Smart Sentences
① What's shakin'?最近怎么样?
What's shakin'? = What's happening?
What's shakin'?: expression used to ask about recent events or situation(用以询问近况的表达)。例如:
—Hi, what's shakin'? I heard your brother was dumped.
最近有什么新闻?我听说你弟被人甩了。
—It didn't happen. Who told you that?
没有啊,你听谁说的?
② I'm just trying to get my head around…我就是弄不明白……
get one's head around sth.: to be able to understand sth. (弄清楚某事)。例如:
He's tried to explain the rules of the game dozens of times but I just can't get my head around them.
他已经多次试图解释游戏规则,但我还是搞不明白。
③ Organization has always been my Achilles' heel. 我做事没有条理,这是致命伤。
Achilles' heel: a seemingly small but actually mortal weakness(小而致命的弱点)。例如:
I've been observing this guy for a whole year and I can't seem to find his Achilles' heel.
我观察这家伙整整一年了,但似乎找不到他有什么致命的弱点。
④ A little birdy told me that… 我听说……
a little birdy/bird told me: used to indicate that you can't disclose the source of the information(我听说,有人私下告诉我)。例如:
A little birdy told me that our boss resigned last week.
我听说我们的上司上周辞职了。
⑤ She'd have my head if I tried majoring in anything else.要是我选其他的专业,她会把我杀了的。
have sb.'s head: kill sb., an exaggeration(杀某人,夸张的说法)。例如:
If my brother finds out that I ruined his camera, he will have my head.
如果我哥知道我毁了他的相机,会把我杀了。
⑥ He gets a real kick out of Pluto.那些关于冥王星的知识让他觉得很充实。
get a kick out of sth.: get a pleasurable feeling from sth.(从某事得到一种令人愉悦的感觉,快感)。例如:
My mother gets a kick out of my husband's jokes every time.
我丈夫的笑话每次都让我妈妈很开心。
⑦ The other planets left him high and dry.其他的行星都孤立他了。
high and dry: in a difficult situation and unable to do anything about it(孤立无援,被抛弃)。例如:
Schools with better reputations will be flooded with applications while poorer schools will be left high and dry.
声誉好的学校会收到大量的入学申请,而较差的学校则门可罗雀。