Top

1. top banana 公司的总裁

大家可能会感到奇怪，top是最高，banana是香蕉，最高跟香蕉有什么关系呢？

Top banana 这个说法是来自美国的文艺界。一百年前美国还没有电影和电视。当时有一种舞台演出，内容有流行的音乐、舞蹈和说笑话。有时一个讲笑话的演员讲完一个笑话之后，别人就给他一个香蕉。慢慢地，人们便把最滑稽的演员称为 top banana。

现在，人们还是把电视上演闹剧的人叫做 top banana，但是top banana这个说法随着社会的发展又有了新的含义，它也可以指一个公司的总裁，或者是政府官员。

下面就是一个讲前美国官员基辛格的例子。

For many years Doctor Henry Kissinger has been a top banana in American foreign policy. He is no longer in public office but plenty of people still listen to his advice.

许多年来，亨里基辛格博士在美国外交政策方面是最高级的一位官员。现在他已经不再担任公职，但是许多人仍然愿意听取他的意见。

2.top brass商业界的重要人物

Top brass和 top banana有相似之处，但是所指对象不同。Top banana 的说法比较随便，而 top brass的说法源自于军队，所以比 top banana更加郑重一些。Brass就是黄铜。但是，top brass里的 brass指美国军帽帽舌上金颜色的编织物。起初，top brass指军队里的高级将领。战争结束后，top brass也用来指商业界的重要人物。

例句：

Do you know how Mr. Iacocca got to be the top brass at the Chrysler auto company? He was the one most willing to pick up and try new ideas and these took him all the way to the top.

你们知道亚科克先生是怎么成为克莱斯勒汽车公司的总裁的？因为他最愿意接纳新的主意，并且试验这些新主意。这些品质使他逐步晋升，并成为最高领导。

美国人上班的时候都穿得很正式。男男女女一般都穿西装。但是，下了班，他们都习惯穿比较宽大舒服的便服。因此，到了周末大家好像穿的都差不多，很难看出每个人的地位。下面是一个人周末在超级市场买菜时跟朋友说的话。

See that guy selecting potato chips over there? Don't mistake him as an ordinary person like you and me. He's the top brass in our company, with the power to hire or fire anybody in the whole outfit.

看见那边在挑土豆片的那个人了吗？你别以为他是像你我一样的普通人。他可是我们公司里的重要人物，他有权在整个公司里雇用人或者解雇人。

3. on top of the world 非常得意，非常高兴

从字面来解释，它的意思是：在世界的顶峰。但是作为习惯用语，它的意思就是：非常得意，非常高兴。的确，站在山巅一览众山小的气势会叫人得意非凡。

例句：

Who would imagine somebody like Lee could even graduate from college--confined to a wheel chair! Now he's going to America all by himself. Nobody could feel more on top of the world right now!

谁能想像李这样一个坐在轮椅里的残疾人居然能够从大学毕业。现在，他自己一个人要到美国去了。没有人现在能比他更感到高兴的了。

句中用了一个名词wheel-chair。Wheel-chair就是残疾人坐的轮椅。Wheel是轮子，chair就是椅子，wheel-chair就是轮椅。

下面这个例句是讲一个母亲靠自己一个人的努力抚养大了四个孩子。她的朋友这么描述：

I really admire Alice. Thirty years of hard work raising kids. Her youngest son just got married and all her children are doing well. She tells me she's on top of the world now for the first time in her life.

我真是佩服艾丽斯。她辛苦了三十年把孩子培养成人。她最小的儿子刚结婚，所有的孩子都很发达。她对我说，现在她真是感到非常高兴。这是她一辈子第一次感到这么高兴。

Break

“Break”作为英文中的一个常用词，能够与很多词语搭配形成短语，表达丰富的含义，今天我们就来学习一些吧。

1. break up 分手/解散

Four months ago , my girlfriend and I broke up.

四个月前，我和我的女朋友分手了。

The police had to employ force to break up the crowd.

警察不得不使用武力驱散人群。

2. break down 精神崩溃/毁坏

The machine must break down at this busy hour.

正忙的时候，机器偏偏又坏了。

He finally break down under the four-hour's strain.

在四小时的压力下他终于坚持不了。

3. break in 破门而入

Robbers often breaks in at midnight.

强盗经常在半夜破门而入。

4. break out 出皮疹/爆发

His efforts were brought to naught when the war broke out.

战争爆发，使他的一切努力付诸东流。

The baby broke out in a rash.

婴孩全身出了一片红疹。

5. break off 休息一下/暂停

Let's break off work for a few minutes.

我们把工作暂停几分钟。

6. break through 突破/穿过

The sun broke through the clouds.

太阳冲破云层出来了。

We hope to break through soon in the fight against AIDS.

我们希望在与艾滋病的斗争中很快有所突破。

7. break even 不赚不赔，收支平衡

It will be a year before the firm makes a profit but at least it's breaking even.

这家公司一年以后才能赢利，现在至少已收支平衡了。

8. the break of dawn 破晓

She got up at the break of dawn.

天刚亮她便起床了。

9. break the ice 打破僵局/破冰

The host told a joke to his guest to break the ice.

主人为了打破僵局，给客人讲了个笑话。

10. break the bank 太贵

Come on! One evening at the theatre won't break the bank.

Get

Get是大家最为熟悉的几大动词之一了，不过你确定完全get了这个词的用法了吗？

好词要充分利用啊，我们来仔细整理一下它的用法。

Get的不同意思receive / have 得到

➤Are you getting a refund?

你能拿到退款么？

➤Are you getting any reception?

有人招待你吗？

➤Don't expect to get a high-paying job right out of school.

别刚一毕业就期待能得到高薪的工作。

➤Can I get change for a twenty?

我能换20块的零钱么？

➤It's super important that I get this internship.

得到这份实习对我来说超级重要。

➤Let's get an objective opinion. Tom, what do you think?

我们需要一个客观的评价，汤姆，你怎么看？

➤I got this on sale for only four bucks.

这是折扣的时候买的，我只花了四块钱。

➤I only got four hours of sleep last night.

我昨晚上只睡了四个小时。

➤I've gotten a lot of positive feedback on it.

我收到了很多积极反馈。



become 变成

➤I can definitely tell you're getting better.

我可以明显看出来你正在好转。

➤I get distracted so easily!

我很容易分心。

➤I want to try to shed a few pounds and get back in shape.

我想要减轻体重，恢复原来的体形。

➤It's getting harder and harder to earn a living as a photographer these days.

现在当摄影师，真是越来越难过活了。

go / come / arrive 去、来、到达 ➤My wife will kill me if I don't get home soon.

如果我不快点回家，我老婆会杀了我的。

➤I wouldn't sign up for a tour unless it was somewhere that's really hard to get around in as a foreigner.

我不会报名参加旅游团的，除非是去外国人很难玩的地方。

➤I was talking with this girl who just got back from maternity leave.

我刚刚在和刚休完产假回来的女孩聊天。

understand 理解 ➤I don't get it.

我不懂。

➤Got it!

懂了！

➤She was asking something about her travel arrangements, but I didn't quite get what she wanted.

她刚刚在问关于她的旅行安排的事宜，但是我并没有弄懂她究竟想要什么。



get sth done 完成某事 ➤Did you get it colored?

你给它涂好色了吗？

➤Where'd you get it done?

你在哪里搞定这事儿的的？

get to do sth 能够做某事➤You get to pick and choose.

你可以随便挑选。

get表示负面含义

➤I got caught without an umbrella.

我没带伞，被雨淋了。

➤I got yelled at for not calling.

我因为没打电话被骂了。

含有get的动词短语1get to

到达；开始；对…(的情感)产生影响

➤All right - let's get to work.

好吧，让我们开始工作。

➤Don't let their pettiness and negativity get to you.

不要让他们的卑鄙和负能量影响了你。

➤I probably won't be able to get to that until tomorrow morning.

我可能到明天早上才能做这件事。

2get into

进入；陷入

➤I watched a few episodes, but I couldn't really get into it.

我看了几个片段，但我不能真正沉浸其中。

➤Try not to get into a temper.

尽量不要生气。

3get sth straight

办好

➤I think you need to get your priorities straight.

我认为你需要把优先要做的事情办好。

4get rid of

去除，摆脱



➤The only thing about fish is that it's so hard to get rid of the odor.

鱼最不好的一件事就是腥味很难去除。

➤But seriously, it's time you got rid of that thing.

讲真，你是时候该摆脱这事儿了。

5get doing

开始做某事

➤I should get going.

我应该开始动手了。

7get up

起床

➤My grandpa used to tell me about how he had to get up at the crack of dawn every day to start work on the farm.

我爷爷曾经告诉我，他每天必须在破晓时分就起床开始在农场工作。



8get back to

回电话给某人



➤Please get back to me by the end of the day.

请在今天结束前给我回电话。

9get through to

使理解；打通电话

➤What's it going to take to get through to you?

到底怎么样才能让你明白？

10get around to doing

抽空做某事

➤Looks like they finally got around to fixing that light.

看上去他们终于抽出时间来修灯了。

使用get的习语

▷OK! Get off my back!

好了！别烦我了。

▷No way! Get out of here!

没门！滚粗！

▷OK. Let's get down to business.

好吧，让我们开始做正事。

▷I'm getting a head start on my Christmas shopping.

我的圣诞采购比别人更早一点。

▷Sweetheart, it's 2016. Get with it!

甜心，现在是2016年了，接受现实吧！

▷She got tied up at work.

她被工作缠身。