【Speak English Like An American】Lesson 19

Nicole’s Close Election

Nicole loses the election at school. She doesn’t want to accept it, so she looks for excuses. Ted encourages her to accept defeat and move on.

Nicole: I lost the election by a hair —just 10 votes! But I’m not giving up.

Ted:Give me a break, Nicole. You lost. Live with it!

Nicole: But I was a sure thing! If I hadn’t stayed up so late baking cookies, I wouldn’t have messed up my speech.

Ted:Get real, Nicole.

Nicole: It’s your fault, Ted. I lost because your friends didn’t vote for me!

Ted: Don’t try to put the blame on me! I gave it my best shot.

Nicole: They must’ve made a mistake while counting the votes. I’ll demand a re-count on Monday and set the record straight.

Ted: Don’t make a fool of yourself, Nicole. Face it, Andrea won the election fair and square!

Nicole:Well, I just don’t know where I went wrong.

Susan: Here, take a chocolate chip cookie. That’ll cheer you up for sure!

Idioms

by a hair-just barely; very narrowly; by a small amount 差一点

EXAMPLE 1: Larry won the bicycle race by a hair. The second-place winner came in just a second behind him.

Example 2: Was the tennis ball in or out? I think it was out by a hair. You know the old saying: “When in doubt, call it out!”

(to) cheer up - see Lesson 6 振奋

Face it一see Lesson 1 面对现实

fair and square — honestly 正大光明，诚实地

Example 1: Did George Bush win the 2000 presidential election fair and square? That depends on whether you ask a Democrat or a Republican!

Example 2: Tony won the ping pong tournament fair and square.

for sure – definitely 毫无疑问

EXAMPLE 1: This year, Tom Cruise will win an Academy Award for sure.

EXAMPLE 2: Mike is the most popular guy in school. If he runs for student body president, he’ll win for sure.

Get real - see Lesson 3 现实点

 (to) give it one’s best shot — to try as hard as one can 尽最大能力

EXAMPLE 1: Courtney lost the race, but at least she gave it her best shot.

 EXAMPLE 2: I know you’re nervous about the interview. Just give it your best shot and see what happens.

give me a break一see Lesson 14 拜托，饶了我吧

 (to) give up - to admit defeat; to surrender 承认失败

Example 1: Bill gave up golf after realizing he’d never be good at it.

Example 2: I know you’re 100 points ahead of me, but I still might win the Scrabble game. I’m not giving up yet!

(to) go wrong - to make a mistake; to go astray; to malfunction; to work incorrectly 出错

EXAMPLE 1: Follow the directions I gave you, and you can’t go wrong.

EXAMPLE 2: Something went wrong with my neighbor’s car alarm system, and the alarm wouldn’t stop ringing all night.

(to) live with it — to accept a difficult reality 容忍

EXAMPLE 1: Your boss is an idiot. Live with it.

EXAMPLE 2: Your hair will never be straight. Just live with it!

Note: There is also the expression “to learn to live with it,” which means to get used to something annoying or difficult.

Example: Sandra knew that Roger would always throw his dirty clothes on the floor. She’d just have to learn to live with it.

(to) make a fool of oneself — to cause oneself to look stupid 出丑，出洋相

Example 1: Dan drank too much and then made a fool of himself.

Example 2: Please stop arguing with me in front of all these people. You’re making a fool of yourself!

(to) mess up - to make a mistake; to spoil an opportunity 搞砸

EXAMPLE 1: Amber messed up and put salt instead of sugar in the cookies.

EXAMPLE 2: Ted really messed up on his chemistry test. He got a “D.”

SYNONYM:screw up [slang]

(to) put the blame on (someone) -to name somebody else as responsible for a misdeed or misfortune 归咎于某人

Example 1: Mrs. Lopez put the blame on her husband for losing their life savings in thestock market.

Example 2: Don’t put the blame on me that your plants died while you were on vacation.You forgot to tell me to water them!

(to) set the record straight - to correct an inaccurate account 澄清问题，弄清真相

Example 1: Ken knew his father was innocent, and he hoped he could set the record straight one day.

EXAMPLE 2: Let me set the record straight. I won the last game.

sure thing - an outcome that is assured 必然要发生的事情

Example 1: Gary bet all his money on a horse named Trixie, thinking she was a surething.

Example 2: Nicole has a good chance of getting accepted to Yale, but it’s still not asure thing.

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