與外國人交流的時候我們都有過的經驗，很多表達太過中式，并不是特別地道。尷尬了…也許是因為我們平時在書本上學的并不實用，今天我們就來看看一些地道的美語表達吧！

1.find one's tongue: to be able to talk; to figure out what to say
能說得出話來

Mother shouted at me just now. I was too scared to find my tongue.
媽媽剛才對我大嚷，我嚇得說不出話來。

Ann was unable to find her tongue. She sat there in silence.
安說不出話來，靜靜地坐在那。

2.up for grabs: something is available
有待爭取

One of our accountants is retiring and his job is up for grabs.
我們一位會計就要退休了，他空出來的職位可以爭取一下。

That job is up for grabs to anyone who wants it.
任何想得到這份工作的人都可以爭取一下。

3.take for: to cheat someone by a certain amount of money
上當受騙；被宰了

He was taken for all his money at the casino.
那個賭場騙走了他所有的錢。

That crook took me for a hundred bucks. How much did he take you for?
那個騙子騙我了一百塊錢，他騙了你多少？

4.full of oneself：conceited or self-important
自以為是

Mary is very unpopular because she's so full of herself.
瑪麗非常不受歡迎，因為她太自以為是了。

You don’t care about my feelings. You are too full of yourself.
你一點也不在意我的感受，你太自以為是了。

5.a horse of a different color：a situation or a subject that is different from what you had first thought it was
完全是另外一回事

A：Congratulations! I hear you were recommended by the school to take the exams applying for a position in the local government.
A：恭喜你！聽說你被學校推薦參加市政府的考試啦！

B: Taking the exam is one thing but passing it is a horse of a different color.
B：參加考試是一回事，要通過考試就是另外一回事了。

6.break one’s neck：make a great effort to do something
盡一切努力去做某事

I hope Tom would study harder, because I am breaking my neck to save money to keep him in college.
我希望湯姆可以更用功一點，我想盡一切辦法存錢供他上大學。

7.get up the nerve：get enough courage to do something
鼓起勇氣做某事

I wanted to do it, but I couldn't get up the nerve.
我想去做，但我沒有足夠的勇氣。

I thought he would never get up the nerve to ask me for a date.
我想他永遠不會鼓起勇氣跟我提出約會。

8.wait for the other shoe to drop： to await a seemingly inevitable event, especially one that is not desirable
提心吊膽等待結果

He looks so nervous because he is waiting for the other shoe to drop.
他看起來很緊張，因為他在等待最后的結果。

9.come a long way：to make significant progress
取得很大進展

A：Kevin can play entire songs now, and they sound pretty good!
A：凱文現在可以彈奏完整的曲子了，而且很好聽！

B：Yep. He's really come a long way from when he could barely hold a guitar.
B：是啊，他真的進步很大，一開始連吉他都抱不住呢！

10.close to home：affecting one deeply and emotionally because one can strongly relate to it
感同身受

My patient's lung cancer diagnosis is close to home for me because my uncle recently died of the same thing.
我病人的肺癌診斷讓我感同身受，因為我叔叔最近因這個病去了。

（來源：滬江英語? 編輯：Julie)