1. a lame duck 不能继续任职的人，没有前途的人
2. land up 结束，终结
3. be large for something 特别喜欢某事
4. laugh the other side of one’s face 呻吟；转喜为悲
5. lead someone down the garden path 欺骗某人；使某人上当
6. a lemon 令人不满意或有缺陷的东西
7. let one’s hair down 尽情做某事
8. see which way the cat jumps 看看形势再说
9. lick one’s chops 眼巴巴地等待着
10. feel like a million bucks感觉好极了
11. long in the tooth 年老的，上了年纪的
12. look down one’s nose 盛气凌人；小看某人
13. louse up 毁坏或糟蹋
14. make a killing 赚大钱，发大财
15. make a play for 企图得到，勾引，卖弄
------------------------------------------
习惯用语
1. put an end to… 使……结束
2. be in the way 妨碍
3. a dog in the manager 自己不用又不让别人用的人
4. have a big drag with someone 在某人面前很吃得开
5. give someone enough rope to hang himself 让某人自取灭亡；自杀
6. abuse one’s power 滥用自己的职权
7. One’s days are numbered. 兔子的尾巴长不长了。
8. get rid of… 摆脱
9. be beside oneself 忘乎所以
10. ride on one’s high horse 趾高气扬
11. get due punishment 得到应有的惩罚
12. be enthusiastic about… 热衷于……
13. come to someone’s favor 得到某人的欢心
14. faulty goods 次品
15. PC 个人电脑
16. get conned 上当
17. claim a refine 要求退款
18. jump down someone’s throat 把某人气得半死
19. pass the buck 推卸责任
20. one’s upper notch 某人的上级主管
21. one’s last straw 某人的最后一招
22. be worried stiff 快急死了
23. in a happy frame of mind 心情愉快地
24. Misfortune never comes singly. 祸不单行
25. be fragile 脆弱的
26. be prone to… 易于……
27. be in the pink of health 身体很健康
28. pay attention to… 注意……
29. at the expense of something 以某事为代价
30. go to pieces 身心崩溃
31. regret about … 后悔……
32. be after nothing but bucks 只追求金钱
33. be envious of… 羡慕，眼热……
34. go through fire and water 赴汤蹈火
35. luck is not going for one 某人的运气不佳
36. be on the gravy train 有赚大钱的好机会
37. splash one’s money about 挥霍钱
38. the downfall 使人垮台或完蛋的东西
----------------------------------
A: I don’t know when Frank’s power can be put to an end（使结束）. He’s in the way（妨碍）of the reform.
B: Yeah. He’s a dog in the manager（自己不用又不让别人用的人）. But he will soon become a lame duck（没有前途的人）.
A: It seems unlikely. He has a big drag（关系特别好）with the upper notch（上司）.
B: Believe me. His upper notch is only giving him enough rope to hang himself（自取灭亡）.
A: We all hope that he will land up resigned. He’s been abusing his power（滥用职权）.
B: You bet his sun is setting. His days are numbered（兔子的尾巴长不了的）.
A: I get a great kick out of hearing that. We should get rid of（摆脱）such an inefficient man.
B: You’re right. We should not let such a man occupy a leading position（领导地位）.
A: He’s been large for his influence as the factory boss. He’s almost beside himself（忘乎所以）and always rides on his high horse（趾高气扬）.
B: But he will soon be sorry for his lost position. He will get due punishment（得到应有的报应）.
A: Yeah. He’ll soon laugh the other side of his face.
B: He should have that coming on him. He will soon know his own fate.
A: What if he makes a sudden change and becomes enthusiastic about（热衷于）his work?
B: That’s unlikely. He doesn’t know he has lost his popularity.
A: But he’s good at cultivating those who have bigger power. He may come to their favor（得到他们的欢心）and get what he aims at.
B: He can’t lead anyone down the garden path. Every man in the upper leading position will not appreciate a useless man like him.
A: We’d better not worry about that. Let’s talk about something else.
B: All right. It indeed makes me choked talking about people of his sort. But there are many other things that also keep annoying me.
A: Depends on how you look at them, of course. You’ll have to learn to be tolerant.
B: How can I be tolerant? Some goods you buy turn out to be a lemon.
A: You must have bought some faulty goods（次品）again.
B: Yeah! I bought a lemon（令人不满意的或有缺陷的东西） computer. It doesn’t work as well as they have demonstrated.
A: You bought another PC（个人电脑）? I remember that you bought one about three years ago.
B: I gave it to my niece on her birthday. So I bought another one. I got conned（上当了）.
A: But you can return it and claim a refine（要求退款）.
B: I did. But the shop assistants just let their hair down and kept talking among themselves. They jumped down my throat9把我气得半死）, you know?
A: That’s a problem. But you can talk to the boss. He can’t pass the buck（推卸责任）, can he?
B: But I can hardly afford the time（花不起时间）. It’s too troublesome a thing!
A: If I were you, I wouldn’t give up（放弃）.
B: Well, I’ve registered a claim and I just want to see which way the cat jumps.
A: They can’t ignore the claim. I’m sure you will get an answer.
B: I’ve actually been licking my chops. But still they haven’t given me a reply.
A: Well, I’ve got an idea. Go to see their upper notch（他们的上级主管）and you may get it solved.
B: I’ve thought about that, actually. Well, that’s my last straw（最后一招了）, I’m afraid.
A: Any news from them about the computer?
B: Yeah. Their upper notch finally helped to get it solved. They sent me a new one with an apology.
A: I’m glad the problem is finally solved. You must feel happy.
B: Yeah. I feel like a million ducks. I was indeed worried stiff（快急死了）.
A: There’s always a way to solve a problem. Now you can get settled and start on something else in a happy frame of mind（心情愉快地）.
B: In a happy frame of mind? I’ll have to go to the hospital. My father is hospitalized for ailments.
A: Misfortune never comes singly（祸不单行）. Is there anything serious?
B: No. He’s long in the tooth. Many aged people have the problem. But I must go and take care of him.
A: That’s another problem. People long in the tooth are very fragile（脆弱的）. They are prone to（特别容易）get diseases.
B: That’s true. You see, when he was in the pink of health（身体很健康）, he tended to look down his nose at those weak people, but now he sees health as being more important than other things.
A: One never realizes how important health is until he loses it.
B: You’re right. We treasure little what we have（不珍惜已有的东西）and crave what we haven’t.
A: Young people in particular seldom pay their attention to（注意）their health. Sometimes, they do other things even at the expense（以某事为代价）of their own health.
B: When they have loused it up and are going to pieces（身心崩溃）, they regret about（后悔）what they have done. But it’s too late to mend.
A: I know a man. He’s Robert. He was after nothing but bucks（只追求金钱）. He was envious of（羡慕，眼热）people who were making a killing, so he went into business, wishing to do the same. As a result, he didn’t get anywhere and his health suffered a great deal.
B: There’re many guys like him. They go through fire and water （赴汤蹈火）, only to find that luck is not going for（运气不佳）them.
A: Not everyone is on the gravy train（有赚大钱的好机会）, of course.
B: Of course not. But some guys just like to make a play for great possession of wealth.
A: Some people are aiming at other things. They make a play or feminine favor. And when they’ve got the money, they would splash it about（挥霍）on them.
B: That’s the downfall（完蛋）for many men. And they know how bitter the fruit（苦果）is.
---------------------------------------------------------------
To be continue…………………………………………………………