1.poker¹ face 面无表情的人

例如：

I never know whether my boss likes my work or not -- he is a real poker face!

我从来也不知道我的老板到底喜不喜欢我的工作。他脸上可真是一点表情都没有。

2.The shoe is on the other foot. 形势已经完全不同

例如：

Back in school we made fun of Jones because we thought he spent too much time studying instead of having fun. Now the shoe is on the other foot -- he's made lots of money and the rest of us are just barely² making enough to feed our families。

以前在学校里念书的时候，我们老是笑话琼斯，认为他这个人老是念书，不会玩。可是，现在情况就完全不同了。他赚了不少钱，而我们这些人的收入只够维持家计而已。

3.to pay through the nose 高价

例如：

Life is funny. When the famous dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh was alive, nobody wanted to buy his pictures. But now rich people will pay through the nose for one, sometimes more than five million dollars。

人生实在是很有趣的。当那位有名的荷兰画家凡高还活着的时候，没有人要买他的画。可是，现在那些有钱人却愿意出高价买他的画，有时候一张画就要五百多万美元。”

4.to keep an ear to the ground 保持高度警觉

例如：

I try to keep an ear to the ground and what I hear these days is that most people think we spend too much money on building roads and not enough on our schools。

我总是设法注意人们的想法。最近我听说，大多数人认为我们在筑路方面花钱太多，而用在学校方面的钱却不足。

5.Up to one's ears 深深卷入

例如：

The mayor³ says he didn't know people on his staff were taking bribes⁴. But my guess is he's up to his ears in it."

市长说他不知道他手下的工作人员接受贿赂。可是，我猜想他完全是介入这些事的。

6.Sweeten the pot 增加有利条件

例如：

Miss Smith didn't want the job until the company sweentened the pot by offering her a higher salary and the use of a company car。

施密斯小姐本来不想要那份工作的。后来，那家公司提高了给她的工资，还给她一辆公司的汽车用。这样，她才接受了那个工作。