拒绝尬聊！歪果仁常用的口语表达（1）

与外国人交流的时候我们都有过的经验，很多表达太过中式，并不是特别地道。尴尬了…也许是因为我们平时在书本上学的并不实用，今天我们就来看看一些地道的美语表达吧！

1.find one's tongue: to be able to talk; to figure out what to say
能说得出话来

Mother shouted at me just now. I was too scared to find my tongue.
妈妈刚才对我大嚷，我吓得说不出话来。

Ann was unable to find her tongue. She sat there in silence.
安说不出话来，静静地坐在那。

2.up for grabs: something is available
有待争取

One of our accountants is retiring and his job is up for grabs.
我们一位会计就要退休了，他空出来的职位可以争取一下。

That job is up for grabs to anyone who wants it.
任何想得到这份工作的人都可以争取一下。

3.take for: to cheat someone by a certain amount of money
上当受骗；被宰了

He was taken for all his money at the casino.
那个赌场骗走了他所有的钱。

That crook took me for a hundred bucks. How much did he take you for?
那个骗子骗我了一百块钱，他骗了你多少？

4.full of oneself：conceited or self-important
自以为是

Mary is very unpopular because she's so full of herself.
玛丽非常不受欢迎，因为她太自以为是了。

You don’t care about my feelings. You are too full of yourself.
你一点也不在意我的感受，你太自以为是了。

5.a horse of a different color：a situation or a subject that is different from what you had first thought it was
完全是另外一回事

A：Congratulations! I hear you were recommended by the school to take the exams applying for a position in the local government.
A：恭喜你！听说你被学校推荐参加市政府的考试啦！

B: Taking the exam is one thing but passing it is a horse of a different color.
B：参加考试是一回事，要通过考试就是另外一回事了。

6.break one’s neck：make a great effort to do something
尽一切努力去做某事

I hope Tom would study harder, because I am breaking my neck to save money to keep him in college.
我希望汤姆可以更用功一点，我想尽一切办法存钱供他上大学。

7.get up the nerve：get enough courage to do something
鼓起勇气做某事

I wanted to do it, but I couldn't get up the nerve.
我想去做，但我没有足够的勇气。

I thought he would never get up the nerve to ask me for a date.
我想他永远不会鼓起勇气跟我提出约会。

8.wait for the other shoe to drop： to await a seemingly inevitable event, especially one that is not desirable
提心吊胆等待结果

He looks so nervous because he is waiting for the other shoe to drop.
他看起来很紧张，因为他在等待最后的结果。

9.come a long way：to make significant progress
取得很大进展

A：Kevin can play entire songs now, and they sound pretty good!
A：凯文现在可以弹奏完整的曲子了，而且很好听！

B：Yep. He's really come a long way from when he could barely hold a guitar.
B：是啊，他真的进步很大，一开始连吉他都抱不住呢！

10.close to home：affecting one deeply and emotionally because one can strongly relate to it
感同身受

My patient's lung cancer diagnosis is close to home for me because my uncle recently died of the same thing.
我病人的肺癌诊断让我感同身受，因为我叔叔最近因这个病去了。

（来源：沪江英语  编辑：Julie)