meal ticket n. 1. 饭票A card or ticket entitling the holder to a meal or meals. 2. Informal 铁饭碗A person or thing depended on as a source of financial support. someone or something that you use as a way of getting regular amounts of money for the rest of your life. Gone are the days when a university degree was a meal ticket for life. Up the ante提高赌注 If
you up the ante, you increase the importance or value of something,
especially where there's an element of risk as the term comes from
gambling, where it means to increase the stake (the amount of money
bet). By adding new inspectors, the customs service is upping the ante for smugglers. Foxx says he intends to up the ante in nightclub entertainment by introducing new, extremely talented performers. Related vocabulary: raise the stakes Etymology: based on the literal meaning of up the ante (= to increase the amount of money each person must risk in a card game or other activity involving the risk of losing money)
the first string (American, informal) 第一梯队 the group of people who are regularly chosen to play in the best sports team, or to do the most important work in a job. He didn't make first string on the football team until his senior year at college. first-string She's a first-string reporter on the paper. pull strings/wires 托关系(pull the strings指幕后操纵to be in control of an organization, often secretly)to secretly use the influence that you have over important people in order to get something or to help someone. I may be able to pull a few strings for you if you need the document urgently.
色情都市电影版中的一句台词"Blair
Oregan was a waitress, turned to model, tured to actress, turned to a
billionaire's girlfriend, who came home one night to find herself unceremoniously(随便地, 无礼唐突地 unceremoniously 1. Without the due formalities; abrupt: an unceremonious departure. 2. Not ceremonious(讲究仪式的, 隆重的); informal: made an unceremonious presentation.) turned out on the street." 另一个地方有人在楼下大门按呼叫器, Carrie对Miranda说"buzz him in(即给他开门)". Steve出轨, Miranda生气的和姐妹们说Steve is devastated, beg me for forgiving, it's not gonna happen, I can barely even look at him", Samantha说"Miranda, Honey, are you sure you want to do this, It just one time, anyone can have a slip(过错, 失足)."
do someone proud 1. (慷慨地款待某人; 丰盛地招等某人) to treat someone who is visiting you very well, especially by giving them lots of good food. We had a lovely lunch. Rosemary did us proud.色情都市电影了Big给Carrie build了一个很棒的closet, Carrie非常高兴便说 You did me proud. 2. (给面子, 使某人感到荣幸)to feel very pleased about someone because they have done something well. Once again, the armed forces have done us proud.
love at first sight 一见钟情 an immediate, strong attraction for someone you just met. She took an immediate liking to him – it was love at first sight. harmless pranks无伤大雅的玩笑或恶作剧
中国举重第六金China wins sixth gold with weightlifting title
BEIJING (AP) — Liu Chunhong broke three world records in the women's 69-kilogram division, defending her Olympic title to win China's sixth gold medal in the weightlifting competition. Liu set a new high score of 128 kg (282.2 pounds) in her third attempt in the snatch(抓举) Wednesday. She then lifted 158 kg (348.3 pounds) to set a new top mark in the clean and jerk(挺举).
Her total of 286 kg (630.52 pounds) also was a world record, beating
the previous mark by an astounding 10 kg (22.1 pounds). World champion
Oxana Slivenko of Russia was a distant second, lifting a total of 255 kg (562.17 pounds). Ukraine's Natalya Davydova took the bronze.
奥运报导摘要 - 刘翔: He(Liu Xiang) became more than the Olympic 110-meter hurdles champion; he instantly was transformed into a megastar in China, on par with与...平起平坐 his Shanghai buddy, NBA star Yao Ming. In the intervening(v. 1.干涉/干预 2.插入/介于其间 A week intervenes between Christmas and New Year's Day圣诞节和元旦相隔一周; intervene in the internal affairs of other countries干涉别国内政; intervene in a dispute调停争端; I shall come if nothing intervenes如果没有别的事, 我就来 intervening occurring or falling between events or points in time "so much had happened during the intervening years") time he has become a ubiquitous pitchman(推销员/广告员/摊贩) in his home country and the face of the 2008 Games. When sound状态好身体健康, the 6-2, 170-pounder is formidable. But just to add to the difficulty, he hasn't raced since May because of an injury to the hamstring muscle in his right, trail leg(跟进腿 take-off leg=lead leg是起跳腿). He's tough in big meets, second at the '05 worlds and the winner in '07. His start is unremarkable起跑不出色, but he's considered the best finisher冲刺最好 and possibly the best technician技术最好 in the event. Maybe Liu is following other's example学别人 of forming her own cocoon自铸成茧 that shielded her from the pressure.
奥运报导摘要 - 网球名将落马USA's Blake ousts Federer; Williams sisters also fall Roger Federer's费德勒 Olympic quest ended prematurely again, the Williams sisters went out in tandem(一前一后地) and James Blake earned perhaps the biggest victory of his career Thursday night in a wild round of quarterfinal Olympic tennis that began after a 3½-hour rain delay. Federer was bumped off
by the eighth-seeded Blake 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). It was one of the goals of
the season for me to do well here," Federer told The Associated Press.
"This obviously is a big blow很大的打击, because I expected more." Williams committed 67 unforced errors and had only five break opportunities. "I didn't really serve really well," Williams said. "It was what it was事情就是这样."
USAToday预测今届飞人 Who really is the world's fastest man?
BEIJING — There are 80 entrants in the men's 100 meters at the Olympics, but only three are the fastest sprinters赛跑选手 in history. In descending(ascend) order降序: Usain Bolt of Jamaica set the world record (9.72 seconds) in May; countryman同胞
Asafa Powell set four world records before that with a 9.74 best; and
Tyson Gay of the USA has run 9.77 and 9.68, the fastest time ever but ineligible for record status不算世界纪录 because of an excessive tailwind(顺风 head wind顶风 a wind that blows in a direction opposite the vessel's course.).
If the Big Three survive the first three rounds
— beginning Friday (Thursday night ET) on the first day of track and
field — and reach Saturday's final, it would mark the first time in
Olympic 100 history the race would include the reigning world champ
(Gay), the world recordholder (Bolt) and his predecessor (Powell). "This
could be one of those races we talk about for a long time," says Gay's
co-coach, Jon Drummond, "but I don't want to jinx(1.To bring bad luck to带来坏运气 a jinx day不吉利的日子 break the jinx(运动比赛)连败之后转向胜利 2. 煞风景) it."
Says NBC analyst Ato Boldon, a four-time Olympic sprint medalist
for Trinidad & Tobago: "I'm looking forward to this race more than
any race I ever ran." Gay, who also won the 200 at the world
championships, lost his status as "The Man" when he was beaten by Bolt,
still a newcomer to the 100, in the world-record race May 31 in New
York. That might not have been all bad for Gay, or for Powell. Both
thanked Bolt for relieving减轻缓解 the pressure on them. And just when it seemed Bolt might be unbeatable, Powell beat him, barely (9.88 to 9.89), in Stockholm last month.
You can make a case for(make (out) a case for something/doing something to explain why something should be done. Everything seems to be going pretty well, and she has yet to make a case for change. Usage notes: also used in the form make a case that to explain that something is true: It is easy to make a case that he's one of the best baseball players around.) each to be the favorite, yet each also has major question marks: Can Bolt be consistent with his start起跑? Can Gay overcome a left hamstring injury from the 200 at the U.S. trials? Can Powell finally come up big in a major meet? It just adds to the intrigue.
Boldon
picks Bolt: "He has so many ways he can win. If he's out first, game
over. If he's out close to Asafa, game over. If he's ahead of Tyson at
60, game over." Boldon doesn't think Gay can win because his last race,
when he injured the hamstring, was July 5: "I have him medaling but not winning(猜测会拿牌但不是冠军). If he does, he'll have my eternal respect."
A
subplot is that Jamaica has never won the men's 100, though native
Jamaicans Linford Christie and Donovan Bailey won, respectively, for
Great Britain in 1992 and Canada in '96. "Jamaicans are hard people to
please," Powell says. "They expect us to go 1-2 and get the world
record."
Six weeks ago Gay, 25, fell to the track in Eugene, Ore., in the 200 quarterfinals, clutching his left hamstring.
He spent much of his time since in Munich, Germany, getting treatment
from renowned therapist Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt. "My hamstring is
100% now," Gay says. Gay and Drummond say that kind of layoff(失业期, 活动停止器) has its advantages. Gay is rested and has solidified the technique that led to the 9.77 American record in Eugene in addition to the wind-aided 9.68.
Gay
had hoped to run a 100 July 25 in London but withdrew. "I'd rather be
100% and come to the Olympics than risk being 85% going to a meet just
to see where I'm at," he says. Sunday he blasted 60-, 80- and 100-meter
sprints in practice. "He's pretty much where he was恢复如初 before the Olympic trials," Drummond says.
Gay has his secret weapon here — his mother, Daisy Gay-Lowe. Before last year's 100 final at the world championships, Gay credited a pre-race talk and prayer with relaxing and inspiring him. "She doesn't know a lot about track," Gay says, "but she has an understanding of how to get me calm."
Bolt, at 6-5 and 190 pounds, is a force of nature. He covers the 100 in 41 strides;
most of his competitors need more, generally in the mid-to-high 40s.
"Someone that big should not have that kind of turnover," Boldon says. A
year ago Bolt wasn't running the 100. He was a 200 specialist, second
to Gay at the worlds. His coach, Glen Mills, believed Bolt could be a
great at 400.
奥运开幕式中的假唱风波Chinese defend Olympic ceremony lip-synch(对口型)
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese officials defended their decision to pass off(To offer, sell, or put into circulation (an imitation) as genuine把[仿制品]当作真品提供、出售或流通 pass off glass as a gemstone用玻璃冒充宝石) the voice of a 7-year-old songbird as that of another girl
at the Olympic opening ceremony, calling it a simple casting choice.
Critics said it was a step too far in China's obsession with the perfect
Olympic Games.
Beijing organizers of the games faced tough criticism Wednesday after a whistle-blower revealed that the 9-year-old who performed a song during the spectacular opening ceremony was lip-synching to another girl's vocal track.
Beijing officials on Wednesday defended the decision to use both girls, saying the artistic directors could cast whoever they saw fit. And they were unapologetic about keeping the lip-synch a secret.
美国女排胜中国USA indoor volleyball women top China 3-2
BEIJING — On the night it faced the iconic coach it let get away, the Chinese women's volleyball team also let the U.S. snatch a victory. Despite trailing(1. To lag behind (an opponent)落在[对手的]后面 trailed the league leader by four games落后于联赛领先的队四局落后 2. 拖曳/跟踪/追随) the home team 2-1 amid often-deafening震耳欲聋的 cheering, the U.S. came back(逆转, 东山再起) to win the most hyped showdown(决战, 摊牌) of the volleyball preliminaries Friday, in an emotional match that was watched by Chinese President Hu Jintau.
At the center of the drama was U.S. coach Jenny Lang Ping, who in 1984 seized the mantle斗篷,称号 she still holds — greatest Chinese woman ever in her sport — while steering her team to an Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles. Then, Lang was known as the "Iron Hammer," because of her ferocious spikes(扣球=smash). But on Friday it was her face that was steely似钢的,冰冷的 throughout her team's 3-2 victory. Fans in Beijing clearly remember her, as Lang's pregame introduction drew an ovation every bit(to the same degree he is every bit as mean as she is) as loud as the one for China coach Zhonghe Chen, her former assistant. When her team's comeback was completed Lang left the court quickly and acknowledged the cheering Chinese fans with five quick, perfunctory(马马虎虎的, 敷衍塞责的) waves. She remained stoic(淡泊的, 似乎不为苦乐所动的) when sports media from both nations probed for a heartfelt reaction to her homecoming.
Lang, as had been the case throughout the buildup to the match, refused to play along(play along (with someone/something) to seem to support or be friendly to someone or something. He knew that if he didn't play along with the reporters, they would write unpleasant stories about him. I don't really like their idea that much but for now, it is probably a good idea simply to play along. play ball (with someone)(informal) to agree to do what someone asks you to do, or to agree to work with someone in order to achieve something together. Fourteen out of the fifteen nations have agreed to the new restrictions but one country still refuses to play ball. (usually negative) , go along (with someone/something) to accept something someone else wants. The agreement will make them the highest-paid pilots in the industry, if union members go along. The president has announced a plan to cut taxes, and Congress is likely to go along with it.).
She said she was "not emotionally involved" in the match, and reminded
everyone "I've coached the United States the last four years" and that
"this was not the first time we played China." "It doesn't matter if we
play China, if we play Cuba or if we play any other team," Lang said.
"Every time is the same." There also was no reason to gloat(沾沾自喜,心满意足 Don't gloat over your rival's misfortune.), as the victory was only Lang's third as U.S. coach against China, in eight tries.
The U.S. was on its heels(hard/hot on someone's heels/on the heels of something(动词用follow或come,也可动词后加一个close) 1. 紧跟其后if you are hard on someone's heels, you are following very close behind them, especially because you are trying to catch them. She ran down the steps with a group of journalists hard on her heels. The manager's resignation followed close on the heels of the hiring of a new chairman. ) at times early on. The nadir(The lowest point最低点 at the nadir of their fortunes他们最不景气的时候 His fortune was at its nadir他的运气坏透了) came in the third set, when China's 6-3 Wang Yimei unloaded a spike拦住扣球 that literally knocked Logan Tom off her feet(knock someone off their feet to cause someone great pleasure or surprise. Here's a film that knocks you off your feet with its first images. He was knocked off his feet when he heard those rumors. blow your mind=blow someone away to surprise or excite you, or cause you to be extremely interested. The first time I heard this band, they just blew my mind, and I've been a fan ever since)."Oh yeah, she took my shoulder off(关于shoulder的用法 1. If someone offers you a shoulder to cry on or is a shoulder to cry on, they listen sympathetically as you talk about your troubles. 2. If you say that someone or something stands head and shoulders above other people or things, you mean that they are a lot better than them. 3.)," Tom said of Wang, who had a game-high 22 spikes that scored. "Believe me, she's got a heavy arm."
Zhonghe was blunt(说话率直的,不转弯抹角的) in his remarks about
China's failure to close out the victory, as his team fell to 2-2 while
the U.S. improved to 3-1. "They didn't do well at critical moments,"
China's coach said. "They lost control of their frame of mind(心绪,心情,心境 the way someone feels at a particular time. A few hours later he was in a much more positive frame of mind. Whether or not you enjoy the film may depend on your frame of mind. 心态是mindset), especially in the fourth set."
