英语口语-坐立不安

 　　have ants in one’s pants¹:

　　看到这个短语，很多人已经都差不多猜出它的意思了，“坐立不安”，因为蚂蚁要是进入裤子里，身体肯定会乱动，站也不是，坐也不是。这个表达法一般在特别想做什么事情或者怀着焦虑或期望等待什么的场合使用。比如：

　　When the man who had² promised³ to bring the money at lunch time hadn’t appeared⁴ by one-thirty, we all had ants in our pants.

　　那个人约定在午饭时间把钱拿来，等到一点半他还不见人影儿，我们大家都像热锅上的蚂蚁稳不住神了。

　　另外get pants in one’s pants也可表达相同的意思，比如：

　　Husbands⁵ often get ants in their pants while⁶ their wives⁷ are getting ready to go out.

　　当妻子在外出前久梳洗打扮的时候她们的丈夫总是等得不耐烦，坐立不安。

　　Let’s eat. The children are starting to get ants in their pants.

　　我们吃吧，孩子们已开始等得不耐烦，都坐不住了。

　　wear the pants in the family:

　　用通俗点的话就是“当家”。比如：

　　Most men make it very clear⁸ to their wives who wear pants in the family.

　　大多数男人都会向妻子明确家里谁当家。

　　如果自己认为已经说的很清楚，但是妻子却不听从，丈夫就要大喊大叫了：

　　I told you I wear the pants in the family.

　　我已经跟你讲过了，这个家我说的算，你别忘了这一点。

　　不过，最近下面的情况已经不足为奇：

　　Mrs. Smith seems⁹ to wear the pants in her family.

　　史密斯家似乎由太太当家。

　　另外需要注意的是在英式英语中要把pants改为trousers。

　　be caught with one’s pants down:

　　在口语中表示“措手不及，陷入囧境”。

　　She shouldn’t have entered¹⁰ the bedroom without knocking¹¹. I was¹² caught with my pants down.

　　她不敲门就走进卧室，实在太不应该了。我还没来得及提裤子呢。

　　We hadn’t expected¹³ a test before finals¹⁴ so we were caught with our pants down when the professor¹⁵ gave¹⁶ us a pop¹⁷ quiz¹⁸ today.

　　我们没有想到在期末考试之前还会有考试，因此，今天老师搞突然袭击进行测验时，我们都被弄得措手不及。

1 pants   

n.(pl)裤子，短裤

参考例句：

• This is a pair of pants.这是一条裤子。
• What color are his pants?他的裤子是什么颜色？

2 had   

vbl.have的过去式和过去分词；conj.有

参考例句：

• I just had a good idea!我有个好主意！
• The boy had a small branch of a tree in his hand.这个男孩手上拿一条小树枝。

3 promised   

vt.& vi.(promise的过去式或过去分词形式)；承诺；允诺；答应v.允诺( promise的过去式和过去分词 )；答应；有…希望；预示

参考例句：

• He promised to avenge his father's murder. 他发誓要报杀父之仇。
• They embraced and promised to keep in touch. 他们互相拥抱，许诺将保持联系。

4 appeared   

v.出现( appear的过去式和过去分词 )；出庭（作证或受审）；演出；发表

参考例句：

• Her beauty appeared ageless. 她的美显得经久不衰。
• He appeared at breakfast bleary-eyed and with a hangover. 他吃早餐时两眼迷糊，宿醉未醒。

5 husbands   

n.丈夫( husband的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many of her women friends also had domineering husbands. 她的女性朋友中，好多人的丈夫也都很专横。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Husbands are discouraged from voting as proxy for their wives. 不主张丈夫代妻子投票。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 while   

conj.当…的时候；而；虽然；尽管 n.一会儿

参考例句：

• In a short while,the cat ate up the fish.不久，那只猫便将鱼吃个精光。
• He teaches English in the school all the while.他一直在这所学校里教英语。

7 wives   

n.妇人；妻子( wife的名词复数 )v.娶妻( wive的第三人称单数 )；嫁；与…结婚

参考例句：

• Husbands are discouraged from voting as proxy for their wives. 不主张丈夫代妻子投票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All are good lasses,but whence come the bad wives? 姑娘个个好，泼妇何处来？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 clear   

vt.清除，扫清；adj.清晰的，明白的；晴朗的；清澈的，明亮的；畅通的，无阻的

参考例句：

• Clear the snow from the road.清除马路上的积雪。
• Is that clear to everyone?大家都明白了么？

9 seems   

v.好像，仿佛( seem的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She seems to feel ambivalent about her new job. 她似乎对新工作忧喜参半。
• Her return to the team now seems a certainty. 她的归队现在似乎已成定局。

10 entered   

v.进入( enter的过去式和过去分词 )；进去；参加；登记

参考例句：

• The jet entered Chinese airspace without permission. 那架喷气式飞机未经允许闯入中国领空。
• Please check that your surname and forenames have been correctly entered. 请核对你的姓名已正确输入。

11 knocking   

n.爆震音，卡答卡答的故障声音v.敲，击，打( knock的现在分词 )；（心）怦怦跳；把…撞击成（某种状态）；批评

参考例句：

• The newspapers are too fond of knocking the team. 报纸专爱挖苦那个队。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I could hear knocking, as if someone wanted out. 我听到敲门声，好像有人想要出去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

13 expected   

adj.（用作定语）预期要发生的，期待中的v.期望( expect的过去式和过去分词 )；预料；要求；认为（某事）会发生

参考例句：

• The company has a strict dress code—all male employees are expected to wear suits. 公司有严格的着装规定—所有男职员都要穿西服。
• The bargain prices are expected to entice customers away from other stores. 低廉的价格意在把顾客从其他商店吸引过来。

14 finals   

[体]决定性的比赛

参考例句：

• Cage is studying for the English finals. 凯奇正在准备英语期终考试。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our team just scraped into the semi-finals. 我们的队勉强挤进半决赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 professor   

n.教授，公开表示信仰的人

参考例句：

• He is famous as a professor.他作为教授享有盛名。
• I happen to know that professor.我正好认识那位教授。

16 gave   

vbl.（give的过去式）给予，产生，发表

参考例句：

• He asked for money and I gave him some.他要钱，我给了他一些。
• I gave you a map so you wouldn't get lost. 我给你一张地图，这样你就不会迷路了。

17 pop   

n.取出，砰然声，流行乐曲；adj.流行的，热门的，通俗的；v.取出，发出爆裂声，突然伸出

参考例句：

• She is a lead singer in a pop group.她是流行歌曲演唱团体的最重要的歌手。
• I know nothing about pop music.我对流行音乐一无所知。

18 quiz   

n.智力竞赛；测验，小型考试

参考例句：

• They are having a quiz now.他们正进行小测验。
• He took part in a television quiz and won a prize.他参加了一个电视知识竞赛并得了奖。