vivian

a fighting chance

(idiom) a fair chance, a good chance (cơ hội ngàn vàng )

an error of judgement

bad decision

judge someone harshly

be very critical of someone (đánh giá ai một cách khắc nghiệt )

blonde bombshell

blonde, very attractive woman

against your better judgement

despite the knowledge that something is a bad idea (mặc dù sự ) If something is against your better judgment, you think it would be wiser not to do it: Against my better judgment, I gave him the job. even though you feel you are not making the best decision:

creme de la creme

the best of the best (những người ưu tú nhất ) the crème de la crème She was hoping to attract the crème de la crème of the art world to her exhibition.

in the offing

( có khả năng xảy ra sớm ) With an election in the offing, the prime minister is keen to maintain his popularity.

on the rocks

( gặp khó khăn và có nguy cơ bị sụp đổ ) I think their marriage is on the rocks. If you have an alcoholic drink on the rocks, you have it with pieces of ice: I'll have a whisky on the rocks, please.

come out fighting come out swinging/fighting

( phản ứng một cách quyết liệt ) He came out swinging at his critics, accusing them of having their own agenda.

drops a bombshell

( thông báo tin gây sốc ) My sister dropped a bombshell by announcing she was leaving her job.

hang/ hold fire

( trì hoãn đưa ra quyết định ) Ideally we would settle the matter now, but I think we should hang fire until the general situation becomes clearer.

baptism of fire (/'bæptɪz(ə)m)

( trải nhiệm ban đầu gian nan ) I was given a million-dollar project to manage in my first month - it was a real baptism of fire.

took a nosedive (/ˈnəʊzˌdaɪv/)

( đã giảm đột ngột ) a sudden fast fall in prices, value, etc.: There was alarm in the markets when the dollar took a nosedive.

a fertile imagination/mind/brain

(/'fɜːtaɪl) một trí tưởng tưởng phong phú

battle of wills

conflict between two different, strong desires or intentions (cuộc đấu tranh giữa 2 thứ khác nhau , khát vọng mạnh mẽ, dự định )

run a tight ship

control something firmly and effectively (điều hành khách sạn một cách trật tự và có hiệu quả )

fuelling speculation (/'fjuəliŋ)

encouraging people to consider that something may be true(làm dấy lên nghi ngờ )

ad infinitum

endlessly(cho đến vô tận )

all hands on deck

everyone must work together because they have a lot of work to do(mọi người cần phải giúp một tay )

jump to conclusions

form opinions without sufficient evidence (vội vàng đi tớ kết luận )

stole a march on

got an advantage by acting before their rival did(có lợi thế ) Our rival company managed to steal a march on us by bringing out their software ahead of ours.

down the line

later in the future: Lots of things will have changed a few years down the road down the road : 在路边；一段时间之后 down the line adv. 完全地；沿着街道; adj. 彻底的;

ran out of steam

lost energy or interest (mất hết khí thế )

take great delight

luôn lấy làm vui sướng

take the wind out of sb's sails

làm nhụt chí ai đó , chọc giận ai đó

call to arms

lời kêu gọi nhập ngũ

Making good headway

making good progress (tiến triển tốt )

a nagging doubt (/ˈnæ gɪŋ/)

một sự nghi ngờ dai dẳng

opinions are divided

people hold different views (các ý kiến được phân chia )

a flash in the pan

promising at the start but then disappointing something that happened only once or for a short time and was not repeated: Sadly, their success was just a flash in the pan.

de facto

reality (trên thực tế ) He's her de facto husband though they're not actually married. English is de facto the common language of much of the world today.

grasp the importance of

understand how important something is

shot me down in flames (/fleɪm)

từ chối ý tưởng của tôi

on the warpath

angry and ready or eager for confrontation (sẵn sàng đấu tranh )

thinking laterally (/'læt(ə)r(ə)l/)

approaching a problem in an imaginative and original way rather than using a traditional approach

any port in a storm

có bệnh thì vái tứ phương

back on track

trở lại đúng hướng

fuelling

v. 加燃料；加油（fuel的ing形式） n. 燃料；油

The biological clock is ticking

Biological reason 大概出于生理原因

Doing a U-turn

Change your mind (kehrtwende)

do it on autopilot

Doing smth.without thinking (làm việc như một cái máy )

Laissez-faire

Idea that government should play as small a role as possible in economic affairs.(không can thiệp , tự do phóng khoáng ) If you choose a laissez-faire management style, you give your staff room to make their own decisions.

Batten down the hatches

If you batten down the hatches, you prepare for the worst that could happen to you.

life in the slow lane (/leɪn)

Lacking in excitement and danger(cuộc sống không bon chen )

Baptism (/'bæptɪz(ə)m)

We're going to our nephew's baptism this Sunday. n. [宗]洗礼；[喻]严峻考验

go/move/step up a gear

Work or play more effectively (hoạt động hiệu quả hơn )

state of euphoria (/juː'fɔːrɪə)

a feeling of excited happiness (trạng thái hân hoan )

a rough idea

a general idea (một ý tưởng sơ bộ )

a foregone conclusion

a result that is obvious to everyone even before it happens (một kết quả có thể dự đoán được )

life in the fast lane

a way of life that is full of activity and excitement 快节奏的生活（尤指带来财富和成功的激情生活）

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience

a lack of judgement

an inability to judge a situation wisely (thiếu sự phán đoán )

foregone

adj. 先前的；过去的；预知的；预先决定的 v. 发生在...之前（forego的过去分词）

fertile (/'fɜːtaɪl)

adj. 多产的, 富饶的 People get less fertile as they get older. fertile soil

ad hoc

adj. 特别的；临时；专设; adv. 特别地; for a specific purpose or situation an ad hoc committee/meeting We deal with problems on an ad hoc basis (= as they happen).

The two hemispheres do communicate with one another through the corpus callosum,which is made up of some 300 million axonal fibers

adj. 轴突的；轴索的（axon的形容词）

be on a collision course

behaving in such a way that is likely to cause a major disagreement or fight (đang xugn đột )

take a view/ attitude

cho rằng , quan niệm rằng tin rằng

shell shocked (PTSD)

choáng váng ①〈非正〉担忧恐慌的，迷惘不安的②患弹震症的

PM beats a retreat

chính phủ thoái lui

'm au fait with

chưa biết rõ về

subscribe to the theory (/səb'skraɪb/) (/'θɪərɪ/)

hold that opinion (tán thành , ủng hộ lý thuyết )

in the driving seat

in control of a situation (kiểm soát tình hình )

flying by the seat of your pants

intuitively (/in'tju:itivli/) Without a clear business plan, they are just flying by the seat of their pants. (hành động theo bản năng )

go by the board Does this mean our holiday plans will have to go by the board?

không màng tới

gauntlet (/'gɔːntlɪt)

n. (中世纪武士用的)金属手套 长手套, 防护手套

epiphyllum [,epi'filəm]

n. [园艺] 昙花

berth (/bɜːθ)

n. 停泊处，锚位；卧铺；差事 vt. 使......停泊；为......提供铺位 vi. 停泊；占铺位

speculation [,spekju'leiʃən]

n. 投机；推测；思索；投机买卖 [ 复数 speculations ]

euphoria

n. 极度愉快的心情;过度兴奋的情绪 (/juː'fɔːrɪə)

bombshell ['bɔmʃel]

n. 炸弹；突发事件；引起震惊的人或事 [ 复数 bombshells ]

conviction (/kən'vɪkʃ(ə)n)

n. 确信, 坚定的信仰 定罪, 判罪 Since it was her first conviction for stealing, she was given a less severe sentence. a strong opinion or belief: religious/moral convictions a deep/strong/lifelong conviction He said he was enjoying his new job, but his voice lacked conviction.

come to a standstill

not progress/stop (ngừng hoạt động )

compos mentis

of sound mind She was very old but still compos mentis.

beta noire

someone or something that one especially dislikes, dreads, or avoids(ghét cay ghét đắng ) bête noire My particular bête noire is cigarette butts being left in half-empty glasses.

non sequitur

something that does not logically follow (không nhất quán )

gone off the rails (/reɪl/)

started behaving in an unacceptable way(xa ngã ) He went off the rails in his first year at university.

wrestle with a problem (/'res(ə)l/)

struggle to find a solution (vật lộn với 1 vấn đề )

weather the storm

survive a difficult situation(vượt qua khó khăn ) In the next few days we will see if the ambassador can weather the political storm caused by his remarks.

firm conviction (/kən'vɪkʃ(ə)n)

sự tin chắc

c'est la vie

that's life, such is life(cuộc sống mà )

status quo

the existing state of affairs

in the wake of sb/ sth or in sb's / something's wake

theo sau

a fait accompli

thing already done (sự việc đã rồi ) The policy change was presented to us as a fait accompli, without consultation or discussion.

give it some thought

think about it a little (suy nghĩ cân nhắc về điều gì đó )

be taken aback

to be surprised and confused (stress the last word; used in the passive) (sốc , ngạc nhiên ) I was somewhat taken aback by her honesty.

pass judgement on

to criticise (phán xét ) We are still waiting for the court to pass/pronounce judgment (= give a decision) on the case.

run the gauntlet (/'gɔːntlɪt)

to endure a series of troubles or difficulties (phải đối mặt với rất nhiều người đặc biệt những người chỉ trích và phê phán ) Every day they had to run the gauntlet of hostile journalists on their way to school.

cut and run

to leave quickly in order to avoid danger or trouble (trốn thoát, chuồn nhanh chóng )

joined the ranks of

trở nên (thất nghiệp )

at / behind the wheel

tài xế

is flying high

đang rất thành công

poor judgement

糟糕的判断

Fling

随意的、不太认真的感情

give someone/ something a wide berth (/bɜːθ)

xa lánh , tránh né

plus ca change

xoay đi xoay lại thì vẫn thế thôi