我们再学个也有house这个词的习惯用语：like a house on fire。 习惯用语like a house on fire已经有两百多年的历史了。归根溯源，它是来自早年美国西部的拓荒生活的。当年垦荒的人们砍伐树木开辟农场，并就地取材用伐下的原木搭房子。
这些原木没经过木材处理还带着树脂所以一点就着。原木造的房子一旦着火，那就来势迅猛，一栋房子一眨眼就化为灰烬。
奇怪的是人们却没在意这种意外事件的灾难性后果，倒是对这种迅雷不及掩耳的火势印象深刻，于是就采用like a house on fire来比喻迅速地一举成名。我们来听个例子，说的是一部杰出的新电影。
例句-3：This movie has everything: an exciting story, fantastic special effects and top popular stars. So it"s going like a house on fire: the first week it was out it took in 25 million dollars.
他说：这部电影万事俱备：扣人心弦的故事情节，奇妙逼真的特技效果，再加上光彩夺目的明星阵容，所以这部片子立即引起轰动；上映第一周就创收二千五百万美元。
这里的like a house on fire用来比喻迅速成名。
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Like a house on fire也可以带有浪漫情调。下面就有这么个例子。说话的人把Sallie小姐介绍给了弟弟Joe。我们来听听进展怎样。
例句-4：I was worried that Joe and Sally are so different they wouldn"t like each other. But they"re getting along like a house on fire and tonight Joe says he"s going to ask her to marry him.
他说：我起先担心Joe和Sally全然不同，可能不会相互爱慕，但是他们的爱情却如同野火春风般地迅速发展。Joe说今晚他要向 Sally 求婚了。
这里的like a house on fire用来描述爱情的迅速发展。
美国习惯用语第394讲
我们今天要讲的习惯用语有这样一个关键词: shirt。大家一定熟悉这个词。它的意思是“衬衫”。我们要学的第一个习惯用语是：keep your shirt on。 Keep your shirt on表面意思是“穿着你的衬衫。” 这听来象是关心儿子的妈妈常唠叨的一句忠告。但实际上习惯用语keep your shirt on有更深的含义。
我们来听个例子。说话的人要开车送朋友Charley去机场搭飞机，但是他去Charley那儿接他的时间稍晚了一些，所以Charley正在着急会不会赶不上他的航班了。我们来听听他怎么跟Charley说：
例句-1：Come on, Charley, keep your shirt on! This time of day there isn"t much traffic so we have plenty of time to get to the airport and catch your plane.
他认为由于这个时候路上车辆不多，所以他和Charley有充裕的时间，能及时到达机场并赶上航班。
这样看来他对Charley说keep your shirt on意思是让他放心，别着急。这就是这个习惯用语的含义。
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Keep your shirt on这个习惯用语差不多来自两百年前美国刚开发的年代。当时人们到新大陆开天辟地创造新生活；他们在一片荒原上白手起家，生活艰辛当然不在话下，而在这天高皇帝远的地方是没什么行政司法机构的，解决人与人之间的争端靠的是拳头。大打出手的场面时时会有，但是人们在动粗前一定先脱下衬衫，免得它弄脏甚至扯破，因为好多人只有一件宝贵衬衫，得倍加爱惜。 这一来脱衬衫成了打架的前奏，而keep your shirt on其实就是劝人按捺一下火性。现在当然人们不会轻易动手，但是keep your shirt on却流传至今，常用在争吵即将爆发时来开导对方耐住性子别发火。
下面有个例子。这人回家晚了三小时，进门看到太太的脸色知道情况不妙。我们听听他说些什么来挽回这风雨欲来的局面。
例句-2：Honey, keep your shirt on, please. I"m sorry but the boss made me work late at the office. Come on, I"ll take you out to dinner so you don"t have to cook anything for me.
他说：亲爱的，你别发火。我很抱歉，但是老板要我在办公室加班。来吧，我请你出去吃饭，你就不必为我做饭了。
这里的keep your shirt on用来劝对方别动怒。
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我们再学个包含shirt这个词的习惯用语：lose one"s shirt。 要是一个人lose his shirt， 连一件衬衫都保不住，那他可真是陷于困境了。这个习惯用语起源于三十年代美国经济大萧条时期，当时股票市场崩溃，银行倒闭，工厂关门，农民失去了田地，好多人真是穷得一无所有，连件衬衫都没有。我们听个例子，来琢磨习惯用语lose one"s shirt含义是什么：
例句-3：Did you hear what happened to Joe? He"s lost his shirt! The poor guy invested all his money in a new restaurant. But it was in a poor location and it just went out of business.
原来可怜的Joe把自己所有的钱都投资到一家新饭店去了，但是由于饭店所在的地段不好，所以刚刚倒闭。这一来Joe可不就分文不剩了吗?
可见这里说He"s lost his shirt! 意思是他失去了一切财产。这就是这个习惯用语的意思。
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如今当然有不少安全措施来帮助人们保护他们的积蓄。例如多数银行的储蓄存款都有政府机构的保险。但是还是会有些阴险毒辣的小人专门算计旁人口袋里的每一分钱。在下面例子里说话的人在奉劝朋友这种小人不可不防。
例句-4： You say this man promises to double your investment in six months? I"d think twice before I"d give him any money: this sounds like a deal where you can lose your shirt in a hurry.
他说：你说这个人答应在六个月内把你的投资翻一倍吗？换了我的话要考虑再三才把钱交给他，听他的话似乎是会很快把你的钱骗得精光的滑头交易。
这里的lose your shirt意思也是倾家荡产变得一无所有。
流行美语第274课
李华气喘吁吁地来接Larry 。李华今天要学两个常用语，off the hook和taken aback.
LL: Hey, I was about to call you. I was worried something happened to you, because you"re really late!
LH: 实在对不起Larry, 路上出了点事。
LL: What kind of trouble? Was it a family matter? Are you ok?
LH: 没什么。我因为怕迟到，所以开得快了点。谁知道...
LL: Uh oh. Did you get into an accident? I see you left your car running. Do you have engine trouble?
LH: 车倒是没什么状况，可以被丨警丨察拦了下来，说我超速。
LL: Did he give you a ticket?
LH: 奇怪的是，丨警丨察没给我开罚单，但我的驾驶记录上恐怕已经有污点了。他还说，"he would let me off the hook."那是什么意思啊？
LL: Oh, that"s a good thing in your case! In this situation, "off the hook" means that you will not be punished for a rule or agreement you violated. The phrase "off the hook" can also mean that a person is relieved of an unwanted responsibility.
LH: 哦，我明白了，off the hook就是脱身，或是摆脱责任的意思。怪不得那个丨警丨察说，"I"ll let you off the hook with a warning."就是说警告一下，下次注意就行了。
LL: Yeah. Let"s get in the car. Don"t speed, because you might not be let off the hook this time if an officer catches you!
LH: 一定一定。哦，Larry, 我来晚了，你没生气吧？You will let me off the hook for being late, right?
LL: Sure! You"re doing me a favor anyway. Let"s get to the car mechanic"s shop and see if he fixed the company car my boss lent me for this weekend"s business trip.
LH: 对啊，最好别让你老板知道公司的车现在正在修车铺里。You"ll be off the hook if your car is fixed.
LL: Can you think of any other time that you"ve been let off the hook? The last time my boss let me off the hook was... hmmm... Never!
LH: Hahaha! 别急，Larry, 五点以前我们肯定能赶到修车行。
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LL: Well, it looks like I"m NOT off the hook. My car won"t be ready until next Monday.
LH: 要到星期一才能修好？修车工是怎么跟你说的？
LL: He ignored me for five minutes, and then I finally yelled... excuse me, could I have some service, please? I was really taken aback by his rudeness.
LH: Taken aback? 他干嘛推你啊？我们可以告他们！
LL: No. "Taken aback" means surprised or shocked by something. I was really surprised by his rudeness, because he ignored me even though I was the only customer in the store.
LH: 什么？只有你一个人，他还让你等那么久？太过分了。I am taken aback too. 我也觉得很吃惊。而且车也没修好！
LL: It"s ok. He told me that the car"s engine needs to be completely redone. It doesn"t matter how fast he goes, because he needs to order new parts for replacement.
LH: 哦，原来是发动机坏了，要先去买零件，怪不得要那么长时间。Well, I"m taken aback by this whole situation.
LL: I"m taken aback by the mechanic"s behavior AND the terrible situation I"m in.
LH: 我有个主意。要不咱们去租辆车。这样一来，等你老板发现后，就不会那么生气了。
LL: That"s true. He"ll still be taken aback, but not as much, because I"ll still have a car to use for my business trip this weekend.