1. have a soft spot for sb

soft spot指的是易受打动之点，有点“软肋”的意味。

have a soft spot for sb常指莫名其妙地“十分喜爱（某人）”。

She'd always had a soft spot for her younger nephew.

她一直很喜欢她的小侄子。

2. ride a wave

△肯尼斯是个亿万富翁，在创业浪潮中赚了很多钱。

ride (on) a wave of sth是个很形象的短语，表示“乘…之势；借…的东风”

The new president is riding (on) a wave of popularity.

新总统深得人心，大获其益。

3. upstage

upstage是“抢…的风头”的意思，再补充两个近义表达：

①steal sb's thunder

Sandy stole my thunder when she announced that she was pregnant two days before I'd planned to tell people about my pregnancy.

在我打算告诉大家我怀孕的消息之前两天，桑迪抢先宣布她怀孕了，抢了我的风头。

②steal the show

Despite fine acting by several well-known stars it was a young newcomer who stole the show.

尽管几位名角演出都很出色，却未曾想竟让一名新秀抢尽风头。

4. put/lay your cards on the table

put/lay your cards on the table？把牌放在桌子上，也就是“摊牌，和盘托出”的意思。

英语里“摊牌”还可以说：

①show your hand

Keep the names of the team secret - don't show your hand until the day of the game.

球队的名称要保密——比赛那天再宣布。

②tip your hand

Despite weeks of media speculation, the president refused to tip his hand about his plans for re-election.

尽管数周来媒体都在猜测，但总统拒绝透露争取连任的计划。