如果穷是一种癌，我已病入膏肓。作为全球最常见的疾病，穷癌发病时间不定，主要病症有经常性清空购物车，不敢逛街，钱包常年处于饥饿状态。在英语里，穷癌可以用以下短语表达：

　　live from hand to mouth

　　英文解释：you don't have any money to save because whatever you earn is spent onfood and other essentials.

　　中文解释：糊口度日。

　　例句：Most families in that area live from hand to mouth.

　　live on the breadline

　　英文解释：People who live on the breadline have avery low income or barely enough money to survive.

　　中文解释：breadline指的是等待分配救济食物的队伍。

　　例句：Due to the recent crisis, there are more people on the breadline than ever before.

　　dip into one's savings

　　英文解释： you spend part of the money you have put aside for future use.

　　中文解释：动用存款。

　　例句：I had to dip into my savings to have the car repaired.

　　feel the pinch

　　英文解释：begin to suffer from a lack of money.

　　中文解释：pinch的基本意思是用手“捏”“掐”,引申可作“节省”解。

　　例句：With the drop in tourism, hotels and restaurants are beginning to feel the pinch.

　　hard up

　　英文解释：have very little money.

　　中文解释：经济困难，缺钱。

　　例句：We were so hard up that we had to sleep in the car.

　　burn your fingers

　　英文解释：suffer financially as a result of foolish behaviour.

　　中文解释：因自己的失败或错误而吃苦头。

　　例句：Jack got his fingers burnt playing on the stock market.

　　chicken feed

　　英文解释：An amount of money considered small or unimportant is called chicken feed.

　　中文解释：很少的钱。

　　例句：I got a job during the holidays but the paywas chicken feed.

　　cost an arm and a leg

　　英文解释： very expensive

　　中文解释：贵的离谱。

　　例句：The house cost us an arm and a leg, but we have no regrets.

　　更多精彩内容 >> 新东方网英语频道 

　　全国新东方英语课程搜索

（责任编辑：何莹莹）