After he was attacked, he managed tostagger to the phone and call for help.
The company is staggering undera $15 million debt and will almostcertainly collapse by the end of the year.
The wind made the door/window slam (shut).
风吹过来门／窗户砰地关上了。
Close the door carefully, don't slam it.
小心关门，别使劲关。
He slammed the brakes on (= used them
quickly and with force) when a child ran in front of his car.一个孩子在他车前跑过，他猛地踩下刹车。
I had to stop suddenly, and the car behindme slammed into the back of me.
我不得不猛地停下，结果后面的车砰地追尾撞到我的车上。
A wasp came towards us and Howard startedflailing his arms around.
一只黄蜂冲我们飞来，霍华德开始使劲挥舞胳膊。
She ran from the house in a terrible rage,her arms flailing in the air.
她怒不可遏地从房子里跑出来，手臂在空中乱挥乱打。
We ran down to the beach and plunged intothe sea.
我们跑向海滩，纵身跳入海中。
The car went out of control and plungedover the cliff.
轿车失去控制坠下悬崖。
I lost my footing and tumbled down thestairs.
我一失足从楼梯上滚了下来。
At any moment the whole building couldtumble down.
整幢建筑随时有可能坍塌。
He lost his balance and tumbled over.
他失去平衡摔倒了。
Official policy has changed, for reasonsthat remain obscure.
官方的政策已改变，原因尚不清楚。
His answers were obscure and confusing.
他的回答模糊不清，令人费解。
We had to sprint to catch the bus.
我们不得不飞跑着去赶公共汽车。
He suddenly lunged at her with a brokenbottle.
他突然拿着破瓶子向她扑去。
I knocked into her in the corridor and senther sprawling (= knocked her over).
我在走廊里和她迎头相撞，把她撞了个四脚朝天。
sprawl verb (CITY)
Cats carry their kittens by the scruff ofthe neck.
猫提小猫时叼它的颈背。
I took/grabbed him by the scruff of hisneck and threw him out of the hall.
我揪住他的脖子把他扔出了大厅。
The old gentleman was spluttering withindignation.
那位老先生愤怒地嘟囔着什么。
[ + speech ] "But, er ... when, um,... how?" he spluttered.
“
但是，呃…什么时候，嗯……怎样？”他语无伦次地说道。
She took too big a gulp of whisky andstarted to cough and splutter.
她那一口威士忌喝得太多，开始咳嗽起来，嘴里噗噗地吐着气
he negotiations have been fraught withdifficulties/problems right from the start.
谈判从一开始就困难／问题重重。
From beginning to end, the airlift wasfraught with risks.
那次空运自始至终都危机四伏。
Someone was thumping on the door.他使劲敲门，但没人来应。
e gaily striped awnings of the market
stalls made an attractive scene.市场货摊上那些色彩鲜艳的条纹布遮阳篷构成了一道迷人的风景。
He had the breezy manner of a salesman.他具有推销员特有的乐天态度
She has a mischievous sense of humour.她很幽默，喜欢搞点恶作剧。
a book about the mischievous antics of his
ten-year-old daughter一本有关他10岁女儿顽皮行为的书
expressing or suggesting mischief
恶意的
a mischievous grin不怀好意的狞笑
used to describe behaviour or words thatare intended to cause harmor trouble
（行为）有害的；（话语）恶意中伤的
I think these rumours are mischievous.我认为这些流言是恶意中伤。
Everyone is leaving the village, bar the very
old and ill.除了年老体弱者，其他人都要离开村庄。
They're the best songwriters of this
century, bar none (= no one else is better).他们是本世纪最优秀的曲作者，无人能比。
There was some sort of property deal that
didn't come off.有笔房地产交易没有做成。
I tried telling a few jokes but they didn't
come off (= no one laughed).我试着讲了几个笑话，但没有奏效。
Standing in front of the mirror she tweaked
a strand of hair into place.她站在镜子前，把一缕头发卷好。
She got a sharp reproof for being late.她因迟到受到严厉斥责。
He picked up the broken vase without a word
of reproof to his son.他捡起被儿子打碎的花瓶，一句责备的话也没有说。
She walked in with a cheery "Good
morning!"她走进来，欢快地说：“早上好！”
He gave us a cheery wave as we drove past.我们开车驶过时，他愉快地向我们挥挥手。
The nurse will be with you soon - she's
settling a new patient in at the moment.护士马上就会到你这里来——她现在正在安顿一位新来的病人。
The soldier gave a click of his heels as he
saluted.士兵敬礼的时候脚后跟咔嚓一声并拢。
a wad of banknotes一叠钞票
They wrung an extra $500 out of us for thetransfer fees.
The family made discreet enquiries about
his background.那家人小心翼翼地打听他的背景。
She delicately crooked her little finger as
she picked up her cup.她端茶杯时优雅地翘起小指。
The boys wolfed the sandwiches (down) and
then started on the cake.男孩子们狼吞虎咽地吃掉了三明治，然后又开始吃蛋糕。
If she actually marries him I'll eat myhat.
House prices have plummeted in recent
months.房价近几个月来暴跌。
Several large rocks were sent plummeting
down the mountain.好几块巨石被从山上推下。
She plummeted to the ground.她一下摔到了地上。
Nothing you can say will dampen her
enthusiasm.不管你说什么她的热情丝毫不减。
I didn't want to dampen his spirits.我不想给他泼冷水。
He looked at me with flinty eyes.他目光冷峻地看着我。
How many times do I have to tell you
something before it sinks in?要我对你说多少遍，你才能明白?
His voice trailed off as the seriousness of
his position sank in.他渐渐明白了自己处境的严峻，话音慢慢低了下来。
Don't clatter the dishes - you'll wake the
baby up.别把碗碟碰得叮当响——会把宝宝吵醒的。
He was clattering away at his keyboard.他在键盘上咔嗒咔嗒打东西。
A blue wisp of cigarette smoke curled in
the air.香烟冒出的一缕青烟在空中缭绕。
She saw him coming and crouched (down)
behind a bush.看见他来了，她便蜷伏在一簇灌木丛后面。