11. Butter [someone] up

取悅某人

To butter someone up is to please or flatter someone in order to win his or her favor. This separable phrase may be used in the format butter [someone] up or butter up [someone].

Butter someone up意為取悅或奉承某人以贏得他/她的歡心。這個可分短語可以以兩種形式出現(xiàn)即butter [someone] up或者butter up [someone]。

Everyone seems to be trying to butter up the new boss hoping to become her favorite.

似乎每個人都想要取悅新老板以成為她最喜歡的人。

12. Food for thought

引人深思的事情

Food for thought refers to something that’s worth thinking carefully about.

Food for thought指值得仔細思考的事情。

Moving to another state is food for thought for many of those affected by the recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida.

在德克薩斯州和佛羅里達州，許多受颶風影響的人都認為搬到另一個城市是一件值得思考的事情。

13. A smart cookie

聰明人

Here’s an easy one. A smart cookie is an intelligent person.

這個習語很簡單，a smart cookie指聰明的人。

It shouldn’t be hard too hard for a smart cookie like you to learn Spanish.

學習西班牙語對于你這樣聰明的人并不難。

14. Packed like sardines

過于擁擠的

What do you see when you open up a can of sardines? Yes, the fish crammed inside the can. So packed like sardines describes a place or situation that’s very crowded with people (or animals).

打開一罐沙丁魚罐頭的時候，你看到的是什么?是的，里面塞滿了魚。所以packed like sardines用來形容非常擁擠的地方。

Were you at the football game last night? The stadium was packed like sardines.

你昨晚去看球賽了嘛?體育場擠地像沙丁魚一樣。

15. Spill the beans

泄密，說漏嘴

You accidentally knock over a bowl of beans and they all spill out. Think of this image and you’ll remember that spill the beans means to accidentally or prematurely give out information that’s supposed to be kept secret.

你不小心撞翻了一碗豆子，它們都被灑出來了。想想這幅畫面，你就會明白spill the beans意為泄露了本該保密的消息。

We were planning a surprise birthday party for Joyce this weekend. But this morning, Owen spilled the beans and now it’s no longer a surprise.

我們計劃這個周末為喬伊斯舉辦一個驚喜的生日聚會。但是今天早上，歐文說漏了嘴，這現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)不再是一個秘密了。

16. A bad apple

壞蛋，惹麻煩

Imagine a basket of apples with one rotten apple inside. This picture will help you remember that a bad apple is someone who creates problems or trouble, or is a bad influence on the other people in a group.

想象一幅畫面，一籃子蘋果里面有一個壞蘋果。這幅畫面會幫助你理解a bad apple是指制造問題惹麻煩的人，或者是對小組內(nèi)其他人產(chǎn)生不好影響的人。

Instead of focusing on college, he spends his time hanging out with bad apples.

在大學里，他沒有把精力集中在學習上，他把時間都花在和一群壞蛋鬼混上。

17. Bread and butter

生計，基本生活資料

Bread and butter is a basic food that many of us eat. So the idiom bread and butter refers to a job that makes the money you need to live and afford basic necessities like food, housing, etc.

面包和黃油是一種基本食物。因此習語bread and butter就是指一份可以賺錢的工作，可以用來提供基本的生活資料，比如食物，房子等。

Fishing is the bread and butter of the friendly people who I met on the island last summer.

我去年夏天在小島上遇到了幾個非常友好的人，他們以釣魚為生計。

18. Buy a lemon

買無用的東西

To buy a lemon means to buy something (usually a motor vehicle) that doesn’t work well and is therefore worthless.

Buy a lemon以為買沒有用處的東西，因此毫無價值。

The car looked so new and shiny I had no way of knowing I was buying a lemon.

這輛車看起來很新，閃閃發(fā)光，但是我怎么也想不到我買了個這么個沒有價值的東西。

19. A hard nut to crack

棘手的問題，難對付的人

Is it easy to crack open a nut? Not always. Well, a hard nut to crack refers to a person who’s difficult to deal with or to get to know.

把堅果打開容易嗎?不是很容易吧。A hard nut to crack是指難對付或者難了解的人。

I tried to be friendly with her but I was told she’s a hard nut to crack.

我試著和她友好相處，但是我卻被告知她是個很難對付的人。

20. Have a sweet tooth

喜歡吃甜食

Do you like eating cakes, candy and other sweet-tasting food? If you do, then you can say you have a sweet tooth.

你喜歡吃蛋糕，糖果和其他甜甜的食物嗎?如果你喜歡你就可以用have a sweet tooth來形容自己。

Yes, I definitely have a sweet tooth. I can never walk past a bakery and not stop to buy myself a slice of chocolate cake.

是的，我確實喜歡吃甜食。我每次路過面包店都會停下來給自己買一塊巧克力蛋糕。

現(xiàn)在這20個習語你都知道了，你可以用他們來潤色你的對話。對于你這樣聰明的人，學習這20個習語簡直就是小菜一碟，對吧?只需要記住上述提示并且進行大量練習就好了。祝你好運，學習愉快!