Upscale, 是高檔的，高階層的。 "An upscale community," 就是一個高檔社區。巴基斯坦首都星期一發生炸彈爆炸。 "A bomb exploded outside the Danish Embassy in an upscale area," 炸彈是在位於高階層社區的丹麥大使館外面爆炸的。 "The developer plans to turn the old castle into an upscale hotel," 開發商計劃將這座古城堡改建成一個高檔賓館。 "The upscale fashion brand aims at young career women," 這款高檔時裝品牌的銷售對象主要是年輕的職業女性。
Necessary evil, 是明知不好，但又必不可少的人或事。 "Caffeine is a necessary evil for college students," 咖啡因雖然不是什麼好東西，但卻是大學生活中不可缺少的。
房貸市場的問題，拖垮了不少貸款銀行。有人認為， "Bailing out the banks is a necessary evil," 挽救這些銀行雖然不對，但卻是必須要做的。國際石油價格高漲的今天， "Americans who drive big cars think oil is a necessary evil," 開大車的美國人認為，汽油雖然昂貴，但又離不開它。
Last-ditch, 是最後防線的意思。 "A death-row inmate pinned his last-ditch hope on the governor's pardon," 死刑犯把最後一線希望寄托於州長的特赦。 "The candidates made their last-ditch appeals for public support before the vote," 投票前，候選人最後一次爭取民眾的支持。 "The millionaire made a last-ditch bid to buy the club," 這個百萬富翁最後一次報價，希望能把俱樂部買下來。
Runaway, 是指取得巨大成功，獲得壓倒性勝利。 "A runaway winner," 搖搖領先的勝利者。 "The book is a runaway best seller," 這本書極為暢銷。 "The team scored a runaway victory in the final," 球隊在決賽中贏得了壓倒性勝利。 "The film is a runaway box-office success," 這部影片票房的賣座率極高。 "The Wii has proven to be the runaway hit of the video game industry," 任天堂生產的Wii游戲機在電子游戲行業獲得了巨大的成功。
Standstill, 是停頓的意思。 "China came to a standstill on Monday to mourn victims of the earthquake," 星期一，中國全國默哀，悼念四川大地震的死難者。 "A police chase caused an hours-long traffic standstill on a major highway," 警察的追捕行動讓一條主要高速公路上的車輛陷入了好幾個小時的停頓。 "The tourist town was brought to a standstill by roadwork this weekend," 這個旅游小鎮上周末因為修路，一切活動都陷入了停頓
take no chances，意思是謹慎行事，爭取萬無一失，比如《華盛頓郵報》的標題說: "taking no chances after terrorist plot," 指得是倫敦破獲恐怖襲擊陰謀後，華盛頓警方采取了嚴密措施，不放過任何漏洞。
我們在生活常常需要作這樣的抉擇：to take a chance or not take a chance, that is the question....你想上一個好大學，找個好工作，都需要謹慎考慮。When it comes to decision making, I take no chances. 我呢，是把各方面都考慮周全了，才作決定。不過，人有的時候也需要冒點險，這樣生活才有意思，
Uphill, 是上坡的意思，引伸為艱難的，費力的。 "An uphill battle," 就是一場艱苦的戰斗。美國民主黨總統參選人希拉裡.克林頓星期二贏得了西維吉尼亞州黨內初選的勝利。"She vowed to keep her uphill bid alive," 她發誓要將艱苦的選戰繼續下去。"Winning the case is an uphill battle," 要打贏這場官司很艱苦。
美式足球各球隊的訓練營七月份將陸續開始。"Many players will face an uphill battle to avoid being cut," 很多隊員都要經過艱苦的努力，避免被球隊淘汰。
Swell就是腫，打腫了臉充胖子的腫。可是，swell這個詞還可以用在別的場合。美國報紙在報導以色列轟炸黎巴嫩時說，以色列同意讓人道援助"...reach the swelling ranks of displaced Lebanese civilians..." - 讓人道援助抵達黎巴嫩日益增長的流離失所的民眾。
Swell還能指東西的增長。美國報紙說，華盛頓地區的房價在持續五年增長後開始下降。報導的小標題說：Inventories Swell in Parts of D.C. Region.意思是：華盛頓部分地區的房屋存貨正在增加。房價下降會吸引買主嗎？
Snag的原意是暗礁。一艘船碰到暗礁就擱淺了。所以， snag也就是障礙；什麼東西卡住了，動不了了。一個新電影在華盛頓首次演出，來了許多電影明星。報紙報導說："Then there was the traffic snag for the premiere," 電影首次演出造成交通堵塞。
共和黨想通過國會正式任命John Bolton為駐聯合國大使，但是受到阻撓 -- Republican efforts to confirm Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations hit a snag。一個年輕人看見一輛他夢寐以求的跑車，但是，His plan to buy that dream car hit a snag，因為銀行不給他貸款。I run into a snag while shopping last night，昨晚我買東西沒買成，因為忘了錢包。
美國一些女孩穿的T恤衫上印有暗示色情的字句。如：我知道男孩要什麼。這讓老師們坐立不安, The suggestive messages made the teachers uneasy。一個母親對女兒穿得袒胸露背非常生氣, "A mother was angry with her daughter's suggestive outfit." 可是你要想給老板提建議的話，你該說: I have a suggestion，絕不能用suggestive這個詞。 切記，切記
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