拿到一付很好的牌而冒一些风险似乎还是有一定的道理。可是有些人在情绪激动或者发怒的时候往往会在没有充份估计形势的情况下，不顾后果地鲁莽从事。这在英文里就是 to go overboard。 Overboard 这个字的意思是从船上掉到水中，就像一个粗心大意的水手，专心致意地忙着工作，一不小心，手没抓紧就掉下水去了。 To go overboard 作为一个习惯用语可以解释为在不顾自己安全的情况下就鲁莽地采取行动。下面我们要举的例子是一个妻子在劝她的丈夫不要轻率地作出决定：

　　例句-3:"John, let"s not go overboard and get a new car right now. With all the other expenses we have, we won"t be able to make the monthly payments."
　　这位妻子对她的丈夫说：“约翰，我们最好现在不要匆忙地买新汽车。我们手上还有其他要付的帐，我们没有能力再每个月为新汽车付还借款。”
　　To go overboard 也可以用在商业界。下面是一个股票商在对他的顾客提出一些劝告:
　　例句-4: "I wouldn"t go overboard and buy a lot of stock in that company right now. I hear their profit is down from what it was last year."
　　这位股票商说：“我现在决不会太轻率地大量买那个公司的股票。我听说他们今年的利润比去年的低了。”
　　以上我们讲了两个习惯用语，一个是 to go for broke。 To go for broke 是指竭尽全力或孤注一掷。我们今天讲的另一个俗语是 to go overboard。 To go overboard 的意思是鲁莽从事，也就是在没有很好地考虑后果的情况下就采取行动。


日期：2007-8-5　10:56:44

　　流行美语第四十二课
　　李华前段时间通过了驾驶执照的考试，现在可以自己开车了。迈可也坐在她的车里，从他们二人的对话中，李华学到了两个常用语：take it easy和to chew out。
　　L: 考完试了，现在有了驾照真好。我觉得我能够去任何地方，做任何想做的事了。
　　M: I know what you mean. American kids feel the same way when they turn 16 and get their licenses. Too bad you don"t have a car.
　　L: 那有什么关系，我可以跟你借车啊，对不对？哎呀 Hey! What do you think you are doing? Do you want to be killed? Michael，你看那个骑自行车的孩子，我差点儿撞了他！

　　M: Hey, hey, take it easy Li Hua! You really scared that kid. He looked really scared.
　　L: Michael, 你刚才说什么？什么easy?
　　M: I said take it easy! That means you need to calm down, not get too excited.
　　L: Take it easy? Take it easy是冷静下来，别太气了的意思？
　　M: That boy was almost in a very bad accident, and he was startled. You don"t need to make him feel worse.
　　L: 你说的不错，看样子他都快哭了。
　　M: Hey, Li Hua, you"re going to be driving on your own soon. I hope you learn to take it easy and not get angry at everyone.

　　L: 你说的对。要是我冷静开车的话，也许我的车会开的更好。
　　M: I"m sure you will. You just finished a difficult test. You should take it easy. Let"s go get some lunch, my treat.
　　L: 你要请客啊？行，我是应该放松放松了。我要好好享受今天剩下的时间。
　　******
　　M: Man, Li Hua, you really chewed that kid out.
　　L: 你指的是刚才骑车的那个小孩？你说我对他怎么了？
　　M: You chewed him out! I mean you yelled and got angry at him.

　　L: 你是说我发脾气大骂了那个孩子，是吧？
　　M: That"s right. If someone gets angry and yells at you, and starts criticizing your behavior, they are chewing you out.
　　L: 原来如此，我也不知道为什么我大骂那个小孩，大概是当时我也害怕的缘故。
　　M: Are you upset about something else? You seem to have a bad temper today.
　　L: 我是真有点气，因为昨天刘教授对我发脾气。因为我该教中文课， 我去晚了五分钟。他就对我大发脾气。

　　M: That"s too bad. I don"t like being chewed out like that either. Especially when I know I was wrong.
　　L: 那可不是我的错，我自行车的链子又脱落了。 为什么发生这类事情你总是怪我呢？
　　M: Hey, take it easy, Li Hua! Don"t chew me out! I was talking about myself, not you.
　　L: 我的天，是我不对，不知道我今天是怎么回事。我想跟每个人发脾气似的。
　　M: You must be stressed. First, Professor Liu chewed you out, then you almost ran over the kid on the bike.

　　L: 你说的对，我真不该对任何人都发脾气。我应该开开心心的。
　　M: At least you should be happier than I am. Yesterday, my roommate chewed me out. He said I always make a mess in the living room, and he is tired of cleaning up after me.
　　L: 也许你是把房子弄得很乱，可是你室友也不该对你发脾气啊。
　　M: He was right, though. I really need to get rid of my bad habits.
　　今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是Take it easy，意思是冷静下来，或者放轻松些。另一个是to chew out，意思是发脾气骂人。

日期：2007-8-6　9:55:07

　　「美国习惯用语」第四十三讲
　　to put your best foot forward
　　to land on your feet
　　我们在一般情况下都不太会注意我们的脚，除非你感到脚痛或有什么其他毛病。可是，脚这个字，也就是英文里的 foot 却不时出现在美国成语或俗语里，有时我们的 foot 把我们引向成功，有时却给我们带来许多麻烦，这全在于我们怎么用这个字了。
　　比如说，你正在找工作，和某个公司约好了去面谈，或者你第一次要去和一位异性会面，这个时候你就想要给他们一个好印象。这在英文里就是to put your best foot forward。为了给人造成一个好印象，也就是说to put your best foot forward，你在去面谈前肯定会尽量把衣服穿得体面一些，在和人面谈的过程中脸上还老是笑容可掬。下面这个例子就是某人在给别人出主意，如何设法给招工的单位一个好印象：

　　例句-1:Better get a haircut before you go to that job interview tomorrow. You want to put your best foot forward because there are twenty other people after the same job.
　　这个人在劝他的朋友。他说：“你明天去那个公司面谈前最好去理一下发。你得给他们一个好印象才行，因为有二十多个人都在争夺这个工作。”
　　我们再来举一个例子说明怎么样用 how to put your best foot forward：
　　例句-2:I finally got a date with that girl I"ve been trying to go out with so long. So I"m putting my best foot forward and sending her a dozen roses and a box of chocolates before I pick her up tomorrow.
　　这个人说：“我总算和那个女孩约好了明天一起出去玩，这是我长久以来所梦寐以求的。所以，我在明天去接她前先送她一打玫瑰花和一盒巧克力，这样好给她一个好印象。”
　　你难免有的时候会在生活中或工作中碰到一些麻烦和困难，可是，要是你很聪敏或者是很幸运的话，那末这些麻烦和困难都能得到解决。美国有一个俗语就是形容这种情况的。这个俗语就是to land on your feet。 To land on your feet的字面意思是：你的脚站在地上。可是它的确切含义是：你在经历了一些困难后最后又回到一个稳定的状态，也可以说是逢凶化吉了。那么，这个俗语的出处是什么呢？有的语言专家认为，这个俗语可能来自对猫的观察。你也许注意到，当一只猫从树上掉下来的时候，它表现出一种特殊的技能：它能在空中还没有落地之前调整自己身体的姿势，从而使自己平安地落地。我们来举一个例子吧：

　　例句-3:My brother Joe got fired for never coming to work on time, but he landed on his feet and found another job that paid twice as much money.
　　这个人说：“我的弟弟因老是不准时上班而被公司解雇了。可是，他倒是逢凶化吉又找到了一份工作，而且工资还加了一倍。”
　　经济问题在美国是经常发生的。下面又是一个例子：
　　例句-4: Mr. Green is one of these people who"s not afraid to put his money into some very risky investments. Sometimes he"ll lose out, but somehow he usually manages to land on his feet and find money to put into something else that makes a profit.
　　这个人说：“格林先生就是那种不怕冒很大危险去投资的人。有时，他也确实会亏本，但是他总是会逢凶化吉，找到钱去投资生财的。”

日期：2007-8-6　9:56:36

　　流行美语第四十三课
　　今天是周末，Michael和李华去打台球。李华一边玩一边还学了两个年轻人常用的词：to rule和to blow money on something.
　　L: 哎呀，我不想玩了。我老是输给你。这样玩还有什么意思啊。
　　M: Hey! You don"t need to get angry just because I rule at the pool table!
　　L: 啊？ 你在台球桌上做了什么？你是不是耍了什么花招，怕我生气啊？

　　M: Absolutely not! I said that I rule the pool table. That means that I am the best at playing pool. I can defeat anyone. Rule, R-U-L-E.
　　L: 噢，我明白了，rule在这里指的是你玩台球玩得最棒，可以打败任何人。对不对，Michael？
　　M: That"s right! I am king of the pool table! I rule!
　　L: 嘿，你不要那么得意好不好。你忘了,那天打乒乓球，你连连败在我的手下。你呀，对乒乓球这种体育运动简直是一窍不通。
　　M: Sport? Ping-pong is not a sport! It"s a game! You might rule at that little game. But I rule at pool, a man"s game!