The chairman of the board of directors did not receive Walker yesterday because he was a walk-in.
[誤譯] 董事長昨天不接待步行者,因為他是擅自走進來的。
[原意] 董事長昨天不接見沃克,因為他是未經(jīng)預(yù)約而來的。
[說明] Walker 是姓氏“沃克” ,若是步行者其前應(yīng)有冠詞且不大寫。而walk-in (N)意為“未經(jīng)預(yù)約而來的人”。

Bert passed the spoken language exam with the skin of his teeth.
[誤譯] Bert 輕而易舉地通過了口語考試。
[原意] Bert 差一點就沒地通過口語考試。
[說明] with /by the skin of one's teeth是源典故的口語(介詞短語),意為“差一點沒”,“險些沒”,“好不容易才”,“僥幸”。

Why did kent attack Leo with a vengeance a few days ago?
[誤譯] 為什么肯特日前攻擊利奧以報一箭之仇?
[原意] 為什么肯特日前激烈地攻擊利奧?
[說明] with a vengeance 是習(xí)語(口語),意為“激烈地”,“猛烈地”,“極度地”,“徹底地”。

Joanna took the news about the rising in price of edible oil with a grain/pinch of salt.
[誤譯] Joanna 得到了食油和粒狀食鹽價格上漲的消息。
[原意] Joanna 對食油價格上漲的消息半信半疑。
[說明] with a grain/pinch of salt是習(xí)語,意為“半信半疑”,“可疑”。

He left his pet dog with Billie.
[誤譯] 他把他的愛犬和Billie一起留下就走了。
[原意] 他把愛犬交給Billie照顧。
[說明] 本例中的with(介詞)意為“由……照顧”之意。