592.We have achieved our goals, but there are clouds on the horizon. The government is going to cancel our funding. 我们已经完成了既定目标，不过前面好像困难不小，政府即将取消对我们的财政支持。on the horizon 前面。More demonstrations are on the horizon.即将发生更多的游行示威。Travel, read, discuss - expand your horizons! 旅游，阅读，讨论-扩展你的视野！

　　593. It is only one month from their hookup to their breakup. 他们从相好到分手仅仅过了一个月。
　　594. This is a terrible letdown. 这太令人失望了。口语里letdown代替disappointment。I promise I won’t let you down. 我保证我不会让你失望的。
　　595. That is where I went off course. 这是我出错的地方。注意off course与of course意思是不同的。
　　596. The trade deficit has gone off the chart. 贸易赤字大得都已经是无法想象了。off the chart 超于寻常，This basket player’s income is off the chart. 这个篮球运动员的收入令人惊讶。
　　597. off the wall 奇怪，荒唐 He did something totally off the wall. 他做的事简直是荒唐透顶。The idea of a free election in China is totally off the wall. 想在中国举行自由选举真是荒唐。
　　598. off the record, 不公开，私下What he was about to say, he told the reporters, was strictly off the record. 他给记者打招呼说，他下面要说的绝对不要见报。
　　599. off the beaten path, 又作off the beaten track, 人烟稀少的地方 I like to travel to regions off the beaten path. 我喜欢去常人少去的那些地方。
　　600. far-flung, 相当于remote, in a far-flung village, 在一个偏远的村庄。In the far-flung future, human beings are going to immigrate to Mars. 在遥远的将来，人类会要移民到火星。（比较：in the near future, 在不久的将来）far-flung adventure 到偏远的地方冒险。

日期：2008-8-26　10:37:14

　　601. His home is in the middle of nowhere. 搞不清他的家在哪里（或者说，他的家在很偏远的一个地方。）。相反的说法是，in the middle of everything, 靠一切都很近，很方便。We are right in the middle of everything. 我们的位置非常便利。
　　602. On the business battlefield, the power of marketing can be blown to bits by happenstance. 在生意战场上，市场营销的力量在细节上体现出来。
　　603. My life is at a crossroads. 我的人生正处在一个十字路口。注意，如同a lens一样，复数前用a。
　　604. You don"t have to give me your decision now. Sleep on it, and let me know tomorrow. sleep on it, 不要急于回答或做决定，可以等一天或几天。
　　605. Kick基本含义是“踢”，与kick有关的几个口语：I got a big kick out of it. 这事让我乐了好一阵。 She is trying to help him and she feels she is kicked in the teeth. 她在尽力地要帮助他，但她觉得他根本就不领情，还给她白眼。（不能直译，翻译成把谁的牙齿给踢掉了。）kickback 回扣。It is against law to get kickbacks in USA. 在美国拿回扣是违法行为。Tianjin is just a sidekick to Beijing. 天津不过是北京的一个陪衬城市。He is just a sidekick of the boss, he cannot make any decision. 他不过是老板的陪衬，作不了决定。His letter kicked off the investigation. 他的信促使了有关人开始了调查。kick off 开始。When they kicked in gear to save the old buildings, most of them had been demolished. 就在他们要努力拯救那些老式建筑时，很多已经被扒掉了。kick in gear，开始作努力。

　　606. They are throwing me kind of a going-away party. throw a party 开舞会、聚会；throw a going-away party 开欢送会 = farewell party
　　607. She cried her eyes out. 她眼都哭肿了。
　　608. Forget about it. You are making too much out of it. 得了吧，你不要为这事大惊小怪好不好。这样的事不值得这样小题大作。
　　609. He is an under-miner. 他是个拖后腿的人。
　　610. play dumb, 装傻。Playing dumb is being smart. 大智若愚。

日期：2008-8-26　20:30:34

　　611. play dirty 玩鬼。Even if his opponents cheat and lie, Pat won"t play dirty. 尽管对手故意犯规，Pat也不玩鬼。
　　612. He"s been playing games with us. We can"t believe what he says. play games with: 耍心眼，搞鬼计。他不过是在跟我们闹着玩，我们信不了他说的话。
　　613. She doesn’t want to come across as a party pooper. come across as 以什么样的形象出现。“她不想让大家觉得她是个扫大家兴的人” He came across as a dull-witted manager incapable of running the department. 他这个人呆头呆脑，无法管理这个部门。
　　614. comfort zone: 舒适带，（自己习惯了的窝）You have to get out of your comfort zone if you really want to challenge yourself. 如果你要向自己挑战的话，你就得从自己的安乐窝里走出来。（激励自己或他人一句很有用的话。）
　　615. You have to go beyond your own borders to better understand how others perceive you. 你得走出自己的小圈子，这样才能更好地理解别人对你看法。 go beyond your own borders, 走出自己的圈子

　　616. That is what we know all along. 这些事我们一直以来都知道。（虽然从来没有证实。）all along一直以来。
　　617. 美国人喜欢用这个句型开玩笑。There is a theory that there are two kinds of people in this world: people…; people…. 有种说法，这个世界上只有两类人，一类是…，另一类是…。例如：I believe there are only two kinds of people in the business world, fast people and dead people. 我相信在生意场上，只有两类人，一类是行动快的人，一类是死人。（言下之意就是如果你动作慢了，就会被淘汰。）有个移民说：There are only two kinds of people in the world: people who are living in America, people who want to live in America. 如果你是自我优越感强的北京人，你就可以套这个句型了。There are two kinds of women in this world: women who love to put on makeup, and women who don’t want to put it off. 这个世界上只有两类女人，一是喜欢化妆的女人，一是不愿卸妆的女人。There are two kinds of people in this world: those who ride Harley-Davidsons and those who wish they did. 世界上只有两类人，一是骑哈雷族，一是但愿自己属哈雷族。（这是哈雷的广告词。）我上次套这个句型说了这样一句话，把周围人逗乐了：There are only two kinds of communist bureaucrats: the corrupted ones and the ones yet to be corrupted. 只有两类共产党官员，一类是已经腐败了，一类是就要腐败了。记住，这个句型的诀窍是，表面上看是在说有两类人，实际上只有一类人。有哪位朋友想试一下这个句型？

　　618. If the Olympics are not your bag, don’t sweat it. 如果你并不热衷奥运，就不要去凑热闹了。
　　619. Most athletes in China don’t have a well-rounded life. 中国的运动员大部分发展都不均衡。You need to develop a well-round life. 你的人生应该全面发展才好。