41. let the cat out of the bag   泄漏秘密

       We planned to give her a surprise party, but he let the cat out of the bag.

       我们计划给她一个令人惊讶的派对，但是他把事情泄露了。

       Their engagement was to be a secret but the ring on her finger let the cat out of the bag.

       他们俩订婚原本想保密的，可是她手指上的戒指却泄露了秘密。

       The criminal was hiding away from the police, but a small boy let the cat out of the bag when he told the police that there was a man in the house.

       罪犯正躲避警方的搜查，但一位小男孩泄漏了秘密，他告诉警方屋里有一个男人。

       ※ Do you know?

       这个短语的来源至少有两种，其中之一是说，早在超市出现之前，人们通常在当地的市场买菜和家禽。在一些特殊的场合（如节日盛宴），乳猪是采购单上一样很抢手的食物。由于乳猪会乱动，当顾客挑选好并结账后，商人为了运送方便就把猪塞进一个帆布口袋（poke）里递给顾客。

       然而，奸商有时会利用顾客一时走神，把流浪猫冒充乳猪放进袋子里。直到顾客回家，“把猫从袋子里拿出来”（let the cat out of the bag），才发现这个骗局。所以这个词组意味着是一个意外的、但通常令人讨厌的发现。据说这也是谚语“不要买装在袋子里的猪”（don't buy a pig in a poke）的由来，也就是“不要不看现货就买东西”的意思。

       42. white elephant   购买或保存起来十分昂贵却无实际用处的东西

       The fountain is a white elephant.

       这个喷水池真是废物。

       The foreign aid to the country was believed to be nothing but a white elephant.

       那个国家得到的外援不但无益反而成了沉重的负担。

       When he planned to sell his house, his expensive furniture became white elephants.

       他想要卖房子的时候，他的昂贵的家具成了累赘。

       ※ Do you know?

       a white elephant 这个短语是来源于印度，由于印度人是很崇拜大象的，对于大象尤其是白象视若神灵。印度规定，白象是不可以宰杀、干活的，拥有白象的人家要好好地养着它，不可以虐待它，直到它死去。所以人们将白象视为一种累赘，这也就是 white elephant 的由来。

       由于 white elephant 有上述的意思，因而出现了 a white elephant sale（白象义卖）。不过这种以慈善为目的的义卖，所卖的不是白象，而是有心人士所捐出的家里不再需要之物品。

       43. get out of bed on the wrong side   心情不佳

       The Prime Minister must have got out of bed on the wrong side this morning.

       首相今天心情欠佳。

       He must have got out of bed on the wrong side today, because he has shouted at everybody in the office.

       今天他准是情绪不佳，办公室里的每一个人他都训斥了。

       The man went to bed very late and got up on the wrong side of the bed.

       这个人很晚才睡，所以醒来时情绪很差。

       44. losing the plot   疯了

       I was waking up in the middle of the night, not knowing who I was or where I was. I really thought I was losing the plot.

       我半夜醒来，发现我不知道我是谁，也不知道我在哪里。我想我是真的疯了。

       She knows people think she's "losing the plot" following the breakdown of her marriage to Peter Andre.

       她知道人们认为她在经历同皮特的婚姻失败后肯定会疯的。

（来源：中国网学英语频道，翻译中国）