（通过语境学习原汁原味的美国英语成语）
—Learning Western Culture Bit by Bit
否极泰来、大病初愈、天上掉馅饼、大难不死、虎口脱险等等说法，都在一定程度上体现出运势好转给人们带来的欣喜和慰藉。这种情绪体验也可从Harry CoⅠIis 收录的10个美国英语成语中略见一斑。请看：
1.for a song(＝for very little money) 便宜，廉价
Sara, I picked up the perfect chair for the living room the other day.
That's wonderful. I know you've been looking for some time. Where did you finally come across what you wanted?
I was really quite lucky. I got it for a song at a little furniture store. I was able to buy it for very little money because the owners of the store were right in the middle of their spring liquidation sale.
萨拉，前几天我为起居室挑选了一把完美的椅子。
那太好了。我知道你已经寻找有一段时间了。你最终在哪里找到了你想要的东西？
我真的很幸运。我是在一家小家具店买的。我用很便宜的价钱就买到了，因为老板正在进行春季中期清仓大甩卖。
2.make a spⅠash(＝
be successful and attract attention)成功，吸引眼球
Do you remember Andre and Jack?
Yes, I do. Weren't they working together on some kind of a novel?
That's right. It was finally published and I understand that it made quite a splash both domestically and abroad.
That's great news! They're both talented and hard-working. It's good to hear that the book was so successful and attracted such a great deal of attention.
你还记得安德烈和杰克吗？
是的，我知道。他们不是在一起写什么小说吗？
没错。这本书终于出版了。据我所知，小说在国内外都引起了轰动。
这是个好消息！他们既有才华又干劲十足。很高兴听到这本书如此成功，引起了这么大的轰动。
3.have the world by the taiⅠ(＝be successful and happy) 成功快乐
Marc finished school at the top of his class and he was offered an excellent position with an accounting firm.Now he feels that he has the world by the tail. Everything has been working out for him lately, and it's no wonder that he's feeling so successful and happy.
马克以全班第一的成绩毕业后，在一家会计师事务所得到了一个很好的职位。现在他仿佛觉得自己是世界上最成功的人。
他最近哪方面都一帆风顺的，难怪他感到如此成功快乐。
4.sitting pretty(＝in a fortunate position) 处境优越，处于优势
I heard that Michael and Jennifer got a good price when they sold their house.
Yes, they did. Now they're really sitting pretty. As a matter of fact, they're thinking of going on a long vacation.
I wish I were in such a fortunate position. I haven't had a vacation in years.
我听说迈克尔和詹妮弗的房子卖了个好价钱。
是的，他们的房子的确卖得好。现在他们相当有优越感。事实上，他们正在考虑去度长假。
我要是有这么幸运就好了。我已经好几年没去度假了。
5.feeI Ⅰike a miIIion doIIars(＝feel wonderful)感觉爽快
I bumped into Nick at the barbershop yesterday. He looked great, but I noticed that he had a slight limp when he walked.
I guess you didn't know that he had an operation on his knee.
No, I didn't. How's he feeling?
He says he's feeling like a million dollars now. Apparently the pain in his knee is all gone.
It's good that he's feeling so wonderful. It must be a refreshing change not having to put up with all that discomfort.
昨天我在理发店碰见了尼克。他看起来不错，但我注意到他走路时有点瘸。
我猜你不知道他膝盖做过手术。
还真不知道呢。他感觉怎么样？
他说他现在感觉爽呆了。显然他膝盖的疼痛已经完全消失。
他感觉好就对了。有了这种爽快的感觉变化，他再也不必忍受手术带来的不适了。
6.kick up one's heels( ＝celebrate) 庆祝
The prerequisites for admission to the Theater Arts School are quite demanding, and those students who were finally accepted had reason to kick up their heels. It was only natural that those who made it through the exams and interviews would want to celebrate the occasion by going out and having a good time.
进入戏剧艺术学校的先决条件非常苛刻，最终被录取的学生有足够的理由弹冠相庆。那些通过考试和面试的人想出去嗨皮嗨皮来庆祝这一时刻，太自然不过了。
7.bury the hatch(＝make peace ) 和解
Somebody told me that you and Doug had been quarreling over the construction site of the new building.
That's true, but we worked out the problem and decided to bury the hatchet.
Glad to hear that. You guys have always worked well together.
Well, once we came to the conclusion that we both had the same goal in mind, we put an end to our bitter feelings and made peace with each other.
有人告诉我，你和道格一直在为新大楼修建的具体位置争吵。
有这回事，但我们已经想法解决了问题，双方已经和解。
很高兴听到这个消息。你们一直合作得很好。
这样说吧，一旦我们就共同目标达成一致，我们就会化干戈为玉帛，结束不愉快的过去。
8.paint the town red( ＝carouse and have a good time) 狂欢作乐
How did you enjoy your vacation to Europe last summer?
It was marvelous. I'll never forget the time we had when we were in Rome. There was no end to things to see and do.
And how was the night life?
Great! We painted the town red the first three nights we were there.
Didn't that get to be pretty expensive?
I guess so, but we were so excited by all that the city had to offer that we went out carousing without thinking about the cost.
去年夏天你去欧洲度假过得怎么样？
真是太棒了。我永远不会忘记我们在罗马的时光。风光旖旎，马不停蹄。
夜生活怎么样？
太棒了！头三个晚上，我们都在狂欢。
那不是很贵吗？
我想是的，但我们对这座城市所提供的一切感到非常兴奋，以至于我们狂欢时压根儿就没考虑过成本。
9.get away cⅠean(＝escape punishment) 逍遥法外
After robbing a neighborhood bank, the robbers sped off in a waiting car and got away clean. In spite of all police efforts to apprehend them, the criminals were never caught and punished for their crime.
劫匪抢劫附近的一家银行后，坐上一辆等候的车飞快逃走了。尽管警方竭尽全力要将他们逮捕，但这些罪犯一直逍遥法外。
10.come aⅠive(＝brighten up and become active) 精神重新振作
Up to now the guests at the party had been eating and making small talk, but when the rock band arrived, everyone came alive. When the band started playing all the latest rock hits, everybody brightened up and became very active.
到目前为止，聚会上的客人一直在吃饭和聊天，但当摇滚乐队到来时，每个人都重新振作起来。当乐队开始演奏所有最新的摇滚乐时，每个人都活跃得跟打了鸡血似的。
声明：本文根据Harry CoIⅠis 著《101个美国英语成语》相关章节编译。如有侵权，联系删除。欢迎阅读！感谢关注！持续推送中。
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