prick up one's ears . come to attention；begin to listen closely侧耳倾听；警觉起来
The woman pricked up her ears when she heard them talking about her．当听到他们在谈她时，这妇女竖起耳朵倾听。
The sentry pricked up his ears at the strange sound．耳边传来奇怪的声响，哨兵顿时警觉起来。
pride oneself on . be proud of oneself about以…为自豪
Mary prides herself on her ability to remain calm when trouble suddenly happens．玛丽为自己在遇到麻烦时仍能保持冷静的能力而感到自豪。
He prided himself on his skill in negotiation．他对自己的谈判本领很是得意。
prior to . earlier in time，order or importance较早的；较前的；较重要的
The plan cannot be carried out prior to its approval．计划需先批准方能实施。
He called on me prior to his departure．他临行前来看了我。
proceed from . be the result of来自于…；出自
His mistakes proceeded from carelessness，not ignorance．他的错误不是由于无知，而是由于粗心而造成的。
Light and heat proceed from the sun．光和热来自太阳。
proceed with . go on继续
Please proceed with your work．请继续你的工作。
profit by . profit from . benefit from获益
I hope to profit by your advice．我希望得益于您的劝告。
promise away . give away by promising许给
He has promised most of his books away to his friends．他已答应把大部分书籍送给他的朋友们。
promise the moon . promise something impossible承诺不可能的事
I can't promise you the moon，but I'll do the best job I can．我不能乱下承诺，不过我会尽力而为。
Nobody paid any attention to him because he always went around promising everyone the moon．他总是到处开空头支票，所以没人理睬他。
pronounce on . give a considered opinion on 对…发表意见
She's too ready to pronounce on matters of which she really knows very little．她太喜欢对自己实际上几乎一无所知的问题发表意见。
He has every right to pronounce on this matter．他完全有权对这件事发表意见。
prop up . support支持
The opposition parties decided not to prop up the government any longer．反对党决定不再支持政府。
He can't always expect his colleagues to prop him up．他总不能老指望同事们支持他。
proper to . belonging especially to 专为…的
The book is proper to the subject．该书专门论述这一课题。
proportional to . in proper proportion to与…成比例的
The payment is proportional to the work done．报酬与完成的工作成比例。
protect from . protect against . defend（somebody．or something ）from使（某人或某物）不受侵犯
May God protect you from harm tonight．愿上帝保佑你今夜平安。
protest against . express objection to抗议
We protest against the big country's intervention in the internal affairs of other countries．我们抗议那个大国干涉别国内政。
I protest against being treated in this way．我抗议受到这样的待遇。
proud of . satisfied with and pleased in 对…感到自豪（骄傲）
Tom is proud of his new car．汤姆为他的新车而自豪。
provide against . take steps to guard against 预防
We must provide against a rainy day．我们必须未雨绸缪。
provide for . make preparations for为…做准备
How can everyone provide for unexpected events? 对于意外之事，怎么可能每个人都有所准备呢?
provide for . supply with the necessary things of life供养
He has five children and a wife to provide for．他要供养妻子和五个孩子。
provide with . supply somebody with something 提供（某物）给（某人）
The villagers provided the guerrillas with food．村民们向游击队提供食品。
provided that . on condition that倘若；只要
I will go provided that you go too．如果你也去，我就去。
pucker up come or draw together into small folds or wrinkles皱起；缩拢
The child's face puckered up and she began to cry．小女孩脸一皱，哭了起来。
His eyes were puckered up against the strong sunlight．在强烈的阳光照射下，他眯起了眼睛。
The young father puckered up his lips and gave the baby a fond kiss．年轻的爸爸噘起嘴唇，亲热地吻了一下婴儿。
puff out . cause to swell使胀起
The toothache puffed out one side of his face．牙疼使得他的半边脸肿了起来。
The boy confidently puffed out his chest．男孩信心十足地挺起胸膛。
She puffed out the story quite a lot．她把这件事大肆渲染。
puff out . blow out吹灭
A sudden gust of wind from the open window puffed the candle out．从窗口突然吹进来一阵风，把蜡烛吹灭了。
She puffed out the candle as soon as the child went to sleep．孩子一睡着，她就吹熄了蜡烛。
puff out . cause to become short of breath 使气喘
Climbing up the long staircase to his office quite puffed me out．爬这么高的楼梯到他办公室，简直使我喘不过气来。
We ran so hard that we were all puffed out when we got there．我们拼命跑，跑到那儿一个个气喘吁吁的。