有他这颗扫帚星，什么事情都办不成。
【误】With a comet like him, nothing can be accomplished.
【正】With a jinxlike him, nothing can be accomplished.
【注】“扫帚星”是中国人对“慧星”（comet）的俗称，因其后面像拖着一条像扫帚一样的长尾巴而得名。在中国古代，“扫帚星”被认为是灾难的预兆，并被用来比喻不吉利的人或事；祸根；person or thing that is thought to bring bad luck（to sb/sth）；curse。英语的 comet虽然没有这层含义，但却有一个对应的说法，即 jinx。例：There's a jinx on/Someone's put a jinx on this car: It's always giving me trouble.“这辆汽车不太吉利，总给我找麻烦”。
萝卜青菜，各有所爱。
【误】Some prefer radish but others prefer cabbage.
【正】Tastes differ.
【注】Tastes differ/vary是句英语谚语，除此以外，原句还可翻译成No dish suits all tastes或You can never make everyone happy等。《新概念英语》第三册第23课的标题是：One man's meat is another man's poison，表达的很生动。 总之，应采取意译。
他一向嘴硬，从不认错。
【误】He has always got a hard mouth and never admit a fault.
【正】He never says uncle.
【注】say (cry) uncle: to give up or in; to surrender；to admit defeat。Say uncle主要是男孩们打架时的用语，当一方想制服另一方时，就用命令的口气说：“Say uncle!”这时，有的孩子为了表示不服输，就是不说。后来，say uncle就成了“服输”的代名词，而not say uncle就相当于“嘴硬”了。
老师很喜欢这个嘴甜的小姑娘。
【误】The teacher likes this sweet-mouthed little girl very much.
【正】The teacher likes this honey-lippedlittle girl very much.
【注】一个人说的话很得人心，招人喜欢，中国人喜欢说这个人“嘴甜”，字面意思自然是sweet-mouthed，不过，honey-lipped更符合英美人的语言习惯。
同学们都很讨厌他，因为他经常拍老师的马屁。
【误】The student all dislike him because he often pats the teacher's ass.
【正】The students all dislike him because he often licks the teacher's boots.
【注】以前在欧洲，臣民见到国王与王后往往要匍匐在地，亲吻他们的靴子。后来，人们将lick the boots引申为“为了某种目的而讨好某人”，它与汉语的“拍马屁”含义一样。在美国英语中，“拍马屁”还有另一种说法，即polish the apple，典出以前的学生用擦亮的苹果来讨好老师。
