我们要学的第二个习惯用语是：hard act to follow。 Hard act to follow中间的act也是“表演”的意思。换句话说这个习惯用语也来自表演艺术。一百多年前的轻松歌舞表演由各路歌唱家、舞蹈家、喜剧演员甚至经过训练的小狗出场各显身手，然而最使一些演员为难的事就是被排在深受欢迎的大明星后面表演，因为这一来往往会相形见绌。最精彩的表演一定得排在最后当压台戏，因为接在它后面出场实在太难。这样说来hard act to follow不就是精彩的表演吗？对。其实这个习惯用语和class act意思相近，当然它同样也灵活应用在生活中的各方各面。我们看一个例子来体会hard act to follow用在其它场合的意思。
例句2：Johnson found Kennedy a hard act to follow. Johnson was a master politician but Kennedy was young, handsome, full of vigor, a better speaker with plenty of wit and humor. So it took Johnson a long time to win people"s confidence.
他说：约翰逊觉得肯尼迪是令人望尘莫及的杰出人才。虽然约翰逊是老练的政治家，但是肯尼迪年轻英俊、精力充沛、更善于词令。他妙语如珠且富有幽默感。所以约翰逊费了很长一段时间才赢得了民众的信任。
可见a hard act to follow是杰出而令人望尘莫及的人物或者作为。
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我们要学的下一个习惯用语是：get your act together。 Get your act together这个习惯用语也来自表演艺术。这是对演技差的演员说的话。意思是他必须把自己的表演提高到其他演员的水平，以便能配合他们共同演出。当然get your act together和刚才学到的两个习惯用语一样，它的意思也延伸到生活中的其它领域。例如我们马上要看的一段话就用上了这个习惯用语，说话的人是在催促二十五岁的儿子赶快出去找工作。好，我们来看他怎么说：
例句3：Son, you can"t live with us the rest of your life. It"s time to get your act together, settle down and get married and start living your own life.
他说：儿子，你不可能一辈子都和我们住在一起。现在是你奋发图强、成家立业、开始独立生活的时候了。
所以get your act together是敦促对方努力上进的意思。
美语咖啡屋第21课
Y: 各位听众好，欢迎到美语咖啡屋，我是杨晨。
J: Hello. Welcome to American Cafe. I"m Jody. So, Yang Chen, this is a big political year in the United States. The race for the White House is not going to be an easy one.
Y: 你说的没错。今年的竞争非常激烈。现在你只要一打开电视，就能看到竞选广告里民主党和共和党在相互攻击。
J: But Yang Chen, don"t forget; it"s not only the White House. There are also Congressional races going on in the States that are very important. In fact, our guest today is Richard Martin, the campaign manager for Christopher Turman"s congressional challenge in West Virginia.
实录1 Richard Martin: My name is Richard Martin. I"m managing Christopher Turman"s Congressional challenge in West Virginia 2.
Y: Oh, Richard是一个竞选活动负责人。他刚才说的West Virginia 2是什么意思?
J: West Virginia 2 means the Second Congressional District in West Virginia. All States are divided into districts and those districts each has their own congressional representation.
Y: 这种选区的划分还挺复杂的。
J: So complicated! That"s why I"m not in politics. So, I asked Richard why he is drawn to politics. Here"s what he had to say.
Y: 我看我们还是听听Richard来解释他为什么热衷于政治吧。
实录2 Richard Martin: I"ve been a political professional for about 5 years. I"m drawn to it mostly because I...I...I believe that all too often the government"s used as a tool for certain people to get what they want done and it sort of ignores what would be better for most people.
Y: Richard投身政治是要促使政府为大众，而不是为少数人服务。嗯，我觉得他这个理念很崇高啊。
J: Oh, absolutely. Many people believe that government is a tool that is used by huge companies and big business and not everyday people, you know, 老百姓。
Y: 对，我们选国会议员就是要让他们为老百姓服务。
J: Exactly. And Richard believes that the better representatives we elect, the better everyone"s lives will be. Now, let"s hear from Richard.
实录3 Richard Martin: I think the better representatives we elect the better everyone"s lives are gonna be. And we need our government to work for the people and not the huge companies.
Y: 他说得没错。政府就是应该代表人民的利益，所以大家都应该参与政治。那候选Turman先生有没有在集会上讲话呢？
J: Of course, here"s the candidate, Christopher Turman, explaining why he is running for office in West Virginia. He also slams, oh, “slams”... Yang Chen, 用汉语怎么讲？
Y:就是猛烈抨击的意思。
J: He slams his opponent, a Republican woman named Shelly Moore Capito by saying that she was only elected on the coattails of President Bush.
Y: 你刚才用coattail这个词，就是上衣或燕尾服的下摆。这让我想起中文里的“裙带关系”，是不是这个意思呢？
J: 就是了！Exactly! Let"s first hear Turman use the phrase "to ride on someone"s coattails."
实录4 Turman: And this event is my first event and this is the first time I"m going to say publicly why I am running. In 2000 George Bush won the White House by winning West Virginia. And in 2004 he is going to lose the White House by losing West Virginia. And Shelly Moore Capito who came in on his coattails is going to go home with him.
J: Riding someone"s coattails to the top is common in politics. Coattail is spelled C-O-A-T-T-A-I-L.
Y: 你是在什么地方采访了Richard？周围好象很吵。
J: Oh, we spoke at a fundraiser for the candidate.
Y: 其实关于竞选筹款也有很多法律条文，不过那些法律条文实在太枯燥，今天我们就不谈了。
J: Well, we won"t talk about it today. But, Yang Chen, if you want to pursue your dream of running for office someday, you"ll have to know about fundraising. You could run to be the mayor of ... Happyville!
Y: 如果我成为Happyville的市长，我会让所有的街道都干净整洁，Happyville永远鸟语花香，坐taxi不用花钱，买东西不用排队......
J: Yang Chen! Yang Chen, wake up and smell the coffee. You"re not running for mayor of Happyville. You"re the host of American Cafe. Now, will you say goodbye to everyone.
Y: 噢，对不起，我们下次再见。
J: Vote for Yang Chen!
美语咖啡屋第22课
Y: 各位听众好，欢迎您到美语咖啡屋，我是杨晨。
J: Hello. Welcome to American Cafe. My name is Jody.
Y: Jody, 我发现你今天头发很漂亮。
J: Oh, thanks so much! But, Yang Chen don"t get me started on my hair.
Y: 为什么？
J: I was butchered a couple of years ago by people who just didn"t understand how to cut curly hair. Look! I have a picture of what one of them did to my hair.
Y: Oh, oh...
J: I know! It"s bad!
Y: 其实也不是很丑了，不过看上去是有点奇怪。
J: I know. Give me that back.
(Enter sound of picture being snatched away)
J: I know it was strange looking. But finally, finally, I found someone who can cut my hair. Garret Johnson at Fiddleheads!
Y: 我倒是很好奇这个Garret是个什么样的人。
J: Well, Garret had a few rocky starts as a young man. He dropped out of college four times and then got kicked out of his parent"s house.
Y: 他四次从大学退学，还被他父母赶了出来。这个人一定非常叛逆。
J: Those rocky starts led him to a very successful career. He is known all over Washington, D.C. for his ability to cut curly hair. And now...the famous...Mr. Garrett Johnson!!
(Enter drum roll under)
实录1 Garret Johnson: Why I got into the hairdressing? Briefly, partially was because of dropping out of college four times and not knowing what to do with my life. And I got kicked out of my parent"s house and while I was kicked out I met hairdresser. And I saw that he did really bad hair and the women were giving him a lot of money. And I said, "I can do that and I can do it better. "
Y: 有的人没上过大学也可以有成功的事业。Garrett就是一个很好的例子。
J: Absolutely! Especially for artistic people who don"t know what they want to do college can be a terribly boring place.
Y: 你是在告诉我们的听众上学不重要吗？
J: No, no, of course not. Getting an education is very important, of course. But some people find other ways.
Y: 没错。我只是跟你开玩笑。上大学并不一定适合每个人。