例句-3: "I worked on my term paper until about ten o"clock last night, but got so sleepy I decided to call it a day. I"ll finish it this afternoon when I come back from class."
这个学生说：“昨晚我写我的期终报告一直写到十点钟，后来我困不行，就决定不写了。今天下午上完课我再来把它写完。”
我们再来举个例子。这是一个新闻记者在讲他当天的工作：
例句-4: "We"ve got so much news to handle today that I didn"t even have time to have lunch. Now I am going to call it a day and go home to have a good rest."
这位新闻记者说：“今天我们要处理的消息多极了，忙得我连吃午饭的时间都没有。今天就到此为止了，我得回家好好休息去了。”
以上我们讲了to call up和to call it a day这两个词。To call up可以解释为：打电话、钩起回忆、征集预备役军人等。To call it a day就是结束一天的工作。
流行美语第109课
今天Larry和Li Hua一边开车一边在车上听广播，Li Hua会学到两个常用语：come clean和no sweat。
(Highway & traffic SFX)
LL: Hey, Li Hua, did you hear that? The president of that corporation finally came clean about stealing several million dollars.
LH: 什么什么？我刚才没注意听，你说那个公司总裁怎么啦？他来上班的时候干干净净？这和偷几百万美元有什么关系呀？
LL: No, I said, "He finally came clean about stealing several million dollars." It means "He finally admitted he stole several million dollars." To come clean about something is to admit to it.
LH: 噢，to come clean about something 原来就是“坦白承认”。你刚才是说那个公司总裁最后终于承认他偷了几百万美元。这么说，Larry, 要是我做错了事，然后承认做错了，那我就是come clean 喽？
LL: That"s right. If you cheat on a test and then tell the professor because you feel guilty, then you are coming clean about your mistake.
LH: Hey, Larry, 你可别瞎说，我考试从来不作弊，心里没鬼，更不用去教授那儿认错。你刚才闯了红灯，我看呐，你还是干脆承认你的开车技术不怎么样吧！
LL: What? You want me to come clean about my bad driving? What stop light? There wasn"t a stop light. Don"t tease me like that.
LH: 我知道没有红绿灯，我只不过是逗你玩儿呢！
LL: Speaking of coming clean about things, did your roommate ever come clean about stealing your CD?
LH: 没有！我那个同屋偷了我的CD死活都不承认，可是我敢肯定是她偷的。
LL: How do you know?
LH: 有一天我看见她的CD夹子在桌上开着，我那张CD明明就在里面。
LL: Well, if she"s not going to come clean about it, then maybe you should just take it back.
LH: 那可不行，她不愿意承认是她的问题，我可不想乱翻她的东西。
LL: Then you really need to find a new roommate. You should just come clean and admit that you made a mistake when you moved in with her.
LH: 你说得对，Larry，我真该换个同屋，早知道这样，一开始就不该和这个人搬到一起。
******
LH: 哎哟，Larry, 你刚才拐弯的时候开这么快，我把可乐撒在车座上，把你的车给弄脏了。
LL: No sweat. I"ll stop at that gas station and we can get some stuff to clean it up.
LH: 那我们赶紧开到前面那个加油站擦擦干净吧！可是你还说 - No sweat - 别出汗？噢，你的意思是让我别着急，是不是？
LL: That"s right! No sweat means "don"t worry about it" or "it"s okay." Don"t worry about the coke. We can clean it up.
LH: 你以前还教过我一个类似的短语，是Don"t sweat it! 也是“别担心，别着急”的意思。除了可以说Don"t sweat it, 也可以说No sweat。可是，Larry, 我还是挺不安的，你看我撒了这么多可乐，这能擦干净吗？
LL: As I said, no sweat. The seats are leather, so they are really easy to clean.
LH: 噢，这种皮制的车座很容易擦干净啊？这我就放心了。哎，Larry, 你能不能再给我举个 no sweat 的例子?
LL: Well, if someone accidentally bumps into you in the hallway and they say, "sorry," you can tell them, "no sweat."
LH: 嗯，要是有人在楼道里不小心撞到我，他如果说sorry, 我就可以说，No sweat! 也就是没关系的意思。Larry, 昨天我和一个朋友约好一起吃午饭，可是他没来。我估计是忘了，我下次见到他能不能也对他说No sweat呢？
LL: Well, personally, that would upset me, but if he comes clean about the fact that he has forgotten to meet you, then you can tell him no sweat.
LH: 对，让我白等是挺让人恼火的。你说得对，要是他承认是把约会给忘了，那我就会告诉他 No sweat - Don"t worry about it 。
今天李华从Larry那儿学到了两个常用语。一个是come clean, 意思是“坦白承认”。另一个常用语是 no sweat, 意思是“别着急，别担心”。
「美国习惯用语」第一百一十讲
to rub elbows
elbow room
今天我们要给大家介绍和elbow这个字有关的常用语。Elbow就是胳膊肘儿。许多诗人喜欢描写漂亮的脸或美丽的身材，可是没有人描写胳膊肘儿的。然而，人体的这一部份却用处很大。在美国人常用的习惯语当中，用elbow这个字组成的俗语有不少，今天我们讲两个最常用的。一个是：to rub elbows。To rub就是磨擦，to rub elbows的意思是出去和别人接触和交际。你听了下面这个例句就会清楚to rub elbows的意思了：
例句-1: "I like Mister Lewis. He"s one of the richest, most powerful men in New York, but he"s not stuck-up at all. In fact he really enjoys getting out and rubbing elbows with all us ordinary people."
这句话的中文意思是：“我很喜欢刘易斯先生。他是纽约最有钱有势的人之一，但是他却一点架子都没有。事实上，他还很喜欢和我们这些普通人交往。”
听了这个例句，大家不要误会 to rub elbows一定是指交朋友。To rub elbows也可以解释为一般的接触。请听下面的例句：
例句-2: "If you travel across America by bus, you rub elbows with all sorts of people. You"ll meet older retired people, young students and others who ride the bus because it"s cheaper than flying."
这句话的意思是：“要是你乘长途汽车到美国各地旅行的话，你就会接触到各种人。你会碰到退了休的老年人、年轻的学生等。他们坐长途汽车是因为这比乘飞机便宜。”
美国人还经常说：elbow room。Elbow room的最普通解释就是：某人能施展的地方或空间。下面是一位家庭妇女在讲为什么他们要买新房子：
例句-3: "My husband and I are looking for a bigger house to move into. We have six children and a seventh on the way, and we need a lot more elbow room than we have now."
她说：“我和我丈夫正在找一栋大一点的房子。我们有六个孩子马上又要生第七个了。我们需要比现在更大一些的地方。”
俗话说：人比人气死人。下面这句话里说的人和这位家庭妇女相比那真是天差地别：
例句-4: "I can think of one person who has more elbow room than she needs--the Queen of England. They say that Windsor Castle has more than a thousand rooms. Now that"s real elbow room."
这人说：“我知道有一个人所占有的地方比她需要的多得多，这人就是英国女王。他们说，温莎堡里有一千多间房间。这才是真正的面积大呢。”
我们今天讲的词汇是：to rub elbows。To rub elbows是和别人交往或接触。另一个词是：elbow room。Elbow room指的是一个人可施展的地方或空间。
流行美语第110课
Larry和李华正在图书馆里看书，在他们旁边有个学生在用手机打电话。今天李华会学到两个常用语：to tick someone off和get lost.
(Someone talking on the phone loudly)
LL: It really ticks me off when people talk so loudly in the library. Don"t they realize that other people are trying to study?
LH: 就是嘛，在图书馆里这么大声说话，真讨厌！Hey，Larry, 你说tick me off，那是什么意思啊？
LL: That person ticks me off means he irritates me. To tick someone off is to annoy or irritate someone.
LH: 噢，to tick someone off就是惹人生气，让人讨厌的意思。没错！那家伙说话这么大声害我不能专心看书。Larry，我们是不是该跟他说说呢？
LL: No, that"s okay. I think he"s leaving now anyway. Thank God. Besides, that would be a rude thing to say to someone"s face.
LH: 对噢，当众要他小声点似乎也太厉害，不够礼貌。你看他走了，谢天谢地。Larry，你知道还有什么事tick me off ， 惹我生气吗？
LL: What ticks you off, Li Hua?
LH: 哼！Smith 教授在假期里给我们安排这么多作业，真是气人！这样我们根本没有机会好好休息嘛！