学术生活百科之十一生活学习会用到的非正式短语

judydongxueni

Expression	Synonym(s)	Example
about-face	reversal	After first rejecting our offer, she did an about-face and accepted it
about to	ready to, all set to	We were about to start the meeting when Jack called to say he'd be late.
above all	especially, most importantly	Above all, be sure to test all the samples using the same procedure.
account for	explain	We are unable to account for the extra chlorine in the water supply
all along	the whole time, fro, the beginning	I felt all along that we were on the wrong track
all in all	all things considered, in general	All in all, despite problems with the weather, we had a successful trip.
all set	ready	Everything is all set for the visitors' arrival
allow for	take into consideration	Unfortunately, our calculations failed to allow for possible errors
amount to	total, add up to	Our expenses will probably amount to more than $100,000
appeal to	be attractive to	This new model should appeal to potential buyers
arrive at	reach, make	The committee expects to arrive at a decision sometime next week
ask about	inquire	I asked the project manager about hiring a new technician, but she said there were no funds for it in the budget.
ask for	request	We'll have to ask the manager for more supplies
(not) at all	of any kind, in any way	They don't have any software specialists at all
(be) at fault	wrong, deserving of blame	I'm afraid I'm at fault: I forgot to reset the stack switch
(be) aware	know about	Are you aware of David's medical problems?
back to square one	at the starting point again	We're not making any progress with this approach. Let's go back to square one and try again.
back and forth	first in one direction, then in the opposite direction	A pendulum swings back and forth
back up	move backward	Back the truck up to the loading dock
back up	support, reinforce	Be sure to back up your recommendations with good arguments
beat around the bush	avoid stating the main point	He didn't want to embarrass them, so instead of saying what was on his mind he kept beating around the bush
blow up	detonate, explode	If too much pressure builds up in the sterilizer, it might blow up
bottom line	main point	The bottom line is that they're not going to support us after our current grant expires
(be) bound to	certain to	If we send out enough grant proposals to other agencies, we're bound to get some support somewhere
brand-new	absolutely new	Barbara traded in her old car for a brand-new one.
break down	stop functioning	The new machine has already broken down
break down	analyze, take apart	We shall begin by breaking the process down into 15 steps.
breakthrough	a major development or advance	IBM is about to make a new breakthrough in computer technology
bring up	introduce a topic of discussion	I hate to bring up this topic at this time, but I thing we really need to talk about it
brush up on	renew one's knowledge	I'll have to brush up on my French before going to Paris next year.
build on/upon	to use as a foundation	I'd like to get a job where I can build on my university training.
burn the midnight oil	work late at night, work overtime	To get my report finished on time, I’ll have to burn the midnight oil.
burn up	destroy by fire or heat	Unfortunately those files were all burned up in that fire we had last month
by and large	for the most part, in general	We've had some problems on this project, but by and large it's been quite a success.
by the way	incidentally, while we're on the subject	By the way - since you've raised the subject - why did you decide to use the 9200?
by word of mouth	by unofficial communication	Many job openings are advertised by word of mouth, not by posted advertisement
call on	visit	May I call on you in your office sometime next week?
call (up)	telephone	I'll call you (up) as soon as I arrive. By the way, what's your number?
(be) capable of	able to	Ms. Gray's latest report shows that she is capable of handling tough assignments
(be) careful to	take measures to, be sure to	You must be careful to protect our trade secrets from our competitors.
carry out	accomplish, complete	You will be expected to carry out your duties without extra help
carry the ball	be in charge, have primary responsibility	We've done our share; let's let Jones carry the ball from now on.
catch up on	do what was postponed earlier	I hope to catch up on my reading during my vacation
catch up with	overtake, draw even with a competitor after being behind	Although our competitors have been working on this process for a long time, I think we can catch up with them soon
change one's mind	revise one's opinion about something	At first I thought their plan was good, but now I’ve changed my mind.
change over to	convert to	We shall change all our operations over to the SI system in January
check over	inspect, examine	Check the equipment over one more time before you start
check up on	investigate	We'd better check up on that company's credit rating before signing any contract with them
check with	ask for advice or approval	It sounds like a good idea to me, but you should check with Dr. Lee before you go ahead with it.
come across	discover, find	I thought I had gotten all the bugs out of the program, but then I came across some new ones
come along	progress, develop	How are your hydroponic tomatoes coming along?
come in handy	be useful	This new tool should come in handy
come out	be published, be issued	The new OSHA regulations should come out sometime next week
come to terms	reach an agreement	After three days of negotiations, the company and the union finally came to terms
come to the point	state the main point	I wish you'd come to the point instead of beating around the bush so much
come up with	develop, find	We should be able to come up with a solution to this problem by tomorrow
consist of	be composed of	Brass consists of copper and zinc
count on	depend on	You can count on that company to deliver the software on time
cut down on	reduce	We can make a profit only if we cut down on expenses
cut off	stop, terminate	Our supplier has threatened to cut off further shipments unless we pay our bill
cut out	remove	The administration intends to cut all unnecessary items out of the budget
day in and day out	regularly	Sue comes to work day in and day out, even when she's not feeling well.
day off	holiday	I'd like to take a day off next week so that I can visit my sick aunt
deal with	confront, face	I'm too tired to deal with that problem right now; let's take it up tomorrow
a dime a dozen	plentiful, commonplace	Skilled carpenters used to be a dime a dozen; now it's hard to find one anywhere
depend on	rely on, count on	Linda's a good researcher; I think we can depend on her to design the experiment right
(be) devoted to	be concerned with	Most of the staff meeting will be devoted to discuss in the annual report
do over	do again, redo	Your homework has too many mistakes in it; you'll just have to do it over.
down-to-earth	practical, realistic	We're spending too much time philosophizing about this; let's be a little bit more down-to-earth, OK?
drop off	fall off, decline	We expect their production of 360s to drop off as soon as they start manufacturing the 420x
dwell on	be overly concerned with	Why dwell on the problems of the past? We've got enough things to worry about right now!
end up with	have as a result	If you hire that technician, you'll end up with serious trouble in the lab
enlarge upon	explain in more detail	I see that this idea is new to you, so let me enlarge upon it for a minute
faced with	confronted with	If this product doesn't sell, our firm will soon be faced with bankruptcy
fall behind	proceed too slowly lag behind	Production will fall behind if the supplies don't arrive soon
fall off	decrease, drop off	The present rate of inflation should fall off by several percentage points in the next year.
feed into	flow into	The paper feeds into the machine, where it is printed on both sides.
few and far between	rare	Skilled carpenters used to be found all over the place; now they are few and far between
figure on	plan on, expect to	Sam knew that going into business for himself would be difficult, but he didn't figure on going bankrupt
figure out	solve	No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to figure out this homework problem
fill in	insert material in	To complete this report form, all you have to do is fill in the blanks.
fill out	complete	Please fill out this application form before you leave.
find out	discover	We shall find out the truth one way or another
finish up	complete	We can't finish up this job without more concrete
focus (one's attention) on	concentrate on	In this report I shall focus on the steps we took to improve our analytical procedure.
follow up on	pursue, develop	Perez has good ideas, but he seldom follows up on them
for good	forever, permanently	I think Shirley has left the academic world for good; she's got everything going for her in industry
for the time being	for the present	The lab routine seems to be working fine for the time being. If problems come up later, we can always change it.
from A to Z	completely, from start to finish	Just to make sure everybody knows the procedure, let's go through it from A to Z
from time to time	occasionally, once in a while	From time to time my husband has to go to the clinic for therapy
get down to business	talk business after polite formalities	They spent 10 minutes talking about mutual acquaintances before getting down to business
get going	start	I'm tired of sitting around waiting for everybody to show up; I wish we could get going
get in touch with	contact by phone or by mail	Is there any way we can get in touch with you while you are on your trip?
get off	mail	I'll ask my secretary to get this material off to you as soon as possible
get rid of	dispose of	We don't need this stuff anymore. Will you please get rid of it?
give someone a buzz/ring	telephone	I'll give you a buzz at home tonight, OK?
gloss over	discuss superficially and thus hide certain weakness	Your report would be okay, Johnson, expect that it glosses over some potentially very serious problems
go ahead	proceed	When I heard it was on sale for 25% off, I decided to go ahead and buy it
go by	be called by, use as a name	Your last name is hard for me to pronounce. Is there anything else you go by?
go-getter	an energetic, ambitious person	John's a real go-getter, isn't he?
go halves/50-50	split the costs	I know you invited me out, Tim, but let's go halves on the bill, okay? It wouldn't be fair for you to pay it all yourself
go over	review, re-example	Let's go over this procedure one more time to be sure that everyone understands it.
go over someone's head	bring a complaint or proposal directly to your boss's supervisor without first getting your boss's permission	Sometimes the best way to get something done is by going over your boss's head. In some companies, though, it's the fastest way to get fired!
hand in	turn in, submit	Do you think you can hand in your report by 5:00?
hands-on experience	direct, personal experience	Kay should be just the person we need: she has a lot of bands-on experience with x-ray machines
hang up (the phone)	put the receiver back on the hook	Excuse me, Sue, but I’ve got to hang up; my supervisor wants to talk to me
have a lot on the ball	have many good qualities	Carol has a lot on the ball; I think she'll go far in her career.
have a word with	talk with	Max, could I have a word with you when you get a minute?
hinge on	depend on	The success of this new surgical technique hinges on how skilled the surgeon is
hit the ceiling	become angry	Mr. Diaz will really hit the ceiling when he hears about this!
hold off (on)	postpone	Mr. Davis says he wants to hold off on the decision until the monthly review is completed.
hold up	delay	These repairs shouldn't hold up production for more than a few hours
hold water	have any validity	I'm sorry, but your argument just doesn't hold water
how come	why	How come you haven't complained about this before?
impose on/upon	inconvenience, be a burden to	I don't want to impose on you, but I need a letter of recommendation. Would you mind writing one for me?
improve on something	make something even better	I know it's a good product, Owens, but isn't there some way we can improve on it?
in a nutshell	in summary, in short	I'll just skip the details for the time being and tell you basically what happened. To put it in a nutshell, all our amoeba samples were contaminated.
in case (of)	in the event of	In case of an accident, call Dr. Wilson
in charge of	responsible for	I'm putting you in charge of this part of this experiment
in-house	within the company	Rather than using an outside agency, wouldn't it be more economical to develop our own in-house training program?
in the same boat	faced with the same problem	The models we're competing against all failed the collision test, too. In fact, it looks like we're all in the same boat on this
(be) in the way	be an obstruction, a hindrance	I wish we could move this table somewhere else; it's just in the way here
in time	within the required time	In order to finish my data-processing in time, I’ll have to work night and day
inquire about	ask about	The project manager just called to inquire about our progress
interfere with	hinder	Professor Kim doesn't believe in interfering with the creative work of research scientists
jot down	quickly write down	Let me just jot down your phone number so that I can get in touch with you
jump to the conclusion that	make a quick judgment without adequate justification	Mr. Young looked at my first two printouts and jumped to the conclusion that i was arguing for method a. In reality, though, i think method b is better
keep abreast of	keep up with, stay current with	We should be keeping abreast of the latest developments in our field
keep down	maintain at a low level	I'd like to keep our expenses down, if at all possible
keep in mind	bear in mind, not forget or overlook	Keep in mind that all the samples must be assayed before we can move on to the next stage of the experiment
keep in touch	stay in communication (with)	We've enjoyed doing business with you. Please keep in touch
keep on	continue	The one thing that drives me crazy is that Joe keeps on smoking in the lab even though we asked him not to.
keep out	prevent from entering	Be sure to keep all strangers out of the building
keep pace with	be competitive with	Without our own computer we cannot keep pace with our competitors
keep track of	know the location or status of	It's hard for me to keep track of all my papers; maybe I need a filing system
know-how	practical knowledge	Susan has the know-how it takes to get the job done right
know the ropes	know the customary procedures, be experienced