1. A pain in the neck
　　
　　 如果有个美国人对你说： He’s a pain in the neck.你会不会把它解释为：He has a pain in the neck——他脖子痛？看起来倒是挺像的，对不对？现在来设想一下另一个场景——当你在电影院里聚精会神地欣赏电影时，有一个坐在中间的人不断地进进出出，你就不得不一次次地站起来为他让路，电影都没办法正常看了。这个时候你就可以一点也不夸张地说：He’s really a pain in the neck.
　　 Xiao: Alice asked us if we wanted to go to the cinema with her and her friends?
　　 Rossman: No, I don’t. You might not know that she’s a pain in the neck.
　　 Xiao: Really? Since she doesn’t feel comfortable, why does she want to go to the cinema?
　　 Rossman: She doesn’t feel well? I never said that.
　　 为什么Rossman说Alice’s a pain in the neck,却又否认他说过Alice身体不好的话呢？看过对话前的讲解，相信你应该有了一些了解。A pain in the neck的本意就从看戏而来——如果一个坐在中间的人不断地进进出出，相信你的脖子也会痛的。现在a pain in the neck已经不仅仅指戏院里那些不安分的观众，还可以代指一切让人头疼的人。以上正确的交谈应该是：
　　 Xiao: Really? She seems quite nice and good.
　　 Rossman: I had a date with her once before. It was horrible.
　　
　　2. A green hand
　　
　　 对于汉语学习者而言，最难的恐怕是汉语的成语和习语了，这些词往往有着深远的文化渊源，仅从字面上看很难理解其真正的含义。而对于英语学习者来说，难点也在于此。请看a green hand 在对话中的含义。
　　 Feng: I really can’t get along with Jim.
　　 Claudy: Well, what happened?
　　 Feng: He is so slow in his work that all of us have to stop to wait.
　　 Claudy: Forget it! He’s just a green hand.
　　 Feng: I can’t see there is anything wrong with his hands.
　　 Claudy: Who says something goes wrong with his hands?
　　 “ a green hand” 如果仅从字面上看这个短语，可能每个人都会觉得奇怪，怎么会有“绿色的手”呢？这也是Feng的疑问。其实这个短语的真正含义是“新手”，指那些刚刚从事某项工作，对工作还不甚熟练的人。如果Feng知道这个习语的正确含义就不会觉得奇怪了。可能就会有下面的交谈：
　　 Claudy: Forget it! He’s just a green hand.
　　 Feng: I know, but my patience(耐心)is running out.
　　 Claudy: Take it easy. Let’s go out for a drink.
　　
　　编辑：于赫