Bert passed the spoken language exam by the skin of his teeth。

【误译】伯特轻而易举地通过了口语考试。

【正确】伯特差一点就没通过口语考试。

说明： by (with) the skin of one's teeth 是源自典故的口语(介词短语)， 意为"差一点不","险些没有","好不容易才","侥幸"。