idle

　　1.ADJ If people who were working are idle, they have no jobs or work. 无事可做的

　　例：4,000 workers have been idle for 12 of the first 27 weeks of this year.

　　4千名工人在今年最初的27个星期中有12个星期无事可干。

　　2.ADJ If machines or factories are idle, they are not working or being used. 闲置的

　　例：Now the machine is lying idle.

　　现在这台机器正处于闲置状态。

　　3.ADJ If you say that someone is idle, you disapprove of them because they are not doing anything and you think they should be. 无所事事的

　　例：...idle bureaucrats who spent the day reading newspapers.

　　整天看报纸，无所事事的官僚们。

　　4.idly ADV 无所事事地

　　例：We were not idly sitting around.

　　我们并非坐着没事干。

　　5.ADJ Idle is used to describe something that you do for no particular reason, often because you have nothing better to do. 无聊的

　　例：Brian kept up the idle chatter for another five minutes.

　　布赖恩又无聊地闲扯了5分钟。

　　6.idly ADV 无聊地

　　例：We talked idly about magazines and baseball.

　　我们闲聊着杂志和棒球。

　　7.ADJ You refer to an idle threat or boast when you do not think the person making it will or can do what they say. 虚张声势的

　　例：It was more of an idle threat than anything.

　　那不过是虚张声势的威胁。

　　8.V-I If an engine or vehicle is idling, the engine is running slowly and quietly because it is not in gear, and the vehicle is not moving. 低速空转

　　例：Beyond a stand of trees a small plane idled.

　　在树丛的那一边，一架小飞机的发动机空转着。

　　常见用法

　　用作形容词

　　Being at an idle end,we often go to and look around the shops.

　　闲来无事，我们常去逛逛商店。

　　Idle folks have the least leisure.

　　懒惰的人最没空闲。

　　No matter how rich, one shall not live an idle life.

　　不管一个人多么富有,都不应该过着闲散的生活。

　　I never believe idle reports.

　　我从来不信捕风捉影的传闻。

　　用作及物动词

　　The strike idled many workers.

　　罢工使许多工人没事干。

　　It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do.

　　除非有大量的工作,否则就不可能尽情享受空闲时光。

　　用作不及物动词

　　I hate you to idle about.

　　我不喜欢你游手好闲。

　　We should not idle away our valuable time in the claver.

　　我们不应该把宝贵的时间消磨在闲谈之中。

　　He is always idling about street corners.

　　他总是在街道角落那闲逛。

　　Youre perfectly right when you say that one shouldnt let ones machinery lie idle and go rusty!

　　你这话对极了，机器搁着就生锈!