习语（idiom）是语言中的某些部分经过长期反复使用后自然沉积形成的短语或短句，包括比喻性词组（metaphorical phrase）、俚语（slang）、俗语（colloquialism）、谚语（proverb）等。在结构上，构成习语的单词不可任意变换；在逻辑上，习语的意义通常并非单词意义的简单组合。掌握一定的习语有助于扫除阅读理解中的障碍，增强写作中语言的表现力。
真题援引
阅读以下句子或语段，写出划线部分习语的含义。
1. get the ball rolling
（2019年全国丙卷·阅读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（企业） 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年全国乙卷·七选五）True creativity is the 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年全国丙卷·阅读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年全国丙卷·阅读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年全国丙卷·阅读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年全国甲卷·完形填空）Around twenty years ago I was living in York. Though I had a lot of experience and a Masters 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年全国乙卷·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 hard-earned.（ ）
8. off the hook
（2019年全国甲卷·阅读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年全国甲卷·阅读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年全国丙卷·阅读C篇）There are also varieties developed to suit specific local conditions. One of the very best varieties for eating quality is Orleans Reinstate, but you’ll need a warm, sheltered place with perfect soil to grow it, so its a pipe dream for most apple lovers who fall for it.（ ）
11. rain or shine
（2015年全国乙卷·阅读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 wakeup 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年全国甲卷·阅读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年全国甲卷·阅读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,Ill do it.”（ ）
参考答案
1. 选文提到，便士报的发展过程并不顺利，对于已成功的报纸，它们的出版商并无多少改变原有商业传统的欲望，便士报作为一种新商业模式，是在年轻、大胆商人的推动下才开始实施的。
1答案：开个头;开始活动、谈话、讨论
拓展：set/start the ball rolling 开个头，开始活动、谈话、讨论等;keep the ball rolling/keep up the ball/keep the ball up 使事情继续，使组织正常运转，保持活动势头
2. 选文指出，真正的创造力是用已有事物创造新事物的能力，我们要给孩子思考的空间，尝试用现有材料制造新东西对提高孩子的创造力很有帮助。
2答案：（对做某事）大有帮助;很有作用
拓展：come a long way 取得巨大进展;获得很多成就
3. 选文提到，三名中国籍的设计师与三名外国同行展开较量，且在设计与销量上打败了对方。这三名中国设计师是当代顶尖的时尚设计师，所以他们战胜对方并没怎么费力。
3答案：轻而易举地;毫不费力地
拓展：该习语源自赛马，如果骑手已经遥遥领先，明知自己必胜无疑，那他就不必动手扬鞭策马。
Nigel always won hands down in any argument. 无论争辩什么，奈杰尔总是毫不费劲地获胜。
此外，该习语还可表示“明显地;无疑地”。
all hands to the pump（s） 全体出动;齐心协力;人人参与
4. 选文指出，数百次实验中，猴子在一半以上的实验中选中了更高的数值（在实验中，猴子选择的数字或数字组合越大，得到的奖励就越多），这表明它们具备一定的计算与比较能力。
4答案：善于同……接近或打交道;对……很有办法;能领导、说服或影响……
拓展：cut both/two ways 两面都说得通或行得通;有利也有弊
5. 选文介绍的是一个非营利组织监控动物在拍摄过程中受到的待遇，画线习语实为“监控”的同义表述。
5答案：关注;监视;密切注意
拓展：keep an eye on 照看;留神;留意
6. 选文提到，作者虽有大量经验与硕士学位，但仍找不到满意的工作，只得靠开校车勉强谋生。
6答案：糊口;使收支相抵;勉强维持生计
拓展：make both ends meet 糊口，使收支相抵，勉强维持生计;no end 极其，非常
7. 选文提到，莫里斯·阿什利与自己的学生是校友，他很看重这份工作，清楚地告知学生拿到课程学分并非易事。
7答案：严肃认真;说话算数;说到做到
拓展：funny/monkey business 胡闹;恶作剧;骗人把戏
8. 选文指出，有位家长将后勤工作安排得很好，教练能安心训练孩子们，其他家长则因无须操心下个赛季的事情如释重负。
8答案：脱身;摆脱困境或责任
拓展：by hook or by crook 千方百計地;不择手段地
9. 选文提到，雪莱·亨尼格赢得了2004年度“美国妙龄小姐”荣誉称号。对她而言，这是一个令人激动的时刻，也是一个改变人生的时刻，以至于在获奖四天之后，她依然特别开心。
9答案：高兴极了;异常兴奋;乐不可支
拓展：该习语的原有形式为on cloud seven，这可能与the seventh heaven（极乐世界）的说法有关。在美国气象术语中，有cloud nine一词，意指第九类云，即“夏季的积雨云”。因为nine大于seven，所以人们逐渐用on cloud nine代替on cloud seven了。
a nine days wonder/a one-day/ seven-day wonder 昙花一现;轰动一时的人或事。
10. 选文指出，Orleans Reinstate是味道最好的苹果品种之一，但对温度、天气、土壤的要求非常高。因此，对于大多数苹果爱好者而言，种植这种苹果只是一个无法实现的梦想罢了。
10答案：白日梦;幻想;空想
11. 选文提到，萨拉索塔农贸市场建于1979年，该市场每周六早上7点到下午1点营业，风雨无阻。
11答案：无论晴雨;不管天气好坏;无论如何;在任何情况下
拓展：rain cats and dogs/rain elephants and whales/rain buckets/rain pitchforks 大雨滂沱;大雨倾盆
12. 选文指出，有些植物会释放出香味，它们的天敌会被香味吸引而来，此时攻击者反而沦为被攻击的对象。
12答案：扭转局面;反败为胜;转而占上风
拓展：under the table 偷偷地，私下地，非法地;烂醉的，酩酊大醉的
13. 选文提到，作者认为有必要给这位家长做下思想工作，所以决定用真情实感打动她，并最终说服了对方。
13答案：触动心弦;让人产生怜悯之心
拓展：tug of war 拔河比赛;斗争;激烈的争夺
tug at the heartstrings的同义短语为pull at the heartstrings。
素材积累
很多习语在形式上其实与我们耳熟能详的普通短语并无二致，只不过习语通常表达的是较为陌生的意义，有时还要结合特定的历史或文化背景才能准确理解。下面将补充一些习语，以进一步增进大家对习语这一独特文化现象的了解。
1. Achilles heel 致命弱点
I think Frank’s vanity is his Achilles heel.
我认为，虚荣心是弗兰克的致命弱点。
2. all bally-which-way 全都搞乱了;完全糊涂了;十分困惑不解
Just when you think you know that country, somehow its twisted all bally-which-way.
你以为你了解那个国家，不知怎么地，一切都给搞糊涂了。
3. bad news 账单;不幸的或令人遗憾的处境或事件;让人讨厌的人
Okay,lets see what the bad news is.
好吧，咱们瞧瞧是什么账单。
That meeting was strictly bad news as far as I was concerned.
在我看来，那次会开得糟透了。
4. banana oil 胡说八道;花言巧语
That is the silliest banana oil I have ever heard！
那是我听过的最愚蠢的瞎话！
Cut out your banana oil; flattery doesn’t work here and it will get you nowhere.
收起你的花言巧语，阿谀奉承在这里不起作用，你靠吹捧捞不到什么好处。
5. big cheese 重要人物;有权势的人
It is said that he is the big cheese in the small town.
据说他是这小镇里的头号人物。
6. broken arm 桌上剩菜;残羹剩饭
He cleared away the broken arms from the table.
他把桌上的剩余饭菜都收拾干净了。
7. cherry pie 容易做成的事或容易到手的东西;得来甚为容易的钱
The interview was a cherry pie.
那次面试很容易对付。
He is made of money, because he has plenty of cherry pies.
他的钱多得用不完，因为他的钱得来全不费功夫。
8. chicken feed 一笔微不足道的钱;为数甚微的款项
The bank offered to lend us ￡1,000 but that’s chicken feed compared to what we need.
银行提出贷给我们一千英镑，但这与我们需要的数目相比简直是杯水车薪。
9. chin music （尤指不必要的）谈话;闲谈
Cut it out！I am tired of you guys chin music.
住嘴！你們这些家伙天南海北地胡侃，我已经烦透了。
10. couch potato 终日泡在电视机前的人
Poor Ted has become such a couch potato that we cant persuade him to do anything.
可怜的泰德现在整天泡在电视机前，我们已经无法说服他做任何事情。
11. David and Jonathan 莫逆之交;生死之交;肝胆相照的朋友
Being David and Jonathan, they always bend over backwards to help each other.
作为生死之交，他们总是竭尽全力帮助对方。
12. dog it 偷懒，磨洋工，推卸责任;吊儿郎当，敷衍了事;溜走，匆忙离开;过寄居生活
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.
如果比尔上场不久就受伤，他就会一心求稳，敷衍了事。
The thief dogged it when the cop arrived.
警察到时，小偷已经逃之夭夭了。
He was dogging it， mooching his room and board. 他是寄生虫，强赖着白住白吃。
13. doubting Thomas 怀疑论者;有足够证据才肯相信的人
Mary wont believe that I have a dog until she sees it. She’s such a doubting Thomas.
玛丽直到看到我的狗才相信我的确养了一条狗，她就是这样一个多疑的人。
14. Dutch uncle 严厉但善意的批评者;直言不讳的劝告者
I would not have to lecture you like a Dutch uncle if you did not act so rebelliously.
如果你不是表现得太叛逆，我也用不着这么训你。
15. easy mark 傻瓜;糊涂虫;容易上当的人
Bill is known to all the neighborhood beggars as an easy mark.
邻近地区的乞丐都知道比尔是个容易上当受骗的人。
16. egg-sucker 靠拍马屁往上爬的人;阿谀奉承者
同义习语为apple-polisher
The guy is nothing but an egg-sucker. Ignore him.
这家伙只是个马屁精，别理他。
17. fast talker 善于欺骗的人;花言巧语的骗子
I wouldn’t trust John if I were you—he is a fast talker.
我要是你就不会相信约翰——他是个骗子。
18. five-by-five 肥胖的
She eats only a little every day because she doesn’t want to be five-by-five.
因为不想发胖，她每天吃得不多。
19. gas man 上门广告宣传员;保险公司推销员
Jim works as a gas man for an advertising company on Maple Street.
吉姆在楓树街的一家广告公司当广告宣传员。
20. get a break 交好运
Bill got a break when he won the lottery.
比尔交上了好运，买彩票中了奖。
21. go to town 努力干，迅速干，大干一番;表现出色，做得成功
Angela really went to town on buying things for her new house.
安吉拉疯狂地给她的新居购置物品。
Our team is going to town this year and we have won all five games that we played.
我们队今年表现出色，五战五胜。
22. Greek gift 存心害人的礼物;带有阴险目的的礼物
The loan of his cottage turned out to be a Greek gift. The roof fell in and injured us.
他把他的小屋暂借给我们原来是不安好心。屋顶塌了下来，我们都受了伤。
23. half-and-half （掺牛奶的）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 无忧无虑的;逍遥自在的
What impressed me most was his happy-go-lucky attitude.
让我印象最为深刻的是他那无忧无虑的心态。
25. hit home 击中要害;触及痛处;起到强烈作用
The full horror of the war only hit home when we started seeing the television pictures of it.
看到电视上的图片后，我们才充分意识到这场战争有多恐怖。
26. ivory-hunter 擅长物色人才的人;人才的发掘者;伯乐
The coach is an ivory-hunter in baseball.
这位教练善于物色棒球方面的人才。
27. John Doe 普通人;无名氏
They are brilliant educators and John Does.
他们是卓越的教育家，同时也是平凡的普通人。
28. jump ship 跳槽;离职
The best employees jumped ship at the first opportunity.
最优秀的员工一有机会就跳槽了。
29. kangaroo 澳大利亚人;诬陷，用伪证宣告……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.
他被诬陷犯了走私罪。
30. laughing soup 烈酒
Drinking too much laughing soup is harmful to your health.
喝太多的烈性酒，对你的健康有害。
31. long green 现钞;纸币;钱（常指大笔的钱）
Well be there tomorrow afternoon with the long green.
明天下午我们将带着钞票去那里。
He tucked away a little of the long green.
他把这一大笔钱中少量的钱藏起来了。
32. mean beans 毫无价值
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发明，但坦率地说，那整个东西没有丝毫价值。
33. meat bag 肚子;胃部
There is something wrong with his meat bag and he has been in the bathroom for minutes.
他肚子有点不舒服，已经在卫生间待了好几分钟。
34. nest egg 存款;储备金;备用的钱
Regular investment of small amounts of money is an excellent way of building a nest egg.
小额固定投资是储蓄的好办法。
35. nip straws 感到害怕
He nipped straws before the test.
考试之前他感到害怕了。
36. one degree under 有点不舒服。
该习语的变体形式为more than one degree under与several degrees under
I was feeling one degree under with a sore throat so I had to miss going to the cinema. 我喉咙痛，身体有点不舒服，只好不去看电影了。
37. one-eyed monster 电视机
其同义习语为idiot box和idiots lantern
Okay, you turn on the one-eyed monster！
行啊，你开电视机吧！
38. out to lunch 发疯的，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？
那这家伙是认真的，还是一时冲动？
39. pink slip 解雇通知单
其同义习语为walking papers与walking ticket。
She was called into the managers office and given her pink slip.
她被叫到经理的办公室，收到了解雇通知单。
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，但保险公司拒绝合作。
41. polish apples 拍马屁；谄媚
其同义习语为polish the （old） apple
Lets get Ruben to talk to them. He is good at polishing apples.
我们让鲁本跟他们谈吧，因为他善于阿谀奉承。
42. quick parts 才智
There is no doubt that the author is a man of quick parts.
毫无疑问，这位作者是个才华横溢的人。
43. red tape 烦琐费时的手续;繁文缛节
The new rules should help cut the red tape for farmers.
新规则应有助于为农场主减少烦琐费时的手续。
44. rock candy 钻石
They looked here and there, with no rock candy found.
他们四处寻找，却找不到钻石。
45. saw wood 沉睡，打鼾;不管闲事，只管干自己的事
He sawed wood all night in sleeping.
他睡觉时整夜打呼噜。
Tom said nothing, sawing wood in the room.
汤姆什么话也没说，只顾着在屋子里做自己的事。
46. say-so 一个人的话;许可
该习语中的连字符可以省略。
He hired and fired people on his partners say-so.
他雇谁辞谁全听他合伙人的一句话。
Nothing could be done without her say-so.
未经她准许，什么都不可以做。
47. strike oil 发大财;大获成功;称心如意
He did not make money in the business at first but he finally struck oil.
刚开始他做生意并没有赚到钱，但最后发了大财。
I worked at the problem all eight days before I struck oil.
在圆满解决这个问题之前，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.
我们对今年夏天找到的那家旅馆非常满意。它非常舒适，我们假期过得很愉快。
48. talk shop（尤指在不恰当的场合）谈论本行工作;三句话不离本行
Those professors are all chemists. It is impossible to understand them when they start talking shop.
那些教授全是化学家，他们开口闭口三句话不离本行，让人一句也听不懂。
49. talk turkey 打开天窗说亮话
I'm not here to waste time, so talk turkey or I'll go.
我不是来这里浪费时间的，让我们一本正经地谈，不然我要走啦。
