If you are told to “shake a leg,” you're not actually supposed to shake your leg. You're supposed to hurry up and start moving faster.
This phrase began to be used a long time ago on sailing ships. At that time, sailors slept in hammocks inside their ship. The sailors had to work really hard all day, so they were often very tired. When someone came to wake them up, sometimes they just ignored him and kept sleeping.
Because of this, the person waking up the other sailors would tell them to take one of their legs out of their hammock and shake it to show that they were awake. Then he could know who was awake and who was still sleeping. Ever since then, saying “shake a leg” has been a way to tell people that it's time to get up and start moving!
(Marc Langer, staff writer)
如果有人要你「shake a leg」，你不是真的得搖晃腿，而是該趕緊或加快腳步。
很久以前，航行的船隻上開始使用此片語。當時水手睡在船內的吊床上，水手得認真工作一整天，所以他們經常很疲倦，若有人來叫他們起床，有時他們會不理睬，繼續倒頭大睡。
因此，負責叫醒其他水手的人會要求他們露一隻腿在吊床外，醒著的人就搖搖腿，這樣他就知道誰是清醒，誰還在睡。從此之後，「shake a leg」便成為叫人該起床幹活的說法。 （翻譯︰鄭湘儀）
1. hurry up v. phr.
趕快 (gan3 kuai4)
例: We need to hurry up if we want to get to the movie on time.
（我們如果想準時看到電影就得加快腳步。）
2. hammock n.
吊床 (diao4 chuang2)
例: There、s nothing better than taking a nap in a hammock on a hot summer day.
（炎炎夏日在吊床上小歇片刻是再好不過了。）
3. ignore v.t.
忽略 (hu2 lue4)
例: You shouldn't ignore your parents when they tell you to do something.
（當父母要求你做事情時不應該不理不睬。）
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