美国街头常用英语俚语M-3: Make waves/ man of straw (mp3和文本下载)

1. Make waves 兴风作浪，制造麻烦

Tom made huge waves in the office when he said the CEO had decided to downsize the company by half, but it turned out to be a rumor.
汤姆对大家说首席执行官决定公司裁员一半，搞得办公室人心惶惶，结果却是个谣言。

释义：直译是制造波浪，引申为无事生非，有点唯恐天下不乱的意思。

2. Man of straw 稻草人，傀儡，受人摆布的小人物

You can't count on him to help you. He's just a man of straw.
你千万不要指望他帮忙，他是个没有一点本事的傀儡。

释义：直译为稻草人，用于田间吓唬小鸟。另一说：从前英国法庭附近，常常有人把稻草插在鞋上，谁给钱，就给谁做伪证。亦可写为straw man。