act /ækt/► SEE ALLan act of Goda balancing/juggling actbe/get in on the actdo/perform/stage a disappearing/vanishing actget your act togetherget sth/it togethera hard/tough act to followact/be your agecatch sb in the act (of doing sth)clean up your actact/play the foolact/play the goatthink you own the place ●an ˌact of ˈGod (law法律) an event caused by natural forces which people cannot control or prevent, for example a hurricane (= a very strong wind), an earthquake, etc.天灾；自然灾害；不可抗力（如飓风、地震等）◆The insurance covers your house against all types of damage, excluding those caused by acts of God. 这份保险单承保房屋可能受到的各种损坏，但不包括自然灾害造成的损害。●a ˈbalancing/ˈjuggling acta process in which sb tries to please two or more people or groups who want different things搞平衡；摆平◆The UN must perform a delicate balancing act between the different sides involved in the conflict. 联合国必须在冲突各方之间寻求微妙的平衡。●be/get in on the ˈact (informal) be/become involved in a particular activity only after it has become successful（在某事获得成功后）参与，插一手◆Sales of ‘green’ products have increased dramatically and now a lot of manufacturers are trying to get in on the act. “绿色”产品的销售量迅速增长，现在许多厂家都想分一杯羹。●do/perform/stage a disapˈpearing/ˈvanishing act (informal) go away or be impossible to find when people need or want you（需要时）失去踪影，找不到人影◆Ian always does a disappearing act when it’s time to wash the dishes. 一到洗碗的时候，伊恩就不见了。ORIGINThis refers to a magic trick done by a magician in which they make themselves or another person disappear.这个习语原指魔术师表演让自己或别人消失的魔术。●get your ˈact together●get sth/it toˈgether (informal) ( get/have your ˈshit together⚠, slang) manage to organize or control sth better than you have done before更有条理些；更好地组织（或管理）◆If Sally got her act together she’d be a great musician. 萨莉要是能一门心思地去做，就会成为一名伟大的音乐家。◆He’s been trying to get his life together. 他在努力安排好自己的生活。◆He seems to be getting it together at last. 他似乎终于弄顺当了。●a hard/tough act to ˈfollowa person or a group that is so good or successful at sth that it will be difficult for anyone else who comes after them to be as good or successful难以超越的人（或群体）◆The last head teacher achieved a lot — she’ll be a hard act to follow. 前任校长成就卓著，接替者将难以望其项背。NOTE An act is one of several short pieces of entertainment in a show. * act 是节目中小段文娱表演。●ˌact/ˌbe your ˈage (informal) (often used as a command常用作命令) stop behaving like a child别孩子气；举止要和年龄相称◆You’re behaving like a couple of kids. Act your age!你俩表现得像小孩一样，要懂事点！●catch sb in the ˈact (of doing sth)find sb while they are doing sth they should not be doing发现某人正在做坏事；某人做坏事时当场抓住他◆She turned round to catch him in the act of trying to run upstairs.她转过身来正好看到他想跑到楼上去。NOTEThis expression is often used in the passive.这个表达法常用于被动语态：◆He was caught in the act of stealing a car.他偷车时被当场抓住。●clean up your ˈact (informal) start behaving in a moral or responsible way改邪归正；重新做人◆He cleaned up his act and gave up the cigarettes and alcohol.他已改邪归正，戒掉了烟酒。●act/play the ˈfoolbehave in a stupid way to make people laugh, especially in a way that may also annoy them装傻，扮小丑（逗人发笑或惹人烦）◆It’s impossible to have a decent game of tennis with Frank — he acts the fool the whole time.根本没法和弗兰克好好打一场网球，他总是没个正经。◆If you played the fool in class a little less and worked a bit harder, you could do quite well.如果你在课堂上少出点洋相，多用点功，你会学得很好。NOTE In the past, a fool was a man employed by a king or queen to entertain people by telling jokes, singing songs, etc.过去，国王或王后豢养弄臣（fool），他们插科打诨，吹拉弹唱，供人娱乐。●act/play the ˈgoat (informal) deliberately behave in a silly or foolish way装傻；干蠢事；胡闹◆Stop acting the goat or I’ll send you out. I’m warning you.别胡闹了，不然我就把你赶出去，我警告你。●think you ˈown the place ( behave/act as if you ˈown the place) (disapproving) behave in a very confident way that annoys other people, for example by telling them what to do指手画脚；颐指气使◆What does she think she’s doing, coming in here acting as if she owns the place!她以为她在干什么，跑到这儿来指手画脚的！
