aim high 胸怀大志

　　Frank aimed high, but achieved little

　　Dialogue:

　　Sue: You seem to be worried about something these days

　　Bob: Yeah. I'm running around in circles (忙得团团转)without achieving anything.

　　Sue: Running in circles? Maybe you aim too high and you've taken more than you can chew.

　　Bob: Maybe. but I can't tolerate doing nothing.

　　Sue: You may take a break before buckling down on (开始认真地干)your targets.

　　go ape 神魂颠倒的，发疯

　　He went ape as soon as he learned that he got the first prize.

　　Dialogue

　　Mary: Jack went ape. What's happened?

　　Lora: He made a bomb (赚大钱)in his business.

　　Mary: How come? He told me that his business had almost landed on the rocks （没有前途，没指望了）only a couple of days ago! Besides, he doesn't seem to be cut out for （天生适合干...）doing business.

　　Lora: Fools may have a fortune. And this is why he went ape when he make bundles(发大财).

　　argue someone down 驳倒某人

　　He has a glib tongue. Few people can argue him down.他有三寸不烂之舌。几乎没人能把他驳倒。

　　Frank argued the manager down, though he could hardly be convinced by any other people.

　　Most people present at the meeting argued against the measures to be taken by the local government in dealing with traffic jams.

　　Jack was punished, but most of his colleagues argued fro his actions.

　　I am the one wearing pants in the house 我当家

　　One day we invited our American friends, a couple, to our home. We had a pleasant chat. During the chat, I asked them who was in control of their family's finance. My friend's wife answered, "I am the one wearing pants in the house." Both my wife and I were very confused. We were wondering why she told me that only she wore trousers in her house when I asked who was in charge of the money I their family. A few pointers (指点，暗示)from my friend made us suddenly see the light. It turned out that what she meant was "I am in charge."

　　It's up in the air 尚未确定

　　Once I met an old friend of mine at the school's celebration meeting. Hence it was quite natural that we had a talk.

　　"I am going to be transferred to another school," said my friend.

　　"When?" I asked.

　　"It's up in the air," she answered.

　　I felt rather confused and wondered why she said it was "up in the air".

　　Finding I looked puzzled, my friend knew that I did not understand what she meant. So she explained to me with the help of gestures.

　　Finally I got the point that "It's up in the air" meant "It is uncertain".

　　cost an arm and a leg 付出过高的代价

　　Eating in the restaurants in this street will cost you an arm and a leg.

　　Buying an apartment in Beijing will cost you an arm and a leg

　　Dialogue

　　Sandra: I say, Frank. Have you thought about changing the bed sets(床上用品)？

　　Frank: Well, I've actually been thinking of discarding them.

　　Sandra: And have you thought about where we should go for the new sets?

　　Frank: Well, I need to shop around a bit before I can decide.

　　Sandra: How about the Johns' in the Fifth Street?

　　Frank: The Johns'? They will cost you an arm and a leg. You have to pay through the nose（为买...付出过高的代价；被敲竹杠）， you know?

　　Sandra: But their quality is first rate.

　　Frank: I know. And their price is first rate, too.

　　keep someone at arm's length与某人保持距离

　　She said that she couldn't put her finger on why everyone in the company should keep her at arm's length. 她说他搞不清楚为何公司里的人都不愿已接近他。
　　If you've kept her at arm's length, she wouldn't be able to et hold of your weakness and take advantage of you.

　　touch someone on the raw.触及某人的痛处

　　The question asked by the Japanese lady seemed to have touched the president on the raw, and it had almost driven him on the wall.

　　那位日本妇女向总统提出个问题，这一问就好像触及了总统的痛处，并把他逼上了绝境。

　　When with friends, people always try to avoid the topics that would possibly touch them on the raw.

　　Your acid comment made him lose face and the question you raised had touched him on the raw.

　　You should avoid offending him by touching him on the raw.