pea-brained” person is stupid.

愚蠢的人。(头脑简单如豌豆)

10.Fog or something else very dense can be described as being “as thick as pea soup.”

雾或其它很浓密的东西可以描述为as thick as pea soup，像豌豆汤一样浓。

11.To be “like two peas in a pod” is to be very close with or similar to someone.

长得很像或走的很近。

12.To be “in a pickle” is to experience complication.

处境困难或尴尬。

13.A “couch potato” is someone who spends an excessive amount of time seated watching television or playing video games.

指花大量时间坐着看电视或玩电玩。

14.A “hot potato” is a controversial or difficult issue, but to “drop (someone or something) like a hot potato” is to abandon the person or thing.

难题，棘手的问题，drop (someone or something) like a hot potato指放弃像个烫手山芋的人或事。

15.Something that is “small potatoes” is insignificant.

不重要的事。

16.“Salad days” refers to the youthful period of one’s life.

青葱岁月。