美国习惯用语第一弹！
a case in point
Case是例子的意思，a case in point, 意思就是恰当的例子。比如，我们全家性格都很内向，但是也有例外。My niece is a case in point. 我侄女就一个典型的例子。
例句-1：People assume that the super wealthy live extravagant lifestyles. But you can find exceptions. My cousin is a case in point. He's worth several million dollars. Still, he drives the same used car he's had for years, rents a modest apartment, and donates most of his money to charity.
人们认为特别有钱的人都应该过着奢侈的生活，但实际上是也有例外。我的堂兄就是个例子。他身价好几百万美元，可还是开着那辆开了好多年的旧车，租着一间普通公寓，把赚来的绝大部分钱都捐给了慈善机构。
例句-2：It' true. I'm no fan of technology. Not only do I avoid computers and personal communications devices, but so do the characters in the short stories I write. My latest best-seller is a case in point. There are no references to e-mails, blogs, the Internet or even cell phones. How's that for an example of what I believe?
没错，我确实不是新科技的粉丝。我从来不使用电脑和任何个人通讯装置，而且我写的短篇小说里的人物也不会使用这些玩艺。我最新出版的畅销小说就很能说明问题。里面的人物完全脱离了电子邮件，博客，网络，甚至手机。听起来是不是我的理念的充分体现呢？
carbon copy
Carbon 本身是“复写纸”的意思，那大家都猜到了吧，carbon copy，就是形容“非常相似，一模一样”。
例句-1：My new girlfriend said she wanted me to meet someone. I was shocked when I answered the door. Standing there was a woman who looked exactly like my girlfriend. She talked just like her, too. In fact, she was a carbon copy. That's when I realized I was dating a twin.
我的新女友说她想让我见见一个人。结果开门的时候我大吃一惊。站在我面前的人跟我女友长的一模一样，讲话的样子也跟我女友一样。我这时候才意识到，原来她们是双胞胎!
例句-2：The architect claimed his designs for the city park were original. But on closer inspection, it became clear that wasn't true. All the features, including the gardens, pond, bridge and playing fields, were no different from those in a park in Boston. The mayor was furious. He trusted the architect to offer something unique, not a carbon copy.
这名设计师声称城市公园是他的原创设计。但是进一步的调查发现，这显然不是事实。包括花园，池塘，桥梁和休闲场地的所有设施都跟波士顿一座公园分毫不差。市长大发脾气。他是要这名建筑师设计一座独一无二的公园，而不是一座仿制品。
business as usual
大家都知道，business是营业的意思，usual 呢，是正常的。那么business as usual, 用来形容事情经过了异常之后恢复正常状态，可以翻译成“一切照旧，虚惊一场”。
例句-1：Imagine preparing breakfast for six kids. Then getting them washed and dressed, packing their lunches and getting them off to school. That might seem like a huge challenge. But for my wife and me, it's business as usual. It's part of our everyday routine.
想像一下：给六个孩子准备早餐，然后给他们洗脸穿衣服，装饭盒，再把他们统统送到学校去。这看起来是一项巨大的挑战。但是对我妻子和我来说，这是日常便饭。这是我们每天要做的工作。
例句-2：Normally, my tiny town is a quiet place. But when a movie director chose it as the site for his upcoming picture, it became incredibly busy. Film stars and production crews flooded Main Street. The local restaurants served overflow crowds, shops saw increased sales, and news reporters came from all around seeking interviews. For three weeks, it was anything but business as usual.
平常，我住的小镇特别安静。但是当一名电影导演选中这里拍摄之后，这里就变得忙碌无比了。电影明星和制作团队挤满了城里的主路。饭馆里的人目不暇接，商店营业额直线上升，新闻记者也都来到这里寻找采访机会。三个星期以来，这里什么都有，就是没有往日的宁静。
burning question
Burning字面上的意思是正在燃烧的。那么burning question都烧起来了的问题! 引伸下来就是“十万火急的问题”，通常也指人们热烈讨论的问题。
例句-1：Last year freezing temperatures ruined Florida's citrus industry. Millions of dollars worth of produce were lost. Now weather forecasters are calling for severe cold. Industry analysts and farmers desperately want to know what they should do if another catastrophe occurs. That's the burning question.
去年严冬低温重创佛罗里达的柑橘业，损失高达数百万美元。现在天气预报又预报可能出现严冬。业内分析人士和农民都迫切地想要知道，如果再次发生气候灾难，他们该怎么做。这是目前人们都在讨论的紧迫问题。
例句-2：Sharon's among the most popular girls in my senior class. So it's no surprise that I'm not the only guy who asked her to go to the prom. She said she'd let me know by the weekend. Will she be my date? It's a burning question. I'm dying for her to give me her answer.
莎伦是我们高中最受欢迎的女生之一。所以我知道，我肯定不是唯一一个邀请她去参加毕业舞会的人。她说她会在周末给我答复。她会当我的女伴吗? 这真让我心急如焚，我迫切地希望她把最后决定告诉我。
brush off
Brush是刷的意思，brush off, 刷掉，引伸出来就是“忽略，不理睬”的意思。
例句-1：The homeowners were told by inspectors that they ought to move their home further from the river. Instead, they went ahead with plans to add a second story. When a terrible storm hit a year later, the river flooded. And the house was destroyed. If the couple hadn't brushed off those safety warnings, they wouldn't have lost their property.
检查人员告诉屋主说，他们应该把屋子建在离河边更远的地方。但是屋主非但没有听取这个意见，还又加盖了第二层。一年之后下了一场暴雨，河水上涨淹没了房屋。如果这对夫妇没有忽略那些安全警告，他们也许不会失去自己的财产。
例句-2：Phil hasn't had many steady girlfriends. That's because they don't like the way he treats them. After a couple of nice dates, he expects them to always be available for him. Yet he rarely makes the effort to return their calls or text messages. Why should they want to stay with a guy who brushes them off?
菲利普一直没有什么稳定女友，这是因为她们都不喜欢他对待她们的方式。几次约会之后，他就认为这些女孩子应该随叫随到，可他自己却很少尽快回她们的电话或短信。为什么要跟一个经常忽略自己的人在一起呢?
bring to a head
Bring something to a head, 意思是，使某件事情到了非做决定的紧急关头。
例句-1：Cindy had been trying to persuade her husband to quit smoking. But he never made a serious effort to stop until last month. When he became short of breath playing with his grandson, he realized that his bad habit had to end. It brought to a head his addiction to cigarettes. He's been tobacco-free ever since.
辛迪一直试着劝她丈夫戒烟。但他从没认真尝试过，直到上个星期他陪孙子玩儿的时候气都喘不上来，他才意识到，是时候改改抽烟这个坏毛病了。这件事使他意识到他烟瘾的危害。自从那以后，他一直没有碰过香烟。
例句-2：Our best trained workers are all over 60 years old. And they've been leaving the company faster than they're being replaced. The CEO ought to recognize what's happening. Retirements are bringing our labor shortage problem to a head. So he'd better come up with a solution quickly.
我们公司最优秀的员工现在都超过60岁了。他们退休的速度远远超过了新员工的招聘速度。我们的CEO需要认识到现在的情况。老员工退休使劳动力短缺的问题迫在眉睫。老板得尽快找到解决方法。
break one's back
我们知道，break这个词本身是“打碎”的意思，而break one's back,背都打碎了，引申的意思就是“非常辛苦地工作”。
例句-1：Mom always wanted my sister and me to enjoy a better life than she had. That meant working two jobs for many years to afford what we needed. She broke her back. But, as a result, I became a surgeon and my sister a concert pianist. We would never have become so successful without our mother's great sacrifices.
妈妈一直希望我和妹妹能过上比她更好的生活。她多年来一直身兼两份工作来满足我们的所需。她一直非常辛苦。但是现在，我成了一名外科医生，而我妹妹成了一名钢琴演奏家。如果没有妈妈的牺牲，我们绝不可能取得这样的成功。
例句-2：My neighbor across the street is one of the laziest people I know. Just about every day, he's out drinking beer on his front porch. Yet his house is falling apart and his yard is full of junk. It would take a lot of effort to get the place in good condition. Unfortunately, I can't imagine him ever breaking his back.
住在对面的邻居是我见过的最懒的人。他每天在门口走廊上喝啤酒，可房子却是东倒西歪，院子里堆满了垃圾。要把那里清理干净得花好大功夫。不过，我可无法想象他会辛苦地去整理。
bounce back
Bounce, 这个词本身是“弹回”的意思，而bounce back作为一个词组意思是“恢复原状，复苏”。
例句-1：Grandma's fall on the ice last winter resulted in a badly broken leg. She spent months in a cast. Then she underwent weeks of physical therapy. Now her doctors say she can resume normal activities. Nobody could be happier than Grandma that she's finally bounced back.
我奶奶去年冬天在冰上把腿摔骨折了。她带了几个月的石膏，之后又做了好几个星期的理疗。现在医生说她能恢复正常活动了。奶奶终于恢复健康了，她比所有人都要高兴。
例句-2：Some guys have a hard time getting over a break-up with a girlfriend. That's not the case with Carlos. He doesn't get depressed or become withdrawn. In fact, no sooner does he end one relationship than he begins another. He bounces back quickly.
一些人在与女朋友分手之后一蹶不振。但卡洛斯可不是这样。他绝不会抑郁或者就此变得沉没寡言。实际上，每当他结束一段恋情之后马上就会开始新得恋情。他很快就能恢复过来。
boggle the mind
Boggle本身有吃惊的意思，而mind是思想，头脑。Boggle the mind, 意思就是“令人惊叹的”。
例句-1：Fifty years ago, the fastest computers ever made took up the space of a football field. Their many vacuum tubes and mechanical parts required constant maintenance. Amazingly, the computing devices we now hold in our hands can do so much more in only a fraction of the time. That boggles the mind.
50年前，世界上运作最快的电脑占地要达到整个一个足球场那么大。其中有很多电子管和机械零件，需要经常维修。可现在，我们手中拿的小电脑能在短得多的时间里做多得多的事情。 这确实令人惊叹。
例句-2：George was shocked when Linda became his supervisor. She seemed to lack any of the necessary skills to manage employees. Her reports were often inaccurate and she did nothing to improve productivity. How she ever got her promotion boggled his mind. She must have known somebody important at the factory.
乔治得知琳达变成他的上司之后十分吃惊。她完全没有管理员工的能力。她的报告经常出现纰漏，而且她完全没有做任何事情来增加生产率。她是如何晋升的着实令人吃惊。她肯定认识工厂里的什么重要人物。
blow by blow
Blow, 这个词本身的意思是“敲击”，而blow by blow作为一个习惯用语的意思是 “详细地描述事情经过”。
例句-1：What's happened to one of Hollywood's hottest couples? First, Debbie learned that Charles had a serious gambling problem. There was a huge fight. A couple months later, Debbie threw all of his belongings into the street. He moved out, and then asked for a divorce. That's the blow by blow so far.
好莱坞最红的夫妇，Debbie和Charles之间到底怎么了? 原来啊，Debbie得知Charles特别好赌，他们俩大吵了一架。几个月之后，Debbie把Charles的所有东西都扔到了大街上。Charles搬了出去，还提出跟Debbie离婚。目前知道的就是这些。
例句-2：I was waiting outside of the bank. And, through the window, I saw the robber approach the teller, pull out a gun, and demand that she hand over all the money from her drawer. Then he shot at a guard before running out the side door. Since I saw it all happen, it was easy for me to give the police a blow-by-blow description.
我当时在银行外面等人。透过窗户我看到那个抢劫犯走向出纳员，拔出一把枪，逼她把抽屉里的所有现金拿出来。之后他向警卫开枪，从侧门逃了出去。因为我一直在那，所以我能够向警察详细描述事情的全部过程。
材料来源于voachinese美国习惯用语，由普特英语搜集整理。
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