第一， 迷你对话

A: I have a feeling that Lucy is not so much close to Jim as she used to be.

我感觉Lucy不像以前对他那么亲近了。

B: Yeah, when she heard about his background, she decided that she’d better keep him at arm’s length.

是啊，她听说他的背景后，就决定疏远他了。

A: But Jim feels miserable.

但是Jim却痛苦不堪。

第二， 地道表达

keep somebody at arm’s length

1. 解词释义

Keep somebody at arm’s length的意思是“远离某人”“避免与某人过分亲近”。

2. 拓展范例

e.g. At first she kept him at arm 's length, thinking that he might try to kiss her .

初时，她不让他靠近自己，以为他会试图吻他。

第三， 咬文嚼字

used to：过去常常

e.g. He used to be painfully shy, but now he's started to blossom out.

他以前极 腆, 现在活泼起来了。

e.g. He used to have a cup of coffee preparatory to his work.

在工作之前，他总要喝上一杯咖啡。

hear about：听说……

e.g. We must take care to let nobody hear about this.

我们得谨慎，免得让人听见。

e.g. Anything particular you want to know? Let me hear about it.

有什么特别问题你需要了解吗？说来让我听听。