第一， 迷你对话

　　A: I heard that housing prices will drop in the near future.

　　我听说不久房价会跌下来。

　　B: I think they are just dangling a carrot in front of us.

　　我觉得这只不过在我们面前说空话。

　　第二， 地道表达

　　dangle a carrot

　　1. 解词释义

　　Dangle a carrot中的dangle意为“使摇晃着悬挂”，carrot是指“胡萝卜”，其字面意思是“是胡萝卜摇晃着悬挂着”，比喻为“开空头支票”“以实现不了的诺言诱惑”。用来指一个人承诺了一件事情，可是让其他人觉得他无法做到。俚语词典解释道：To dangle a carrot in front of someone means to tempt someone with an item that is not attainable.

　　2. 拓展范例

　　e.g. My boss promised me a raise but I know he is just dangling a carrot in front of me.

　　老板许诺要给我加薪，可我知道他是在开空头支票。

　　e.g. Dad is trying to persuade Jim by dangling the carrot of higher allowance.

　　爸爸以增加零用钱为饵企图说服吉姆。

　　e.g. The boss told me lf I perform well on the job; we’ll talk about a salary increase next year. But I think he's just dangling a carrot in front of me.

　　老板告诉我，如果我工作表现出色，明年加工资就有商量了。但我想他这不过是开了一张空头支票。

　　第三， 咬文嚼字

　　1. in the near future：在不久的将来

　　e.g. She would miss the company of men in the near future.

　　在最近的将来，她没有机会和男人接触。

　　e.g. I believe man will conquer the weather in the near future.

　　我相信人类在不久的将来将征服天候。

　　2. in front of sb.：在某人面前，当着某人的面

　　e.g. He enjoys posturing in front of an audience.

　　他喜欢在观众面前装腔作势。

　　e.g. The good harvest scene emerges in front of us.

　　丰收景象在我们面前展现出来。

　　3. housing prices是指“房价”。口头上经常说“房价跌了。”就可以这样说：The housing prices is dropping.