31.bang for the buck 貨真價實
　　buck在美國俚語中是“美元”的意思。有這樣一個短語，bigger bang for a buck，它的意思是“花錢取得更大效果”。Bang原是表示巨大聲響的擬聲詞，這里引申為“效果”。
　　A: Listen! It’s mid-summer now. What do we need them for? 嘿，現在已經是仲夏了，我們要這些東西干什么？
　　B: They may come in handy. Besides, these items can be true bang for the buck. 會有用得著它們的時候，再說這些東西是貨真價實的呀。
　　A: True bang for the buck? They’re enough for ten years’ use. 貨真價實？都夠用10年的了。
　　B: Stop getting on my nerves! I’m not doing something for nothing! 別煩我了，我可不是沒事找事。
　　
32.be brassed off doing 厭煩干… ，對 … 滿腹牢騷
　　brass作名詞指“黃銅”，作動詞指“鍍黃銅于 … ”，而brassed off是俚語，意思是“厭煩，不滿，牢騷滿腹”。
　　A: I am awfully sorry that I have kept you waiting. 真是很抱歉讓您久等了。
　　B: To tell you the truth, I am really brassed off waiting. 說實話，我最討厭等人。
　　A: Sorry. I had something urgent to deal with just when I was to leave. 對不起，我正要來的時候又有急事要處理。
　　B: You should have told me earlier. 你應該早點告訴我。
　　A: It was too late to inform you. 通知你已經來不及了。
　　
33.be catty 愛搬弄是非的；愛誹謗人的
　　英語中，cat給人的聯想總是不太愉快，如cattish的意思是“狡猾的、惡意的、偷偷摸摸的”。cat在英語中可用來指“惡意傷人的女人，包藏禍心的女人”，因此catty就有了誹謗的含義。
　　A: I thought you would cooperate. 我原以為你會跟我合作呢。
　　B: Well, I’m too busy to be catty and poke my nose into things that do not matter much to me. 我可不愿意搬弄是非去管那些跟我沒關系的閑事。
　　A: How do you know that he won’t do something against yourself? 你怎么知道他不會做出什么對你不利的事呢？
　　B: You do seem to have a glib tongue. 你真能胡攪蠻纏。
　　
34.be down in the dumps 垂頭喪氣，神情沮喪
　　the dumps在非正規的口語表達方式中的意思是“憂郁”或“沮喪”。be down in the dumps常指“悶悶不樂”或“打不起精神”，也可引申為“垂頭喪氣，精神沮喪”。
　　A: You’re down in the dumps. What’s happened? 你看上去沮喪不堪。出什么事了？
　　B: I had a quarrel with our boss’s secretary. She’s been on her high horse these days. 我和老板的秘書吵了一架。這幾天她總是盛氣凌人。
　　A: Maybe she was only taking it out on you. Secretaries have a lot of pressure, too. 也許她僅僅是向你發泄。秘書的壓力也很大。
　　B: But she jumped down my throat for no reason at all. I could not put up with her. 但她無理由地斥責我，我無法容忍。
　　
35.be in a jam 陷入困境
　　jam指“擁擠，阻塞”。該習語的字母意思為“在擁擠之中”，引申為“陷入困難的處境”。例如：She is in a bit of jam about money. （她的手頭有點拮據。）
　　A: Mike told me that his business was in a jam and he was in urgent need of money. He wanted to borrow some money from me. 邁克告訴我他的生意陷入困境，急需用錢。他想向我借錢。
　　B: Don’t lend money to him. He’s always lying. 別借錢給他。他總是說慌。
　　A: But I think he is really in difficulty this time. 但這一次我看他是真的遇上困難了。