201. Are you two ganging up on me? 你们两人是不是在串通来整我呀？gang 作动词就是串通一气，例如打牌，几个人串通一气来对付一个人。You should not gang up on the weak ones. gang的本来意思是帮派，街上的那些混混在一起就是gang.。中国几十年前流行的一个词组，“gang of four”（四人帮），这个译法总有点让人感到不严肃。应该译为“The Extreminists Four”, “Four Extreme Leftists”or “Mao’s Four” 。
　　202. He beat his brains out studying but could not keep up with the rest of his class. Beat one’s brains意思是用工努力，“他已经绞尽脑汁，但是赶不上同班同学。”“绞尽脑汁”还一个说法：rack up one’s brain，例句：I am racking my brain, but I can’t imagine why you’ll make this up. 我绞尽脑汁也弄不明白你为什么要编这瞎话。No-brainer 名词：根本就不必用脑去想都能明白的事，Learning Chinese can be a no-brainer if you know the right method. 如果方法得当，学中文不过是小菜一碟。The exam is a no-brainer. 这次考试闭了眼也能答出。No-brainer也可以做形容词：a no-brainer action movie 情节简单的动作片，This book contains 20 no-brainer ways to improve your English vocabulary. 这本书介绍了20种简易的方法来提高英语。
　　203. off-shore bank account, 境外的银行帐户，意思是为躲避纳税，或说明钱的来路不正。Many communist party officials have off-shore bank accounts, this is an open secret.
　　204. flip-flop 变来变去，例如某党的政策变来变去就是flip flop。
　　205. trendy, 时髦，是fashionable的意思。
　 　206. It is time to strike up the band, air up the baloons and invite all of your friends to join in the celebration. strike up the band乐队奏乐； Air up the baloon 放气球。
　　207. They treat me like a doormat. I felt so let down.大家把我简直就不当人对待，我感到太沮丧了。Doormat是进门前的门垫，任由人踩。
　 　208. bleeding edge 直译的意思是让人出血的刀刃，实际意思是“还没有完善、成熟的尖端技术（所以会让人受伤）”No longer bleeding edge, mobile and wireless are becoming essential part of the modern office. 移动无线已已经今非昔比了，现在成为办公室不可缺少的工具。
　　209. blue-sky蓝天，转意为“大胆”，例句： The government has been doing some blue-sky thinking on how to improve public transport.
　　210. chillout music 由电子乐器演奏的安静的音乐。I love chillout music. It is a great way to lie back, relax, and drift into another world.

211. raise the red flag 报警，引起注意 If you write too much on democracy, it will raise the red flag and the National Security guys will watch you.如果你写太多关于民主的文章，就会引起当局的注意，国-安局的人就会盯上你。
　　212. He is spending like a drunken sailer. Sailer(水手)一到一个海港便急着找地方花钱，所以形容一个大手大脚就说他花钱像一个喝醉了水手。
　　213. After nap, I feel foggy for a while. 午睡后，我会云里雾里一阵子。
　　214. Democracy is the defining issue of our time. 民主我们这个时代最强的诉求。define 定义，区别事物最重要的证据。
　　215. or what 美国人喜欢在句末用这个词组。Are we good friends or what 我们可不是好朋友？Are you going or what 你到底去不去？
　　216. Wedge本意为“楔子”，口语意为“不和”。
　　As long as there is a wedge between them, they cannot work together on this project. 只要他们之间有嫌隙，他们就不能在这个项目上进行合作。
　　drive a wedge between 挑起谁与谁之间的不和
　　Frank had to travel a lot and this finally drove a wedge between him and his wife.弗兰克必须经常旅行，这终于导致了他和妻子间的矛盾。
　　Her mother-in-law drove a wedge between her and her husband.他的岳母在他和妻子间挑拨离间。
　 　217. I feel so unloved and alone. Last year, when my dad died, I hit bottom. 我感觉不到有人爱我，很是孤独。去年我父亲去世后，我就感到万念俱灰。hit bottom 感到绝望，痛苦得不能再痛苦了，差到极限了。When a student's grades hit bottom it is time to hit the books. 当一个学生门门课都考得一塌糊涂时，他就该看看书了吧。hit bottom的延伸说法：hit rock bottom,绝望透顶。
　　类似的说法还有，hit the wall： We've just about hit the wall in terms of what we can do to balance the budget.“在平衡预算方案一事上，我们现在已经是束手无策。”
　 　218. A husband should not twist his wife’s arm to do his will. 警察抓人就喜欢把人的手拧到背后，这就是twist one’s arm, 也就是“强行”的意思。“做丈夫的不应该把自己的意志强加给妻子。”
　 　219. What bugged me, though, was that she blamed me! bug 本意为虫子，口语里有另外两个意思，一是 令人讨厌，就像一个虫子一样，这句话里的bug就是这个意思。She keeps bugging me.她老是烦我。还一个意思是“窃听”。National Security guys bug me all the time. 国家安-全局的那几个家伙老是窃听我的电话。这句话也可以这么说：Those guys like to eavesdrop on ordinary Chinese citizens. 这些家伙窃听普通中国公民上了瘾。Those guys developed a program to rapidly monitor the phone calls and other communications of people.那些家伙开发了一种程序能迅速监控人们的电话和其它通讯往来。
　　220. Kickoff, 开始 He kicked off his White House campaign yesterday.他昨天正式开始了竞选美国总统。
 

221. Whenever I'm down in the dumps, rather than wallow in my troubles, I try to do things that will get my mind off them. dump 垃圾场, wallow, 猪在泥中打滚，get my mind off 不去想这些事。每当我遇到烦心的事事，我总会找些事做，不让自己想不开，不老想着这些事。
　 　222. When they play, it is history. 只要他们参赛，就会书写历史。注意例句30：My relationship with her is already a history.a history 与history 意思很不相同。
　　223. roll 的基本意思是“滚动”，在口语里常用。
　　Can the Chinese team keep rolling 中国队还能保持势头吗？
　　Let’s roll. 让我们开始吧！让我们继续前进吧。
　　They should roll back their support of a dictatorship government. 他们应该终止对独裁政权的支持。
　　Rock n Roll, 摇滚 Do you like Rock n Roll music
　　I am glad that you have got the ball rolling.我很高兴你已经把事情推动运作起来了。
　 　224. Life is like a roller coaster. There are ups and downs. “生活就像过山车，有高潮、有低潮（有时得意，有时失意）。”这是安慰人的话，一般是在对方失意的时候说的。
　　225. Gratify, 我们一般知道“满足”的英文是satisfy，口语里现在常用“gratify”：That is very gratifying to me.
　 　226. Get to the point, don’t beat the bush. 有话直说好了，不要弯弯绕好不好。I got your point, OK 我明白你的意思了，好不好？（言下之意就是不要再罗嗦了。）What is your point 你究竟想说什么？
　　227. get to you: You are silly for letting this get to you. 让这事来烦你，你是有点傻。
　 　228. put your foot in your mouth 得罪 If you speak the truth, you will often put your foot in your mouth. Put foot in 冒犯 I really put my foot in it with Julie. I didn't realise she was a vegetarian.
　　229. I try to get myself out of the way as quickly as possible. Out of the way，退出，不碍事。参见in the way
　 　230. Thank goodness. 谢天谢地。一般人们会说，Thank God.但也有人不是信徒，他们或许会说，Thank goodness. 也有人用My Goodness来代替My God，或者说：My gosh.我的天呀！

231. They are going to throw a party, are you interested in going Throw a party, 举行聚会 to throw someone into prison,把某关进监狱
　　The FBI threw every available agent into the case. 联邦调查局把所有的警力全都投入到了这个案子.
　　
　 　232. She just had a car accident. She is treated now with intravenous fluids and she is not out of the woods yet. 她刚遭遇车祸，她现在在接受打点滴(打吊针)治疗，还没有脱离危险。Out of the woods, 脱离危险。一个人在深林里迷了路那是很可怕的事，出了深林就是脱离了危险。
　　
　　233. Be cheerful, man. The cloud cover is beginning to lift. 振作一点，老兄，乌云已经开始消散了。
　　
　　234. He is really puffed up. 他很是得意。
　　
　　235. Don't Beat Yourself up Over Every little Mishap, Cut Yourself Some Slack! 不要为了一点小时就捶胸顿足的，没什么大了不起的事。
　　
　 　“Don't beat yourself up over something that you have no control over,,,,Others have fallen....that doesn't mean that you will.” 不要一有什么事你办不了就垂头丧气好不好？别人因此失败了，并不意味着你也会失败。
　　
　　236. Down the road 过程，以后，将来， The question is how far down that road you go to allow citizens exposure of pleasure in gambling in Macau that they may not be able to control themselves. 也可以说，down the line。
　　He will change down the road. 他日后会改变的.
　　
　 　237. in addition to, He works as a security guard and attends college in addition to raising two sons. 相当于besides，“他除了要抚养两个儿子，还要兼职做保安以及读大学。”
　　
　 　238. ins and outs, 里里外外，彻底。He knows the ins and outs of how the government function, so it is easy for him to escape the checkout by the officials. 他对政府运作了如指掌,所以他很容易就能逃避政府的检查.
　　
　　239. He sounds upbeat. 看样子他很开朗。
　　
　　240. I am so happy you are well situated now. 你都安顿好了，真叫我高兴。I am calling to see how you are situated.

241. 你到别人家做客，主人问你，Do you need anything else?还需要什么吗？你可回答：That can settle me well. （对我来说）这就够好了。
　 　242. Everyone should go off the grid. Grid 的意思是“格子”，也作“高压电线，电网”解，这话直译是，“每个人都应该脱离电网的生活。”没有了电网，生活就回到了原始状态。因此Off the grid的含义是，“不使用电器、反潮流、反传统，返璞归真”。 Everyone in this community lives "off the grid", they now draw all their power from solar, wind, propane and other sources.
　　243. To be honest with you, to be a millionaire doesn’t hold much interest for me. That kind of life style is quite controlling. I would rather be free to make choices, and take chances that keep me learning. 坦率地说吧，我没有兴趣当百万富翁，那种生活方式太钳制人。我宁可自由自在地生活，时刻学习。My family holds much interest for me. 家庭对我来说极为重要。
　　244. There are freaky things going on here. 这里好些事都觉得不对劲。Freaky恐怖的，可怕的。It is so freaky. 很吓人的呢。It really freaks me out. 我吓得半死。
　 　245. way，可作副词，表示程度，way too much, I just have way too much going on in my life right now, I cannot visit you as I would like to. 我现在忙得一塌糊涂，我想多看你但没有办法。 It is way too far/ way too much. Two thumbs way up. 实在是太棒了。
　　246. scoop 本意为一勺，例如a scoop of ice-cream. 口语里作“抢新闻报道”“收集”解释：He got all the big scoops for the paper. 他为这家报纸抢到了所有的头号新闻。He always has some ways for the inside scoop on getting some freebies.他总是有些办法通过内部渠道搞到免费的票。I will get the scoop tomorrow.
　　247. I'm having a hard time with somebody or something. 对谁或事有很大的意见。
　 　248. run for the hills, 往安全地带跑，避免伤害。You need to take his advice and run for the hills before you get hurt. 你应该听听他的意见，采取保护自己的措施，免得受伤害。Run for the hills这成语出自圣经马太福音24:16 “Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains. ”
　　249. brush-off 拒绝，伤害 She just walked away without greeting me. This brush-off really hurt my feelings. 如果一个男生邀请女朋友吃饭，女朋友一连几次都拒绝，男生可能就会问了：Is this a brush-off？你想甩掉我了，是吗？The new policy is a brush-off to business. 新政策对生意大泼了冷水。
　　250. I consider my relationship with him a closed chapter. A closed chapter, 最后一章，结尾

251. You have really got me.这你还真的难倒我了。
　　
　　252. It cannot get you very far. 这帮不了你太大的忙。例如可以说：One hundred Yuan nowadays cannot get you very far. 现在一百元钱花不了几天了。
　　
　 　253.I just want to be sure I am on the same page with you. 我就想确信一下，我与你是同步的。这话也可以说成，I want to see if I am in the same boat with you.
　　
　　254.I feel like this is a whole new ballgame. 我觉得只是一次全新的经历（全新的工作/挑战）。
　　
　　255. That is a hush-hush secret between them. 这是只有他们之间才知道的秘密。
　　
　　256. Everything he does is below the belt. Below the belt拳击时不能攻击对手皮带以下的位置，但有时有人会这么做，所以转义为“阴谋、不道德的”
　　
　　257. Don’t you have to wash your dirty laundry in public 你一定要把你的这些家丑外传吗？
　　
　 　258. 有个男生对女生说：Everyone says I have a bright future on the horizon. 女生回答：The horizon always recedes once you approach it. 人人都说地平线上有大好前途正在等待我。但是当你接近地平线时，地平线却总是消失了。（讽刺男生，说他永远也不会有什么好日子。）
　　
　　259.在117句里提到过gun, 这句话里也涉及到gun ：gun shy, I am a little bit gun shy. Gun shy就是关键时刻不敢扣扳机。敌人站在你面前，你却不敢扣手中枪的扳机，这个人也实在是太害羞了。
　　
　　260.brainchild想法，（带有那种专利的）主意：Democracy is not a brainchild of just white people, it is universal.

261 I was so hopeful that my relationship with him would work out. 我一直以为我与他的关系能得到改善。(I was so hopeful that...= i was once convinced that)I did some workout this morning. 今早晨我做了点健身运动。Workout是较流行的词，人们很少再说：I did some exercise this morning. Workout指一般指那种在健身房的锻炼。Can you work out the issues between you two 你们两人之间的问题你们自己能解决吗？work out the difference.解决分歧 Guys in mainland China and guys in Taiwan should work out their differences rather than bicker over these differences. Can you work out some details before you submit the proposal
　　
　　262. Such an unpopular decision is bound to draw a lot of flak. Flak 高射炮，炮弹。“这样不得人心的决定肯定会招致大家的反对。” 防弹衣：flak jacket, 更加通俗的词是bulletproof vest，保险公司的人向医生推销保险时说会：Nowadays patients tend to take their doctors to court for nothing, so it is better to put on some kind of bulletproof vest before you practice. 现在的病人动不动就告把医生告到法庭，所以还是在开业前买点保险比较好。
　　
　 　263. He promised to make good on your contract. 他保证会兑现与你签的合同。make good on 还钱，兑现合同。在当今社会，这是一个很有用的词组。I want to make good on that loan I got from Joan. 我一定要把向琼借的钱给还了。He often fails to make good on his promises. 他说话常常不算数。People expect that the Communist Party will make good on democracy someday. 人们期待共产党有天会兑现对实现民主的承诺。
　　
　　264. check out 这是一个用途很广的词，在旅店退房叫checkout（结帐），（住房登记叫checkin），机场登机前办理checkin；Go out and check this guy out.去查一查这个人的背景。You can do some Google checkout before you start writing. 在动笔前你可以先做一些谷歌查询。Do you have some down time? Check out these things to do. 如果你还有点空闲时间，你可以找这些事情来消遣。
　　
　　265. wear out That job is a wearout, it is cold, dirty. He really wears me out. 他把我整得精疲力竭。
　　
　　266.That is a dumb move. 你这样做很笨。这步棋走得很臭。
　　
　　267. you know what You can…这是一个很实用的句子，用在给人提建议前缓和气氛。
　　
　　268. Good for you. 赞赏人说的话。例如有人说，他得了100分。I got 100 for my test today.你就回答：good for you. 他说他中奖了，你就说：good for you.
　　
　　269. I am convinced that…. Convince 比believe的语气更加肯定一些。I am convinced I can do it. 我相信我能做好。
　　
　 　270. driving force 推动力，主要力量He is the driving force for this project.他是这个项目的主要推动人。It is naïve to believe that the Party could be a driving force for democracy. 相信这个党能成为民主的推动力量，那是有点天真了。

271. My husband is a sports fanatic. Every night he flops on the sofa, flips on the TV. He's so crazy about Yaoming. He googles Yaoming for every bit of his story. He loves Yaoming more than me. My husband is a selfish, insensitive oaf who puts basketball before his wife's happiness. fanatic.狂热分子，比粉丝-fan要更投入，可以说是superfan。oaf白痴，相当于idiot。我丈夫是个体育狂，每天晚上他倒在沙发 上，一个个台看，他网上搜寻只要是姚明的消息，他爱姚明而不爱我。我丈夫是个自私鬼，木头人，可以置篮球于妻子的幸福之上。
　　272. He and I seem to be extremely compatible. But there is a problem. He doesn't open up to me and has his walls up. 他和我看起来是蛮匹配的，但还是有个问题，他对我并不是完全敞开，他总是竖起一道墙。You need to take these possibilities that open up for you. 你应该抓住这些为你敞开的机会。
　　273. How is everything going between you and John? John is seeing another woman, so I kicked him to the curb. 你与约翰的关系怎样了？他跟另一个女人好上了，所以我把他给踢了。Kick to the curb, 男女关系中一方把另一方给甩了，也可以意为“解雇”A woman was kicked to the curb by the company for finding drug use in her hair sample. 公司解雇了一位女职工，因为在化验头发时，发现了她在使用毒品。
　　274. He is so important in my heart of hearts. In my heart of hearts, 比in my heart更强调，在我内心深处，
　 　275. Wait for Mr. Right. Just keep your eyes and ears peeled. Peel的意思本来是“剥皮”，例如to peel potatoes，但在这里的意思是“睁大眼睛，竖起耳朵，留意”。Keep one’s eyes peeled与keep a close eye on 几乎是同一个意思。
　　Keep your eyes and ears peeled for the next challenge.
　 　276. When you meet someone you like, tell her/him. Don’t be afraid. it is normal to get knocked out. Expect to get rebuffed or rejected. Knock out, 是拳击里的术语，把谁给放倒了，get knocked out, 就是你去约别人时，被拒绝了。整个句子的意思是：如果你喜欢上了一个人，就去告诉他/她好了。如果被拒绝那是再正常不过的事。在看这句：Don't Get Knocked Out in the Second Round of Layoffs.
　　277. Tell your boyfriend that you want the whole enchilada and will end the relationship if he does not step up. enchilada 是类似我们的春卷的一种食品，要整个的enchilada就是“要全部”的意思。“告诉你男朋友，他不能这么三心二意的，如果他不再完全投入的话，你就跟 他断绝往来了。”We had the flowers, the speeches, the presents - the whole enchilada. 我们得到了鲜花、贺辞、礼物，总之应有尽有。Enchilada也可以作“老板”解释：Ask the big enchilada what he really means. 问问大老板的主意。
　　278. For some reason, whenever I see her I feel like there is something there. But she says she doesn’t feel anything is there. 我每次见到她，冥冥中我总感到有那么点意思，但她说她从来就感觉不到什么意思。
　　279. You need to get past the old relationship, lick your wounds, and learn your lessons, don’t get involved with a married man, and start a new page. 你就放弃这段情吧，舔舔伤口，学段功课，以后不要再去与已婚男人发生恋情，重新开始吧。
　　280. It is obvious you dig me. 很显然，你喜欢我。I bet she really digs him. 她肯定是爱上他了。口语里dig作“喜欢”解。另外还有：Can you dig it? 你明白吗？Ya dig? 明白吗？

281. Where are you from? I am local. I was born and bred here.(你是哪里人？我是本地人，我是生于斯长于斯) breed 喂养。一般说法是grow up, I grew up here dirt-poor. 我生长在一个贫穷的家庭。我是外地人：I am from out of town.
　　282. Be my guest.请便，随你的便，你想干嘛就干嘛。
　　283. Suit yourself. 随你的便。
　　284. The first step is a doosey. Watch that first step, it is a doosey. 万事开头难。第一步总是有风险的。
　　285. Don’t worry about that situation. It will eventually work itself out. 不要为那种状况担心，肯定会车到山前必有路的。
　 　286. I am sorry. I’m just zoned out for some reason. Can you say that again? 对不起，不知道为什么，我有点迷糊了。你能再说一遍吗？zone out 走神，不能集中注意力。I don't know what happened after that. I just sorta zoned out.
　　287. tight是口语中常用的一个词汇，应该多多了解。
　　Airtight case 无可争辩的事实 It’s an airtight case: New green building is very energy efficient.无可争辩，新的环保建筑的确节省能源。
　 　Tightknit 关系密切 We are a tightknit tribe here. 我们这帮哥们关系可铁呢。或者就说tight，也是这个意思：Do you know Tim? Sure, he and I are tight. 你认识Tim吗？那当然，他和我可铁了。
　　tightlipped smiles.皮笑肉不笑，强挤出来的笑
　　He is tightlipped about the information. 他对这些情况守口如瓶。
　 　He doesn't go out with the lads so much these days. Michelle keeps him on a tight leash. On a leash的意思是牵着狗，on a tight leash就是溜狗时紧紧抓住绳索。“这些日子他不再跟见其他女孩子了，米薛看他可看得紧了。”
　　Just sit tight while I go and phone for help. 我去打电话求救，你坐好不要动。
　　Sit tight and don't move that leg. 你安静地坐好，不要老动那条腿。
　　Tight spot 困境： If there is a shortage of fuel, everyone who drives to work will be in a tight spot. 如果汽油供应再跟不上，开车上班族就麻烦了。
　　Bob's in a tight spot right now because he has fallen behind in his work. 巴伯完不成任务，麻烦大了。
　　You need to get your story down tight. The time for interview is limited. 你得把经历讲得短而精，因为你面试的时间十分有限。
　　I want to argue with him but his logic is way too tight. 我想跟他辩，但他的逻辑是滴水不漏。
　　288. He ran for five miles, and he even didn’t break a sweat. 他跑了五英里，连汗都不出，小菜一碟。
　　289. What is that all about? 到底发生了什么事？这究竟是怎么回事？
　　290. I am racking my brain, but I can’t imagine why you’ll make this up. 我绞尽脑汁，也想不出你为什么要编这样一个故事来哄我？