第一， 迷你对话

A: Congratulations. You have been elected.

祝贺你当选。

B: Thank you. I’ll be a good mayor.

谢谢，我会做一名好市长的。

A: What should you do for the city.

你应该为这座城市做些什么呢？

B: I’ll try to keep an ear to the ground first and then try my best to deal with everything well.

首先，我会注意人的想法，然后尽力去处理好没件事情。

第二， 地道表达

keep an ear to the ground

1. 解词释义

Keep an ear to the ground的意思是“保持高度警觉”。

2. 拓展范例

e.g. Every two weeks while the Congress is in session ， I try to get back home to California to talk to people. This doesn't give me much time to relax with my family ， but I have to keep an ear to the ground and hear what voters are thinking about.

当国会举行会议的时候我每两个星期设法抽空回加州一次去和当地的人进行交谈。我没有多少时间可以和家人在一起，但是我得及时了解选民的想法。

e.g. I try to keep an ear to the ground and what I hear these days is that most people think we spend too much money on building roads and not enough on our schools.

我总是设法注意人们的想法。最近我听说，大多数人认为我们在筑路方面花钱太多，而用在学校方面的钱却不足。

e.g. Reporters keep an ear to the ground so as to know as soon as possible what will happen.

记者们注意舆论的动向，以便尽早知道将要发生的事情。

e.g. When we want to know what the students are thinking about the authorities, we only have to consult Smith, who effectively keeps an ear to the ground.

我们想知道学生们对当局有何看法时，只需请教史密斯，他一直在有效地注意着学生们的动向。