Phone Banking

Phone banking 不一定跟银行业务有关，最近我们学区的多个教委任期满了，我们的教师工会号召大家去打电话给选民, 为工会支持的几位候选人拉票 - The union is conducting phone banking for our school board recommended candidates.
Phone banking 在这里指通过打电话给选民，为某竞选人拉票。
Phone banking is a common strategy in political campaigns.  现在很多候选人或议案的倡议人靠义工为他们打电话拉票，我们家最近每天都接到不少这类的电话。
bank在这里指助选者打电话时所坐的长书桌或板凳。"Bank" refers to the long desks or benches that the people sit at, using the rows of phones.

Jab

美国总统大选进入拉票白热化，"jab" 这个字在新闻中天天出现。
Obama jabs at Romney during crucial debate.
Romney jabs Obama's record.
Romney and Obama trade jabs.
jab: to poke or thrust abruptly; to stab or piece with a sharp object; to punch with short blows.  猛击，戳，刺，捅。

奥巴马和罗姆尼唇枪舌剑，利用一切机会，狠狠地攻击对方。

美食家、好食者

今天收到一个电邮，题为"Calling All Foodies: The Greatest Food Competition Hits the Vegas Strip"。十一月一日开始，在拉斯维加斯将举行为期四天的世界美食冠军赛。
Foodies: someone who is interested in foods, cooking, and the latest food and restaurant fads. 可以是专业的美食家，也可以是任何的好食者。

Ding 也是英文字

原来 “ding” 也是英文的词。英文的 "ding" 是象声词,  形容小东西碰到金属, 或敲小铃时的声响。 (大钟： “ding-dong!,” 小铃： “ding-a-ling!”)

“ding” 也用作动词,  比如汽车受损出现小凹:

“He's so angry.  He just bought that car last week, and it already got dinged in the parking lot.”

还有, "ding" 也可指考试或者工作面试等时候失去一些分数:

“That teacher is too strict! I would have gotten 100% on the test, but she dinged me five points just for forgetting to write my name at the top of the page!”

(这是Cathy写的头贴，请大家多多捧场鼓励啊！）

鼓劲、打气

最近有人赢了个最佳胡子奖(Best Facial Hair Ever Award)，新闻的标题是: Fan's Goatee Shows Who He's Rooting For.  该男子把胡子剃成字母"T", 为自己最喜欢的Tennessee校队打气。
详情请看：http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/tennessee-fan-wins-best-facial-hair-ever-award-163410813--ncaaf.html
to root for: to cheer on, to give moral support to. 为某队/某人鼓劲、打气。

不三不四的下等人

今天听人开玩笑说:"We don't associate with riff-raff."  我们不跟不三不四的下等人来往。
riff raff 的词源来自古法文 "rif et raf"，愿意是"one and all"。现指声誉不好或没用的社会最底层的人。

jaw-dropping

今天看到介绍在拉斯维加斯的Wynn酒店有个水上表演，形容它令人惊叹 － The aquatic spectacular "Le Rêve - The Dream" at Wynn is jaw-dropping.
jaw-dropping : stunning, astonishing, amazing, 看到嘴巴张开了就合不上了。