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大家都知道，每一门语言里都有着数不清的习语和一些比较地道的用法。一些惯用语(Idioms)如果单纯按照字面意思来理解的话，往往会和说话者的真实意图南辕北辙，特别是作为一名正在学习英语的“歪果仁”，仅仅靠字面直译的意思来理解一些表达可能会闹出笑话。
举个栗子，某天，你有一件事情需要麻烦你的朋友，你朋友欣然接受了你的请求并帮助了你。你表示万分感谢，这时候你朋友大度地说：“It’s okay, you’ve scratched my back plenty of times”。如果你只知知道scratch someone’s back 是给某人挠背的意思的话，此时此刻的你一定是一脸黑人问号的怀疑人生，并且用力思索自己到底什么时候给他挠过背。其实，这个短语的意思就是预支自己对他人的帮忙，以防日后不时之需时可以有人情债可收，也就是中文中常说的投(qian)桃(zhai)报(huan)李(qian)。
通过这个例子我们可以发现，和中文一样，英文中也有数量众多的idioms，如果望文生义，可能就会产生歧义，引起误会，在托福听力中尤为如此。平日多积累一些地道的惯用语和表达方式，不但能够帮助我们理解文章，更会在考到一些惯用语和特殊表达的题目时，内心像抽到SSR一样激动万分啊有木有!那么今天，就由我来给大家梳理托福听力中出现过的那些“土掉渣”的地道英语表达。
1.all over the place：乱七八糟的;到处都是
Paraphrase1: completely disorganized or confused
TPO: T13L2 – Ecology
Yeah,well, there used to be beavers2 all over the place, something like 200 million beavers, just in the continental3 United States.
这里曾经到处都是海狸，大概有200万只生活在美洲大陆上。
2.all the rag：风靡一时
Paraphrase: popular or fashionable at the moment
TPO: T30L4 – Music History
Before long, Hawaiian steel guitar music was all the rage in the mainland US.
不久，夏威夷吉他就在美国本土风靡起来。
3.at odd：争执;不一致
Paraphrase: cannot agree or argue with someone
TPO: T4L2 – Literature
They try to fit in with the rest of the world even though it’s at odds4 with their beliefs and their identities.
他们正努力融入世界，尽管他们和世界其他地方有着不同的身份和信仰。
Tips: at odds是争执、不一致的意思，应该把它作为一个整体来熟悉和运用。odd可以当形容词,意意思是奇数的;古怪的;剩余的;临时的;零散的;也可当名词,意思是：奇数;怪人;奇特的事物;
如：Although it sounded odd, this is the only way to describe this behavior.
虽然听起来很奇怪，但是这是描述这一行为的唯一方法。
It's not as though, oh, today is odd but maybe tomorrow it will be even.
并不是说今天它是奇数，明天就是偶数了。
而odds 只能当名词,意思是：几率;胜算;不平等;差别
如：Sure, you can raise money but the odds of getting venture capital are high.
当然了，你可以筹集资金，但是风险投资的几率也是非常高的。
4.be that as it may：即使如此，尽管那样; 话虽如此
Paraphrase: even so, even now
TPO: T3L3 – Art History
But be that as it may, whatever the exact date, whether it's 15,000, 20,000or 30,000 years ago, the Chauvet paintings are from the dawn of art.
尽管如此，无论准确的日期是哪天，哪怕是在15000、20000还是30000年前，肖维岩洞的壁画都被认为是艺术的开端。
5.do the trick：奏效，成功
Paraphrase: go places, make a hit
TPO: T19C1 – Student & Professor
Yeah,I can see how that might do the trick. But, anyway, what I wanted to ask was, when you started talking about game theory.Well, I know a little bit about it, but I am not clear about its use in biology.
是的，我已经看到效果了，但是，我还是想问一下，当你提到game theory的时候，我是有一定的了解，但是我不知道这个理论是如何运用在生物学中的。
6.down the drain：浪费掉;徒劳;堕落
Paraphrase: wasted or produces no results
TPO: T4C2 – Student & Professor
I know, but I didn’t want to risk the project going down the drain.
我知道，但是我不能让这个项目冒功亏一篑的风险。
7.drop in the bucket：沧海一粟，九牛一毛，杯水车薪
Paraphrase: something is so small that it won't make any noticeable difference.
TPO: T12L4 – Environmental Science
It can generate 194 megawatts of electric power, but that’s just a drop in the bucket.
它能产生194兆瓦的电量，但是也是杯水车薪。
8.for the birds：毫无意义的
Paraphrase: worthless or ridiculous
TPO: T8L1 – Animal Behavior
Studies have been done on the reproductive success rates for the birds in both areas, and the result showed surprisingly that the reproductive success was essentially5 the same in both areas – the preferred and the second choice habitat.
关于繁殖的成功率的研究结论是毫无价值的，结果令人震惊地表明，繁殖的成功率在首选和第二选择的栖息地中本质上是一样的
9.from scratch：白手起家，从头做起
Paraphrase: from the beginning
TPO: T4C2 – Student & Professor
But we've got all the sources and its due next week. We don’t have time to start from scratch.
但是我们已经找好各种资料了，截止日期是下周，我们已经没有时间重新来过了。
10.get a handle on：控制，掌握，驾驭，左右
Paraphrase: get something under control
TPO: T25L4 – Animal Behavior
Apparently,it also contributes to the development of a brain that's flexible, a brain that's quickly able toget a handle on unfamiliar6 situations.
很显然，它对大脑灵活、快速的适应陌生环境有着重要帮助。
11.heavenly body：天体
Paraphrase: planet
TPO: T18L1 – Astronomy
That's because of their belief at the time that the heavenly bodies, the Sun,Moon,Stars and Planets, were perfect, without any flaws or blemishes7.
这是因为他们坚信所有的行星，太阳，月亮等等，都是完美无瑕的。
12.high and low：到处
Paraphrase:everywhere
And it so happened that the cellist9 graduated last year. They’ve been searching high and low for a replacement10, someone with experience.
大提琴手去年毕业了，他们到处寻找有经验的接班人。
13.how come：为什么，怎么会
Paraphrase: disbelief or surprise
TPO:T26L3 – Astronomy
I mean, how come Halley’s is still there? After four and a half billion years. How could it be?
我意思是，经过了45亿年哈雷彗星怎么还在那，怎么可能?
14.let alone：更不必说;不打扰
Paraphrase: to say nothing of…
TPO: T22L2 – Astronomy
we know the Sun’s current rate of mass loss, but if we assume that this rate has been steady over the last four billion years, the young Sun wouldn’t have been massive enough to have warmed Earth, let aloneMars, not enough to have caused liquid water.
我们知道太阳现在质量在衰减，如果我们假设太阳质量衰减的速度是恒定的，那么经过40亿年，太阳将不再有足够的质量给地球提供热量，更不用说火星了，这些热量都不够形成液态水。
15.off the hook：摆脱困境;脱身
Paraphrase: avoid sth.
TPO: T15C2 – Student & Biology Professor
And that's supposed to be a quiet environment? Not exactly. My brother and parents try to keep it down when I am studying, but the phone pretty much rings off the hook, so ...
本该是一个很安静的环境吧?事实却不是这样，在我学习的时候都爸爸和哥哥放低声音，但是电话却响个不停。
Paraphrase: advantages & disadvantages
TPO: The question is how. I mean no one really thinks that, say a bee goes through weighing the pros and cons of pollinating this flower or that flower.
问题在于怎样做到的。没有人会认为蜜蜂给花朵授粉的时候会去权衡一下这朵花和那朵花的利弊。
17.put two and two together：根据事实推理
Paraphrase: reach acorrect conclusion from the evidence; making inference
TPO: T3L4 – Astronomy
Sohe put two and two together, and decided13 there was an element in the sun that hadn’t been discovered here on the earth yet.
所以他根据现有情况推断，太阳里有一种元素是我们至今都没有发现的。
18.rule of thumb：经验法则
Paraphrase: approximately
TPO: T2C1 – Student & Professor
.. like your parents. That’s usually my rule of thumb: would my parents understand this?
例如你的父母。按我的经验我会问一句，我的父母能理解吗?
19.spot on：完全正确
Paraphrase: exactly right
TPO:T29L4 – Structural14 Engineering
There’sa reason I mentioned that figure of 36,000 kilometers. That’s about how high an object would have to be orbiting straight up from the equator to constantly remain directly above the exact same spot on the rotating planet Earth.
就像我刚提到的，36000公里是近地同步卫星的最低轨道高度。
20.take for granted：认为…理所当然
Paraphrase: assume sth.Is real for sure
TPO: T24L3 – Archeology
Today we take for granted that there horizontal bands of plant communities.
今天我们认为植物带的水平分布是理所当然的。
21.tall order：离谱的要求，苛求
TPO: T5C2 – Student & Professor
It's still a pretty tall order, and we will be moving right along, so you will really need to stay on top of it.
这始终是个苛刻的要求，我们要一直保持前进，你就必须保持在巅峰状态。
22.tongue in cheek：不是认真的，虚情假意的
Paraphrase:not seriously
TPO:T12L1 – Biology
这就是所谓的“无用DNA”，不过junk一词在这里有点嘲弄的意思。
好啦，TPO里面出现的一些俗语给大家整理的差不多了，下次再听到就不会一头雾水啦!平时在听TPO的时候，遇到一些特殊用法，小朋友们要记得不断整理归纳，不断扩充自己的知识储备哦~
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收听单词发音
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paraphrase
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| vt.将…释义，改写；n.释义，意义 | |
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beavers
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| 海狸( beaver的名词复数 )； 海狸皮毛； 棕灰色； 拼命工作的人 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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blemishes
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| n.（身体的）瘢点( blemish的名词复数 )；伤疤；瑕疵；污点 | |
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counselor
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| n.顾问，法律顾问 | |
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cellist
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| n.大提琴手 | |
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replacement
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| n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品 | |
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pros
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| abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物 | |
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cons
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| n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 ) | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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structural
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| adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的 | |
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fulfill
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| vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意 | |
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DNA
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| (缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸 | |
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