高考真題中英語習語的運用

廣東中山市龍山中學 閆 躍

習語（idiom）是語言中的某些部分經(jīng)過長期反復使用后自然沉積形成的短語或短句，包括比喻性詞組 （metaphorical phrase）、 俚語（slang）、俗 語（colloquialism）、諺 語（proverb）等。在結構上，構成習語的單詞不可任意變換；在邏輯上，習語的意義通常并非單詞意義的簡單組合。掌握一定的習語有助于掃除閱讀理解中的障礙，增強寫作中語言的表現(xiàn)力。

Part 1 真題援引

品句會意

閱讀以下句子或語段，并寫出畫線部分習語的含義。

1. get the ball rolling

（2019 年 全 國 丙 卷·閱 讀C 篇）But the phrase “penny paper” caught the public's fancy,and soon there would be papers that did indeed sell for only a penny.

This new trend of newspapers for “the man on the street” did not begin well. Some of the early ventures (企業(yè)) were immediate failures.Publishers already in business, people who were owners of successful papers, had little desire to change the tradition. It took a few youthful and daring businessmen to get the ball rolling.（ ）

2. go a long way

（2014年全國乙卷·七選五）True creativity is th e ability to take something existing and create something new from it. We can give kids chances to think about materials in new ways.There are a dozen different things you can do with them. Experimenting with materials to create something new can go_a_long_way in helping them develop their creativity.（ ）

3. hands down

（2019 年 全 國 丙 卷·閱 讀B 篇）Of course,not only are today's top Western designers being influenced by China—some of the best designers of contemporary fashion are themselves Chinese.“Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu are taking on Galliano, Albaz, Marc Jacobs—and beating them hands down in design and sales,”adds Hill.（ ）

4. have a way with

（2019 年 全 國 丙 卷·閱 讀D 篇）Monkeys seem to have a way with numbers.

…

After running hundreds of tests, the researchers noted that the monkeys would go for the higher values more than half the time,indicating that they were performing a calculation, not just memorizing the value of each combination.（ ）

5. keep tabs on

（2020 年 全 國 丙 卷·閱 讀B 篇）In fact,Hollywood has been hot on live animals lately.One nonprofit organization, which monitors the treatment of animals in filmed entertainment, is keeping_tabs_on more than 2,000 productions this year.（ ）

6. make ends meet

（2012年全國甲卷·完形填空）Around twenty years ago I was living in York. Though I had a lot of experience and a Master's degree, I could not find satisfying work.

I was driving a school bus to make ends meet and living with a friend of mine, for I had lost my flat.（ ）

7. mean business

（2018 年 全 國 乙 卷·完 形 填 空）Maurice Ashley was kind and smart, a former graduate returning to teach, and this job was no game for him; he meant business. In his introduction, he made it clear that our credits would be hardearned.（ ）

8. off the hook

（2019年全國甲卷·閱讀B篇）The unwilling parent organizes the meal schedule, sends out emails, and collects money for end-of-season gifts. Somewhere along the way, the same parent ends up becoming an invaluable member of the team. The coach is able to focus on the kids while the other parents are relieved to be off the hook for another season.（ ）

9. on cloud nine

（2011年全國甲卷·閱讀E篇）“I didn't hear them call my name,” explained Shelley Hennig to Active Teens (AT) as she talked about that exciting moment on national television when she won the honor of Miss Teen USA 2004. “Are you ready?” is what she heard. Then she said,“I shook my head no, and then they said ‘yes'and it was announced again.”

It was four days after that life changing moment for the seventeen-year-old high school student from Destrehan, Louisiana—she was still on cloud nine.（ ）

10. pipe dream

（2016年全國丙卷·閱讀C篇）There are also varieties developed to suit specific local conditions. One of the very best varieties for eating quality is Orleans Reinette, but you'll need a warm, sheltered place with perfect soil to grow it, so it's a pipe dream for most apple lovers who fall for it.（ ）

11. rain or shine

（2015年全國乙卷·閱讀B篇）...but the best part—particularly to my taste, dulled by months of cold-weather root vegetables—was a 7 a.m.adventure to the Sarasota farmers' market that proved to be more than worth the early wake-up call.

The market, which was founded in 1979,sets up its tents every Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine, along North Lemon and State streets.（ ）

12. turn the tables

（2017年全國甲卷·閱讀D篇）Some plants pump out smelly chemicals to keep insects away. But others do double duty. They pump out perfumes designed to attract different insects who are natural enemies to the attackers. Once they arrive, the tables are turned. The attacker who was lunching now becomes lunch.（ ）

13. tug at the heartstrings

（2019年全國甲卷·閱讀B篇）She may just need a little persuading. So I try again and tug at the heartstrings. I mention the single parent with four kids running the show and I talk about the dad coaching a team that his kids aren't even on... At this point the unwilling parent speaks up, “Alright. Yes, I'll do it.”（ ）

案例解說

1.選文提到，便士報的發(fā)展過程并不順利，對于已成功的報紙，它們的出版商并無多少改變原有商業(yè)傳統(tǒng)的欲望，便士報作為一種新商業(yè)模式，是在年輕、大膽商人的推動下才開始實施的。

答案：開個頭；開始活動、談話、討論

拓展：set/start the ball rolling 開個頭，開始活動、談話、討論等；keep the ball rolling/keep up the ball/keep the ball up 使事情繼續(xù)，使組織正常運轉，保持活動勢頭

2. 選文指出，真正的創(chuàng)造力是用已有事物創(chuàng)造新事物的能力，我們要給孩子思考的空間，嘗試用現(xiàn)有材料制造新東西對提高孩子的創(chuàng)造力很有幫助。

答案：（對做某事）大有幫助；很有作用

拓展：come a long way 取得巨大進展；獲得很多成就

3. 選文提到，三名中國籍的設計師與三名外國同行展開較量，且在設計與銷量上打敗了對方。這三名中國設計師是當代頂尖的時尚設計師，所以他們戰(zhàn)勝對方并沒怎么費力。

答案：輕而易舉地；毫不費力地

拓展：該習語源自賽馬，如果騎手已經(jīng)遙遙領先，明知自己必勝無疑，那他就不必動手揚鞭策馬。

Nigel always won hands down in any argument. 無論爭辯什么，奈杰爾總是毫不費勁地獲勝。

此外，該習語還可表示“明顯地；無疑地”。

all hands to the pump(s） 全體出動；齊心協(xié)力；人人參與

4. 選文指出，數(shù)百次實驗中，猴子在一半以上的實驗中選中了更高的數(shù)值（在實驗中，猴子選擇的數(shù)字或數(shù)字組合越大，得到的獎勵就越多），這表明它們具備一定的計算與比較能力。

答案：善于同……接近或打交道；對……很有辦法；能領導、說服或影響……

拓展：cut both/two ways 兩面都說得通或行得通；有利也有弊

5. 選文介紹的是一個非營利組織監(jiān)控動物在拍攝過程中受到的待遇，畫線習語實為“監(jiān)控”的同義表述。

答案：關注；監(jiān)視；密切注意

拓展：keep an eye on 照看；留神；留意

6. 選文提到，作者雖有大量經(jīng)驗與碩士學位，但仍找不到滿意的工作，只得靠開校車勉強謀生。

答案：糊口；使收支相抵；勉強維持生計

拓展：make both ends meet 糊口，使收支相抵，勉強維持生計；no end 極其，非常

7. 選文提到， 莫里斯·阿什利與自己的學生是校友，他很看重這份工作，清楚地告知學生拿到課程學分并非易事。

答案：嚴肅認真；說話算數(shù)；說到做到

拓展：funny/monkey business 胡鬧；惡作??；騙人把戲

8. 選文指出，有位家長將后勤工作安排得很好，教練能安心訓練孩子們，其他家長則因無須操心下個賽季的事情如釋重負。

答案：脫身；擺脫困境或責任

拓展：by hook or by crook 千方百計地；不擇手段地

9. 選文提到，雪萊·亨尼格贏得了2004年度“美國妙齡小姐”榮譽稱號。 對她而言，這是一個令人激動的時刻，也是一個改變人生的時刻，以至于在獲獎四天之后，她依然特別開心。

答案：高興極了；異常興奮；樂不可支

拓展：該習語的原有形式為on cloud seven，這可能與the seventh heaven（極樂世界）的說法有關。 在美國氣象術語中，有cloud nine一詞，意指第九類云，即“夏季的積雨云”。 因為nine大于seven，所以人們逐漸用on cloud nine代替on cloud seven了。

a nine day's wonder/a one-day/seven-day wonder 曇花一現(xiàn)；轟動一時的人或事。

10. 選文指出，Orleans Reinette是味道最好的蘋果品種之一，但對溫度、天氣、土壤的要求非常高。因此，對于大多數(shù)蘋果愛好者而言，種植這種蘋果只是一個無法實現(xiàn)的夢想罷了。

答案：白日夢；幻想；空想

11. 選文提到，薩拉索塔農貿市場建于1979年，該市場每周六早上7點到下午1點營業(yè)，風雨無阻。

答案：無論晴雨；不管天氣好壞；無論如何；在任何情況下

拓展：rain cats and dogs/rain elephants and whales/rain buckets/rain pitchforks 大雨滂沱；大雨傾盆

12. 選文指出，有些植物會釋放出香味，它們的天敵會被香味吸引而來，此時攻擊者反而淪為被攻擊的對象。

答案：扭轉局面；反敗為勝；轉而占上風拓展：under the table 偷偷地，私下地，非法地；爛醉的，酩酊大醉的

13. 選文提到，作者認為有必要給這位家長做下思想工作，所以決定用真情實感打動她，并最終說服了對方。

答案：觸動心弦；讓人產生憐憫之心

拓展：tug of war 拔河比賽；斗爭；激烈的爭奪

tug at the heartstrings的同義短語為pull at the heartstrings。

Part 2 素材積累

很多習語在形式上其實與我們耳熟能詳?shù)钠胀ǘ陶Z并無二致，只不過習語通常表達的是較為陌生的意義，有時還要結合特定的歷史或文化背景才能準確理解。下面將補充一些習語，以進一步增進大家對習語這一獨特文化現(xiàn)象的了解。

1. Achilles' heel 致命弱點

I think Frank's vanity is his Achilles' heel.我認為，虛榮心是弗蘭克的致命弱點。

2. all bally-which-way 全都搞亂了；完全糊涂了；十分困惑不解

Just when you think you know that country,somehow it's twisted all bally-which-way. 你以為你了解那個國家，不知怎么地，一切都給搞糊涂了。

3. bad news 賬單；不幸的或令人遺憾的處境或事件；讓人討厭的人

Okay, let's see what the bad news is. 好吧，咱們瞧瞧是什么賬單。

That meeting was strictly bad news as far as I was concerned. 在我看來，那次會開得糟透了。

The new teacher is all bad news to me. 我覺得新來的老師十分討厭。

4. banana oil 胡說八道；花言巧語

That is the silliest banana oil I have ever heard! 那是我聽過的最愚蠢的瞎話！

Cut out your banana oil; flattery doesn't work here and it will get you nowhere. 收起你的花言巧語，阿諛奉承在這里不起作用，你靠吹捧撈不到什么好處。

5. big cheese 重要人物；有權勢的人

It is said that he is the big cheese in the small town. 據(jù)說他是這小鎮(zhèn)里的頭號人物。

6. broken arm 桌上剩菜；殘羹剩飯

He cleared away the broken arms from the table. 他把桌上的剩余飯菜都收拾干凈了。

7. cherry pie 容易做成的事或容易到手的東西；得來甚為容易的錢

The interview was a cherry pie. 那次面試很容易對付。

He is made of money, because he has plenty of cherry pies. 他的錢多得用不完， 因為他的錢得來全不費功夫。

8.chicken feed 一筆微不足道的錢；為數(shù)甚微的款項

The bank offered to lend us ￡1,000 but that's chicken feed compared to what we need.銀行提出貸給我們一千英鎊，但這與我們需要的數(shù)目相比簡直是杯水車薪。

9. chin music （尤指不必要的）談話；閑談

Cut it out! I am tired of you guys' chin music. 住嘴！ 你們這些家伙天南海北地胡侃，我已經(jīng)煩透了。

10.couch potato 終日泡在電視機前的人

Poor Ted has become such a couch potato that we can't persuade him to do anything. 可憐的泰德現(xiàn)在整天泡在電視機前，我們已經(jīng)無法說服他做任何事情。

11. David and Jonathan 莫逆之交；生死之交；肝膽相照的朋友

Being David and Jonathan, they always bend over backwards to help each other. 作為生死之交，他們總是竭盡全力幫助對方。

12. dog it 偷懶，磨洋工，推卸責任；吊兒郎當，敷衍了事；溜走，匆忙離開；過寄居生活

The whole shop has been dogging it today.今天店里人人都在磨洋工。

If Bill gets hurt early, he will play safe and dog it. 如果比爾上場不久就受傷，他就會一心求穩(wěn)，敷衍了事。

The thief dogged it when the cop arrived.警察到時，小偷已經(jīng)逃之夭夭了。

He was dogging it, mooching his room and board. 他是寄生蟲，強賴著白住白吃。

13. doubting Thomas 懷疑論者；有足夠證據(jù)才肯相信的人

Mary won't believe that I have a dog until she sees it. She's such a doubting Thomas. 瑪麗直到看到我的狗才相信我的確養(yǎng)了一條狗，她就是這樣一個多疑的人。

14. Dutch uncle 嚴厲但善意的批評者；直言不諱的勸告者

I would not have to lecture you like a Dutch uncle if you did not act so rebelliously.如果你不是表現(xiàn)得太叛逆，我也用不著這么訓你。

15.easy mark 傻瓜；糊涂蟲；容易上當?shù)娜?/p>

Bill is known to all the neighborhood beggars as an easy mark. 鄰近地區(qū)的乞丐都知道比爾是個容易上當受騙的人。

16. egg-sucker 靠拍馬屁往上爬的人；阿諛奉承者

同義習語為apple-polisher。

The guy is nothing but an egg-sucker.Ignore him. 這家伙只是個馬屁精，別理他。

17. fast talker 善于欺騙的人；花言巧語的騙子

I wouldn't trust John if I were you—he is a fast talker. 我要是你就不會相信約翰——他是個騙子。

18. five-by-five 肥胖的

She eats only a little every day because she doesn't want to be five-by-five. 因為不想發(fā)胖，她每天吃得不多。

19. gas man 上門廣告宣傳員；保險公司推銷員

Jim works as a gas man for an advertising company on Maple Street. 吉姆在楓樹街的一家廣告公司當廣告宣傳員。

20. get a break 交好運

Bill got a break when he won the lottery.比爾交上了好運，買彩票中了獎。

21. go to town 努力干，迅速干，大干一番；表現(xiàn)出色，做得成功

Angela really went to town on buying things for her new house. 安吉拉瘋狂地給她的新居購置物品。

Our team is going to town this year and we have won all five games that we played. 我們隊今年表現(xiàn)出色，五戰(zhàn)五勝。

22. Greek gift 存心害人的禮物；帶有陰險目的的禮物

The loan of his cottage turned out to be a Greek gift. The roof fell in and injured us. 他把他的小屋暫借給我們原來是不安好心。屋頂塌了下來，我們都受了傷。

23. half-and-half （摻牛奶的）稀奶油

She usually puts half-and-half in her coffee.她常在咖啡里加稀奶油。

24. happy-go-lucky 無憂無慮的； 逍遙自在的

What impressed me most was his happy-golucky attitude. 讓我印象最為深刻的是他那無憂無慮的心態(tài)。

25. hit home 擊中要害；觸及痛處；起到強烈作用

The full horror of the war only hit home when we started seeing the television pictures of it. 看到電視上的圖片后，我們才充分意識到這場戰(zhàn)爭有多恐怖。

26. ivory-hunter 擅長物色人才的人；人才的發(fā)掘者；伯樂

The coach is an ivory-hunter in baseball.這位教練善于物色棒球方面的人才。

27. John Doe 普通人；無名氏

They are brilliant educators and John Does.他們是卓越的教育家，同時也是平凡的普通人。

28. jump ship 跳槽；離職

The best employees jumped ship at the first opportunity. 最優(yōu)秀的員工一有機會就跳槽了。

29. kangaroo 澳大利亞人；誣陷，用偽證宣告……有罪

He is a kangaroo, not a Canadian. 他是澳洲人，不是加拿大人。

He was kangarooed of smuggling. 他被誣陷犯了走私罪。

30. laughing soup 烈酒

Drinking too much laughing soup is harmful to your health. 喝太多的烈性酒, 對你的健康有害。

31. long green 現(xiàn)鈔；紙幣；錢（常指大筆的錢）

We'll be there tomorrow afternoon with the long green. 明天下午我們將帶著鈔票去那里。

He tucked away a little of the long green.他把這一大筆錢中少量的錢藏起來了。

32. mean beans 毫無價值

Ted boasts a lot about his new invention,but frankly, the whole thing means beans. 泰德大肆吹捧自己的新發(fā)明，但坦率地說，那整個東西沒有絲毫價值。

33. meat bag 肚子；胃部

There is something wrong with his meat bag and he has been in the bathroom for minutes. 他肚子有點不舒服，已經(jīng)在衛(wèi)生間待了好幾分鐘。

34. nest egg 存款；儲備金；備用的錢

Regular investment of small amounts of money is an excellent way of building a nest egg. 小額固定投資是儲蓄的好辦法。

35. nip straws 感到害怕

He nipped straws before the test. 考試之前他感到害怕了。

36. one degree under 有點不舒服

該習語的變體形式為more than one degree under與several degrees under。

I was feeling one degree under with a sore throat so I had to miss going to the cinema. 我喉嚨痛，身體有點不舒服，只好不去看電影了。

37. one-eyed monster 電視機

其同義習語為idiot box和idiot's lantern。

Okay, you turn on the one-eyed monster!行啊，你開電視機吧！

38. out to lunch 發(fā)瘋的，失去理智的；魂不守舍的，心不在焉的

So do I take this guy seriously or is he out to lunch? 那這家伙是認真的，還是一時沖動？

39. pink slip 解雇通知單

其同義習語為walking papers 與walking ticket。

She was called into the manager's office and given her pink slip. 她被叫到經(jīng)理的辦公室，收到了解雇通知單。

40. play ball 合作

The family wanted him to be taken care of at home, but the insurance company refused to play ball. 家里人希望他留在家里并得到照顧，但保險公司拒絕合作。

41. polish apples 拍馬屁；諂媚

其同義習語為polish the (old) apple。

Let's get Ruben to talk to them. He is good at polishing apples. 我們讓魯本跟他們談吧，因為他善于阿諛奉承。

42. quick parts 才智

There is no doubt that the author is a man of quick parts. 毫無疑問，這位作者是個才華橫溢的人。

43. red tape 煩瑣費時的手續(xù)；繁文縟節(jié)

The new rules should help cut the red tape for farmers. 新規(guī)則應有助于為農場主減少煩瑣費時的手續(xù)。

44. rock candy 鉆石

They looked here and there, with no rock candy found. 他們四處尋找，卻找不到鉆石。

45. saw wood 沉睡，打鼾；不管閑事，只管干自己的事

He sawed wood all night in sleeping. 他睡覺時整夜打呼嚕。

Tom said nothing, sawing wood in the room.湯姆什么話也沒說，只顧著在屋子里做自己的事。

46.say-so 一個人的話；許可

該習語中的連字符可以省略。

He hired and fired people on his partner's say-so. 他雇誰辭誰全聽他合伙人的一句話。

Nothing could be done without her say-so.未經(jīng)她準許，什么都不可以做。

47.strike oil 發(fā)大財；大獲成功；稱心如意

He did not make money in the business at first but he finally struck oil. 剛開始他做生意并沒有賺到錢，但最后發(fā)了大財。

I worked at the problem all eight days before I struck oil. 在圓滿解決這個問題之前，我整整研究了八天。

We struck oil with the hotel we went to this summer.It was comfortable and we really enjoyed our holiday. 我們對今年夏天找到的那家旅館非常滿意。它非常舒適，我們假期過得很愉快。

48. talk shop （尤指在不恰當?shù)膱龊希┱務摫拘泄ぷ?；三句話不離本行

Those professors are all chemists. It is impossible to understand them when they start talking shop. 那些教授全是化學家，他們開口閉口三句話不離本行，讓人一句也聽不懂。

49. talk turkey 打開天窗說亮話

Let's talk turkey, John. We have been beating around the bush with each other long enough. 約翰，咱們打開天窗說亮話吧，我們彼此兜圈子的時間已經(jīng)夠長的了。

50. that way 在戀愛中；喝醉了的

Sam and Mary are that way about each other. 薩姆和瑪麗正在熱戀之中。

As we had expected, the alcoholic was that way again. 不出我們所料，那個酒鬼又喝醉了。

51. the salt of the earth 社會中堅； 優(yōu)秀、高尚的人

The newspaper describes those youths who made a great contribution as the salt of the earth. 報紙將那些做出巨大貢獻的年輕人作為社會中堅加以報道。

52. the writing on the wall 不祥之兆；災禍將至的預兆

The dramatic increase in electricity prices is the writing on the wall for many small businesses. 電力價格的暴漲是許多小企業(yè)的兇兆。

53. the year dot 很久以前

I haven't seen him since the year dot.Could you provide updates on him? 我好久沒見到他了，你能提供一下他的最新情況嗎？

54. Tom, Dick, and/or Harry 常人，普通人；張三李四；阿貓阿狗

I didn't want every Tom, Dick and Harry knowing about my private life. 我不想讓張三李四都知道我的私生活。

You'd better get an electrician to fix this—you don't want any Tom, Dick, or Harry messing around with your wiring. 你最好找一個懂行的電工來修理一下——不要隨便讓什么人來鼓搗你這里的電路。

55. up a tree 處境尷尬的；進退兩難的；陷入困境的

I have no idea whether I should go on—I'm up a tree and in bad need of some help. 我不知道是否該繼續(xù)下去——我現(xiàn)在進退維谷，急需幫助。

56. visiting fireman 貴客，重要來賓；揮金如土的游客

I am behind in my work because our company had three groups of visiting firemen this week. 我們公司本周接待了三批貴賓，因此我耽擱了工作。

Tourists, especially visiting firemen, contribute greatly to the economic growth. 游客，尤其是觀光“闊佬”，對經(jīng)濟發(fā)展有不小的促進作用。

57. walk on/upon eggs 小心謹慎；如履薄冰（同義習語為tread on/upon eggs）

They are walking on the eggs trying to avoid irritating him. 他們正在小心行事以免惹怒他。

58. x-double-minus 非常差的；壞透的

June gave an x-double minus performance at the audition and lost her chance for the lead role. 瓊在試演時表現(xiàn)極差，從而失去了扮演主角的機會。

59. yours truly 我；我本人；鄙人（該習語含有一種幽默意味，且?？s略為t.y.）

Don't worry. I can take care of yours truly.別擔心，我可以照顧我自己的。

T.y. is not really interested in the offer. 本人對此提議其實并不感興趣。

60. zero cool 了如指掌的；胸有成竹的

He was zero cool to the problem. 他對那問題了如指掌。