1. grunt work 繁重、乏味的劳动
2. the guilties 内疚
3. gussy up 精心打扮；翻新
4. gut course 容易读的大学课程
5. gutsy 勇敢的；结实的
6. hack around 无所事事，游手好闲
7. haimish 平易近人的， 亲切随和的
8. in half a shake 一会儿
9. hammer man 实权人物
10. hand it to someone （勉强地）甘拜某人的下风
11. handout 施舍
12. hands-off 不干涉，旁观
13. hang around 混日子
14. hang around with someone 经常和某人在一起
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习惯用语
1. go mooning 披星戴月
2. take pains for… 为……吃苦
3. bring home the bacon 养家糊口
4. a gravy train 赚大钱的机会
5. take a good care of… 好好照顾
6. not have the heart to… 不忍心……
7. not take… too much to heart 不要过分在意……
8. be satisfied with… 满足于……
9. sit pretty 享清福
10. make something a hit 把某事干得很好
11. be big on… 特别喜欢
12. A growth subject 很有前途的研究课题
13. turn the tables 反过手来
14. give in to… 让步于……
15. Like father, like son. 有其父必有其子
16. carry things through 把事情做完、做到底
17. thank one’s lucky stars 感到万幸
18. work against time 争分夺秒
19. work overtime 超时工作，加班
20. work around the clock 没日没夜的工作
21. let up 休息一下；缓和下来
22. go to pieces 身心崩溃
23. be hot-tempered 性情急躁的
24. easy-going 随和的
25. the spitting image of someone 和某人一模一样
26. see someone in his flesh 亲眼看看某人
27. be cut out for… 天生适合干……
28. the milk of human kindness 人情味
29. be wishy-washy 没有主见的
30. the making of… 干……的天分，素质
31. a man of man 杰出的人，了不起的人
32. be one notch above… 比……略胜一筹
33. put someone in the shade 使某人相形见绌
34. be equal to… 等于；比得上……
35. be neck and neck 相差无几
36. men of guts 有骨气的人
37. think light of… 看不起……
38. a born achiever 天生有成就的人
39. give someone a free hand 让某人自由行事
40. poke one’s nose into… 乱干涉……
41. You can take the horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink. 不要强人所难 。
42. be misled 被误导
43. do great harm to… 有害于 ……
44. see the writings on the wall 发现事情不妙，看到危险信号
45. nip something in the bud 将某事消灭在萌芽状态
46. go astray 步入歧途
47. go off the beams 走错方向，步入歧途
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A: I hear that your husband is always going mooning（披星戴月）.
B: Yeah. He’s been taking pains for（为……吃苦）the family. He is the only one that brings home the bacon（养家糊口的人）.
A: What does he do? His job must be on a gravy train（赚大钱的机会）.
B: By no means. He’s on sort of grunt work, a very hash job.
A: You must be talking a good care of（好好照顾）him and all the house work.
B: You are right. I don’t have the heart to （不忍心）let him do anything in the house, and I still have the guilties（内疚）. Sometimes I feel very miserable.
A: I share your feelings. Life’s hard. And you have taken pains, too.
B: It’s all right with me, but I feel miserable for John.
A: Don’t take that too much to heart（不要太往心里去）. Understanding and recognition are enough to make John feel the satisfaction and warmth.
B: He’s satisfied with（满足）the family, but not with the life of us. He wants the kids to enjoy what other kids have and wants me to gussy up and dressed decently.
A: Tell him that self-satisfaction is more than the material comfort.
B: I told him many times, but he still has the guilties on his inability to make us sit pretty（享清福）.
A: Are your children going to school?
B: Joe is at college. Ann is still in high school.
A: What is Joe’s major（专业）?
B: His major is economics. He doesn’t seem to have made it a hit （学得不好）. He doesn’t like it, in fact. He wanted to take a gut course. He is big on（特别喜欢）literature.
A: Well, economics is a growth subject（有前途的研究课题）. Maybe he will help the family turn the table（扭转乾坤）.
B: He’s a gutsy man, just like his father. He never gives in to（让步于）difficulties.
A: Like father, like son（有其父必有其子）. He must be a man with good prospects.
B: I don’t know, but he does seem to have the confidence and determination to carry things through（把事情做到底） .
A: You really should thank your stars（感到万幸）for having such a good son. Many young people just hack around, without doing anything useful.
B: Joe is a diligent boy. He seldom hacks around. He works against time（抢时间，争分夺秒）.
A: That’s a great comfort to a parent, but you must make sure he does not work overtime （过度劳累）. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy（劳逸不结合，好人也便呆）.
B: I’ve told him many times not to overwork himself, but he just can’t seem to help it（控制不住）. Sometimes he works around the clock（没日没夜地工作）. Maybe he has much pressure in his studies.
A: He must let up（休息休息）a bit, or he’ll be going to pieces（身心崩溃）. By the way, what about his personality? Many workaholics are aggressive and hot-tempered（性情急躁）.
B: Joe does not belong to that type. He’s a haimish（平易近人的） guy, a rather easy-going（随和的）type. He’s the spitting image of his father（和他爸爸一样）, you know?
A: I’d really like to see Joe in his flesh（亲眼看看本人长的怎么样子）. I’ve never seen him.
B: He’ll be here in half a shake. You don’t know how haimish he is.
A: He must be cut out for（天生适合） learning economics. Many economists are just like Joe.
B: He’s full of the milk of human kindness（人情味）. He doesn’t look like a great scholar.
A: If he’s not a great scholar（大学者）, he must be a hammer man in the future. Our society depends on economists.
B: But he doesn’t seem to be cut out for becoming a hammer man. He’s too easy going.
A: Not wishy-washy（没主见的）, I suppose.
B: No. He is a gutsy man. He is a man full of ideas of his own（很有主见的人）.
A: That’s the making of（天分，素质）a hammer man. Joe is indeed a hammer man. He gives me the expression（给人一种印象）of a man of determination and wits. I always thought that my son Mark is a man of man（杰出的人）, but now I hand it to Joe. He is one notch above（略胜一筹）Mark.
B: I’m glad to hear that. But Mark is an excellent man. He’s very capable and intelligent.
A: Well, he is capable and intelligent, but he’s not as great as Joe. In some respects Joe puts him in the shade（使其相形见绌）.
B: Don’t be too humble（自谦的）. Few young men could be equal to（比得上）Mark. And in some respects Joe and Mark are neck and neck（相差无几）.
A: I agree. Both Joe and Mark are men of guts（有骨气的人）. My son refuses to live on handouts（施舍）.
B: Joe doesn’t like the idea of living on any handout. He’s a very independent person.
A: I know. And Mark thinks light of（看不起）those who rely on other people.
B: It’s good of him. And he seems to be very capable of doing things. John says he’s a born achiever（天生有成就的人）.
A: Well, he does many things hands down. He’s indeed very capable and flexible.
B: Does his father give him a free hand（让他自由行事）in his business?
A: In most cases he does. But sometimes he asks him to keep his hands off. He doesn’t like Mark to poke his nose into（乱干涉）it.
B: I understand that. Most fathers don’t like their children to involve in their business.
A: There’s also a problem. Young people lack ideas and they need guidance. If they have nothing to work on, they might hang around and make trouble.
B: But if parents give them the guidance, the might object to it. You can take the horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink（强人所难）, you know?
A: That’s true. But sometimes it does good to involve the kids in things that may help to arouse their enthusiasm and interest in things we want them to do.
B: I think you have hit the nail on the head（把话说到点子上）. If we let the kids hang around with their peers and do not involve them in things that we want them to do, they might be easily misled（被误导）. That will do great harm to （有害于）them and the family.
A: That’s right. My son used to hang around with a gang. But my husband saw the writing on the wall（发现事情不妙）and we nipped it in the bud（将其消灭在萌芽状态）.
B: That’s what parents always take care to do. We can’t let them go astray（步入歧途）.
A: No, we can’t. We must make sure that the kids do not go off the beams（步入歧途）.
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