1. (干的)稻草，麥稈，禾稈
    Straw consists of the dried, yellowish stalks from crops such as wheat or barley.

    e.g. The barn was full of bales of straw...
           谷倉里堆滿了成捆的稻草。
    e.g. I stumbled through mud to a yard strewn with straw.
           我跌跌撞撞地趟過泥地來到一個堆滿麥稈的場院。

2. (喝飲料用的)吸管
    A straw is a thin tube of paper or plastic, which you use to suck a drink into your mouth.

    e.g. ...a bottle of lemonade with a straw in it.
           一瓶插著吸管的檸檬水

3. 抓救命稻草;采取極端措施;作絕望的掙扎
    If you are clutching at straws or grasping at straws, you are trying unusual or extreme ideas or methods because other ideas or methods have failed.

    e.g. ...a badly thought-out scheme from a Government clutching at straws.
           政府情急之下采取的考慮欠周的計劃

4. 壓垮駱駝的最后一根稻草;最終使人不堪忍受的事
    If an event is the last straw or the straw that broke the camel's back, it is the latest in a series of unpleasant or undesirable events, and makes you feel that you cannot tolerate a situation any longer.

    e.g. For him the Church's decision to allow the ordination of women had been the last straw...
           教會同意授給女性神職的決定使他終于忍無可忍。
    e.g. Then came the recession. Revenues dropped, but the straw to break the camel's back was the war.
           之后出現(xiàn)了經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退，財政收入下降，但致命的打擊還是那場戰(zhàn)爭。

5. 下下簽;苦差
    If you draw the short straw, you are chosen from a number of people to perform a job or duty that you will not enjoy.

    e.g. ...if a few of your guests have drawn the short straw and agreed to drive others home after your summer barbecue.
           如果你的一些客人不幸被抓了壯丁，同意在夏日燒烤野餐結(jié)束后開車把其他人送回家

6. 跡象;苗頭;征兆
    If you say that an incident or piece of news is a straw in the wind, you mean that it gives an indication of what might happen in the future.

    e.g. The latest straw in the wind is a pick-up in sales among the nation's retail giants.
           最新的跡象是該國幾家零售巨頭的銷售額有所上升。