I didn't want to be low man on the totem pole for ever.

我不想永远当小人物。

《牛津词典》

I carry shells for the feel of them: their lightness, smoothness and dryness, like a totem to be touched as I walk.

我之所以带着这些蜗牛壳是因为我对它们有这样的感觉：它们轻便，光滑和干燥，就像一个我徒步中要触摸的图腾一样。

youdao

Totem. It used to be crap, but now it's come a long way and is a suitable replacement for VLC - at least for my needs, anyway.

过去，它完全是个垃圾，但是，现在，改进了不少，是取代VLC的一个稳定选择，至少，对于我的需求来说。

youdao

For critics of John Howard, he became a totem for much of what was wrong with the Bush administration's war on terror, and what they complained was the then prime minister's slavish support for the US president.

BBC: Should David Hicks have been applauded?

Before and for a while after the 1997 election he was a useful totem for New Labour in its efforts to show itself the party of "cool Britannia".

BBC: Labour pop guru turns on Blair

The beam, found in the wreckage of the World Trade Centre, was a totem for rescuers.

ECONOMIST: Atheists are getting both more numerous and louder