1. I said a few words off the cuff.
我即兴讲了几句。
►off the cuff 即兴地，即席地，临时地，无准备地；非正式地，很随便地。与off-hand相似。
e.g. this is not the kind of question that one can answer off the cuff. 这可不是那种可以当场答复的问题。
当你回答一个问题，而对你的答案又不太肯定时，就可以用off the cuff这个习惯用语。
e.g. Off the cuff, I'd say about two thousand. 我的印象好像是两千人。
2. By rights, I owe you an apology.
按理说，我得向你道歉。
►by rights 按理说；正当地
e.g. By rights he should be king. 按理说，他应该当国王。
3. Fear is contagious.
恐慌会传染。
4. Will they reimburse you?
报销吗？
5. Your eyes are tantalizing.
你的眼睛让人心猿意马。
6. Don’t tamper with the machine.
别瞎鼓捣机器。
►tamper with 篡改；贿赂；胡乱摆弄；瞎搞
《生活大爆炸》第三季第1集中Howard他们篡改了Sheldon的实验数据：
Sheldon: You tampered with my experiment?
Raj: We had to. It was the only way to keep you from being such a huge Dickensian.
7. OK, I’ll play along.
他不是想玩吗？OK，我陪他玩。
►play along 合作，焦虑地等待，参与
e.g. I am glad you've decided to play along. 我高兴的是你决定合作了。
e.g. Sometimes they would play along with us and pretend to be scared by some ghost or witch. 有时候他们会跟我们一起玩，假装被鬼或者女巫吓着了。
8. The song failed to catch fire.
这首歌没火起来。
►catch fire（用火石）打火；（用火柴）擦火；对……产生很深影响，激起热情
e.g. Paper is apt to catch fire. 纸容易着火。
e.g. For the first time the campaign began to catch fire. 这场运动从现在起才开始沸腾起来了。
9. I’m biding my time.
我在等待时机。
10. Any stick will serve to beat a dog with.
欲加之罪，何患无辞。
