English Idioms 英文成语

1. short-changed：少找给某人零钱；亏待；

（short-changed = you received less than you expected, so you feel like you were cheated = 你收到的比你预期的少，所以你觉得自己被骗了）

英文解释：If you pay $10 for a $7 item, the $3 you receive back is called "change." If you pay $10 for a $7 item and you only receive $2 back, then you are short-changed. As in the example of the "all-day seminar" that was only 3 sessions, the expression short-changed isn't always money. It can refer to anything that does not meet expectations or requirements：如果你花10美元买了一件价值7美元的商品，那么你收到的3美元就叫做“零钱”如果你花10美元买了一件7美元的东西，却只收到2美元，那你就亏了，少找给你了。就像在“全天研讨会”的例子中，只有3次会议，“少找”的表达并不总是钱，它可以指任何不符合期望或要求的。

例句：After attending the seminar, I feel like I was short-changed - they said it was an all-day event, but actually it was only three one-hour long sessions - one each in the morning, afternoon, and evening：参加了研讨会后，我觉得自己亏了——他们说这是一整天的活动，但实际上只有三次，每次一小时，早、中、晚各一次。

2. cash in on something：在某事上大赚一笔；

（cash in on something = to make money from it：从中赚钱）

英文解释：This idiom is often used for making money easily - like when companies try to cash in on current trends. 这个习语通常用于表示轻松的赚钱——比如公司试图利用当前的趋势赚钱。

例句：He appeared on a reality TV show last year, and now he's trying to cash in on his fame by writing a book. 他去年参加了一个真人秀节目，现在他正试图通过写一本书来利用自己的名气赚钱。

3. pay the price：付出代价；

（pay the price = suffer justified negative consequences：承受合理的负面后果）

英文解释：If you drink too much alcohol, you will pay the price with a headache the next morning. If you eat lots of fast food and never exercise, you will pay the price with health problems later. If you don't study, you will pay the price by feeling stressed when it's time for the test. 如果你喝了太多的酒，你第二天早上的头疼就是你付出的代价。如果你吃很多快餐，从不锻炼，你以后会为健康问题付出代价。如果你不好好学习，你考试时感到的压力就是你付出代价。

例句：My grandfather was just diagnosed with lung cancer. He's finally paying the price for smoking a pack a day for four decades. 我爷爷刚被诊断出患有肺癌。他最终要为四十年来每天吸一包烟付出代价了。

4. at a snail's pace：以蜗牛的速度；

（at a snail's pace = extremely slowly：极其缓慢的）

英文解释：This animal is called a snail, and the word "pace" means speed. A snail moves very slowly - so any process that is going "at a snail's pace" is moving extremely slowly. 这种动物叫蜗牛，单词“pace”的意思是速度。蜗牛移动得非常慢——所以任何“以蜗牛的速度”进行的过程都是非常缓慢的。

例句：I'm trying to upload a 10-minute video to the website, but it's going at a snail's pace... it won't finish for another three hours：我想把一段10分钟的视频上传到网站上，但进展的速度和蜗牛一样慢...至少要三个小时后才能完成。