11. to paint（someone or oneself）into a corner：to trap oneself or someone; to be in trouble
使自己或某人陷入困境, 應(yīng)該注意的是即使主語(yǔ)是復(fù)數(shù)形式，corner 仍然用單數(shù)

Don't try to paint yourself into a corner. (不要讓自己身陷困境，無(wú)法脫身。)
After a heated debate with his boss, Mr. Chen has painted himself into a corner. (和老板激烈的爭(zhēng)辯之后，陳先生處境十分不妙。)

12. to ask (someone) for (one's) hand: to ask girl's parents for marriage approval
指男人請(qǐng)求女方家長(zhǎng)應(yīng)允將女兒嫁給他， 這里的"someone"是指女方的家長(zhǎng)，"one"則是指要求婚的對(duì)象，hand 只能用單數(shù)形式

Mr. Su asked me for my daughter's hand. (蘇先生到我家來(lái)向我女兒提親。)
He has asked her parents for their daughter's hand. (他請(qǐng)求她的父母應(yīng)允他們的婚事。)

13. to move onward and upward：to be promoted; from good to better situation
情況得以改善，或往更好的情況發(fā)展

He hopes to move onward and upward with his current company. (他希望能在現(xiàn)在就職的公司里順利發(fā)展，步步高升。)
Many young couples try to move onward and upward during their marriage. (許多年輕夫婦都希望能夠婚姻美滿幸福。)

14. to call a spade a spade: to be honest, blunt or frank
直言不諱，有啥說(shuō)啥

My wife always calls a spade a spade about her work situation. (我妻子對(duì)別人談起她的工作時(shí)，總是直言不諱。)
Calling a spade a spade on foreign affairs sometimes seems difficult for diplomats. (外交官在處理外交事務(wù)的時(shí)候很難做到直言不諱。)

15. to play cat and mouse：to play games with aggressive and passive attitude
玩貓戲老鼠的把戲，欲擒故縱

In business negotiations, there are always cat-and-mouse games. (在商業(yè)談判中，常會(huì)有一些貓戲老鼠的把戲。）
The police have played cat and mouse with the murderer. (警察對(duì)兇犯采用的是欲擒故縱的策略。)

16. to go on the dole：(of the unemployed) to live on public welfare
失業(yè)人員依靠政府救濟(jì)金生活。

Thousands of Americans are out of jobs and may go on the dole. (美國(guó)成千上萬(wàn)的失業(yè)者靠領(lǐng)取政局救濟(jì)金生活。)
Some people have gone on the dole for years. (有些人多年來(lái)就是靠政府救濟(jì)生活的。)

17. to be in the hot seat：to be under lots of pressure or in a difficult position
處于困境，面對(duì)很多壓力

He has resigned from his job because he has been in the hot seat for years. (由于不堪多年的工作壓力，他終于辭職了。)
When testifies before Congress, he will be in the hot seat. (在國(guó)會(huì)作證的時(shí)候，他將面臨巨大的壓力。)

18. to make waves：to make trouble
惹是生非， 與"rock the boat"意思相近

Many politicians like to make waves in order to be kept in the media. (許多政客為了能在媒體上路臉兒而不惜嘩眾取寵。)
Teenagers tend to make waves with their parents and teachers. (一些青少年總是會(huì)給父母和老師惹麻煩。)

19. to keep (one's) nose clean：to keep away from trouble
遠(yuǎn)離是非，少惹麻煩

The newly released inmates are trying to keep their noses clean. (剛剛獲釋的犯人總是盡量少惹是非。)
A law-abiding person needs to keep his (her) nose clean. (奉公守法的人應(yīng)該避免制造麻煩。)

20. to drive (someone) up the wall：to annoy or upset someone（惹人生氣或者不高興)

The boy is driving his mother up the wall because of his ill behavior. (這個(gè)不聽(tīng)話的孩子讓他媽媽大為頭痛。)
If you ask too many questions, you may drive your boss up the wall. (假如你的問(wèn)題太多也會(huì)讓你的老板很反感。)

21. to write （someone or something）off：to throw away or to discard（拋棄或者丟棄)； to deduct a business loss（在經(jīng)商失敗時(shí)，也用于報(bào)銷、注銷或扣除損失的數(shù)額中）

After a hot argument, she wrote off her boyfriend. (她和男朋友大吵了一架之后，就把他甩了。)
He will write off the charitable contributions from his income taxes. (他從所得稅中扣除了慈善募捐的金額。)

22. to take up with (someone)：to date someone or to fall in love with someone（對(duì)某人產(chǎn)生興趣，或與某人開(kāi)始親密交往）

After he met her at the bar, he took up with her. (自從在酒吧見(jiàn)過(guò)一面之后，他對(duì)她產(chǎn)生了興趣。)
As she is such a pretty woman, many men would like to take up with her. (像她這么漂亮的女人，許多男人都對(duì)她有興趣。)

23. to pave the way to (or for)：to make the path or to lay a groundwork of something
為…… 鋪平道路或?yàn)椤龊脺?zhǔn)備

A good education will pave the way to finding a decent job. （好的教育是好的工作的基礎(chǔ)。）
Early space exploration has paved the way for the current space station. （早期的太空探索為如今的太空站建設(shè)奠定了基礎(chǔ)。）

24. to paint the town red：to enjoy oneself; to have a good time 盡情享受

He is going out tonight to paint the town red. （他今天晚上要玩?zhèn)€痛快。）
Miss Chen really painted the town red last week with her friends. （陳小姐上周和朋友玩得很盡興。）