A school teacher，friend of mine，injured his back and had to wear a plaster cast around the upper part of his body。On his first day of the term，still with the cast under his shirt，he was assigned to teach the most undisciplined class。Stepping confidently into the rowdy classroom，he opened the window as wide as possible。Just then，a strong breeze made his tie flap。Trying to fix the tie，he took a blackboard eraser and hammered a large tack through his tie into his chest。
He had no trouble with discipline that term。
强悍的教师
我有一位作教师的朋友弄伤了他的背，因此上身不得不穿石膏罩。开学的第一天，他的身上还穿着石膏罩。他被分派教最不守纪律的班级。他很自信地步入乱哄哄的教室，把窗子尽可能大地打开。就在这时，一阵强风把他的领带吹得飘起来。为了固定领带，他拿起黑板擦，把一个大头钉透过领带砸入他的胸膛。
那学期在他的课上，没有不守纪律的。
cast[k？：st]vt。＆vi。投，掷，扔n。铸造物；塑件
例：She made a plaster cast of a bust of Lincoln。她用石膏塑造了一座林肯半身像。
undisciplined[ndisiplind]adj。无训练的，训练不足的，无修养的，任性的
例：He is talented，but lazy and undisciplined。他很有天赋，但是懒散而且不守纪律。
rowdy[raudi]adj。好争吵的；吵闹的
例：A rowdy group of boys ran through the streets。一群吵闹的男孩跑过街道。
tack[tk]n。大头钉，平头钉
例：He is hammering a tack into the wall to hang a picture。他正往墙上钉一枚平头钉用来挂画。
tough一词在下面不同的搭配里，含义有所不同。如：She was having a tough time with that difficult task。（艰难的时刻）He is known as a tough teacher。（严厉的老师）My boss is a tough man to convince。（顽固的人）The competition is really tough。（激烈的）Cooperating with him is a tough matter。（棘手的）
美国有好多成语和俗语是形容谣言传播的速度快。如：to shoot the breeze。to shoot就是“发射、开枪、发炮等”，breeze就是“阵阵微风”。to shoot the breeze这个习惯用语使人脑子里出现了一幅画面，也就是：一些好朋友没事聚在一起闲聊天，毫无顾忌地想说什么就说什么。如：On Friday nights I usually go to a movie。But it was raining so hard last night I just stayed in the dorm to sit around and shoot the breeze with a couple of friends。（星期五晚上我总是去看电影的。可是，昨晚上雨下得好大呀，所以我就呆在宿舍里和两个朋友一起聊天。）