16.all told 合计;总之
此语原义为“总计,合计”,引申为“总之”。如:All told,it was a great credit to them.(总之,这给他们大大增了光。)此语同in all同义。
A: How many people attended today’s meeting? 有多少人参加了今天的会议?
B: There were seventeen of us at the meeting, all told. 一共有十七个人。
A: Issue an announcement that if somebody doesn’t attend meeting next time, his or her bonus will be deducted. 发布一则通知,就说如果有人下一次不参加会议,他或她的奖金全扣。
B: Yes. 好的。
17.all wet 搞错了
wet原义为“湿的”,干活常把手弄湿,指某人“没经验的”。该习语多见于美国俚语,意为“大错特错,胡说,瞎扯”。
A: I made a reservation two days ago. My name is David Johnson. 我前天在这儿预订了房间,我叫戴维约翰逊。
B: Reservation? What do you mean? 预定?什么意思?
A: I booked a single room here for tonight. 我定了一间今晚的单人房。
B: Oh! You’re all wet, actually. This is not a hotel. The hotel is the building across the road. 哦,你搞错了。这不是旅馆,旅馆是路对过的那做楼。
18.an easy digging 轻而易举的事
dig做动词时有“集中精力于… 的意思”,往往用来指工作、学习。An easy digging指“学习轻松”,引申为“事情轻而易举”。
A: Do you think we can nurse our business back to life? 你说我们能让生意起死回生吗?
B: It’s not an easy digging. We’ll have to rack our brain and think of some effective measures. 这可不是件容易事。我们得绞尽脑汁想出一些行之有效的办法。
A: I seem to be at the end of my wits. I have got lost and don’t know where I’m going. 我可是黔驴技穷了。我有点茫然,不知道该干什么才好。
B: Never say die. The darkest hour is the nearest dawn. 别这么说,现在只是黎明前的黑暗。
19.any more 不再
此语用于否定句中,构成not … any more“不再”,与之同义的短语为not … any longer。与肯定句中的no more和no longer同义。区别在于not any longer和no longer都口语化。
A: I can’t take the job any longer. 我不能再干这份工作了。
B: If you need the money, you’ll just have to grin and bear it. 如果要想挣钱的话,你就得含笑忍辱。
A: I’d rather starve than suffer the torture of the beast! 我宁愿饿死也不受这份罪。
B: Don’t be childish and capricious. You want to change the world? No way, it is just the world that will change you. 别幼稚任性了。你想改变这个世界?决不可能的。只能是这世界改变你。
A: My God! The school life is really simple and free. But now I have it no more. 天呀!还是校园生活简单自由,可我不再拥有它了。
20.as easy as one’s eye 很容易
该习语是一种非正规的口语表达方式,类似的表达方式还有:as easy as anything/as ABC/as falling off a log/as winkling。这些短语指的是“很容易”。
A: Money is hard to earn these days. 这年头挣钱不容易。
B: To me, it’s as easy as my eye. 对我来说很容易。
A: You steal? Or rob? 去偷还是去抢?
B: Of course not. 当然不是。
v. 露齿而笑,(以咧嘴笑来)表示
n. 露齿