听力考试常见用语
听力考试中，要求考生较好地了解常用的口语表达形式的含义，下面总结了以下常用口语表达，供考生复习参考。
1.nothing but
W：How dare you be so rude to me！
M：I’m so sorry.I didn’t really mean to hurt you.It’s nothing but a joke！
【解析】女士说：“你怎么敢对我如此粗鲁。”句型How dare you do sth.表达说话人的愤怒和不满，意思是“你怎么敢……”。男士道歉说没想伤害这位女士，这只是一个玩笑而已。nothing but的含义是“仅仅”。
2.anything but
W：I heard you went to Paris for holidays last week.I believe it was bound to be a wonderful trip！
M：Not exactly.My visit to Paris was anything but a pleasure trip.【解析】女士说她听说男士上周去巴黎度假了，她相信这绝对是一次不错的旅行。be bound to do sth.表示“一定……”。在男士话语中，anything but的含义为“绝不，绝非”，因而男士的意思是，他认为巴黎之行绝不是充满乐趣的旅行。
3.How come？
M：I have to tell you Sam failed the exam.
W：How come？Isn’t he the best student in the class？
【解析】男士告诉女士Sam考试不及格。女士很诧异，how come的含义相当于why，意思是：“怎么会这样？他难道不是班里最好的学生吗？”
4.I’m up to my ears in
M：Can you come over for dinner tonight？
W：I’m up to my ears in works，so I’ll have to take a rain check.
【解析】男士问今晚能否顺便来吃个饭？女士说工作忙得不可开交，所以暂时来不了了。be up to one’s ears in something意思是“忙得不可开交”。rain check表示“暂时拒绝，改日可以”的意思。
5.be under the weather
W：Sam，what’s wrong with you？I haven’t seen you for several days.
M：Oh，it’s nothing.I was just a little under the weather.I feel better now.
【解析】女士问男士，最近怎么啦，好几天没见到他了。男士回答说：“没什么，有点不舒服，现在好多了。”be under the weather表示“不舒服，生病了”。
6.Don’t bury your head in the sand.
W：I really don’t want to do the work.It is so tough and I can’t stand it anymore.
M：Don’t bury your head in the sand.You’ll learn a lot more from the experience.
【解析】女士抱怨道：“我真的不想再做这项工作了，太难了，我再也忍受不了了。”男士安慰道：“别逃避现实，你会从中学到很多东西。”don’t bury your head in the sand表示“不要逃避现实（即要勇于面对）”。
7.be cut out for/to be
M：I heard Mary decided to study medicine.
W：I don’t think she is cut out for the medical profession.
【解析】男士告诉女士，Mary决定学医，女士说：“我觉得她天生不是学医的料。”
be cut out for sth.表示“天生适合”。
8.blow up
M：What’s happened to Sam？
W：When I told him the bad news that his son failed in the exam，he blew up.
【解析】blow up的含义为“某人很生气”。
9.虚拟语气（Subjunctive mood）
M：The dress you tried on was really nice，and reasonably priced.
W：I’d bought it right away if they had had it in my size.
【解析】男士说：“你刚才试穿的衣服真漂亮，而且价格合理。”女士回答道：“要是有我穿的号我会立马买走。”虚拟语气表示一种假设，实际情况是没有这位女士能穿的尺码。
10.I will save my breath.
W：I know you need a lot of money for the project.But why don’t you ask Sam for help？
M：Ask him？I’ll save my breath.
【解析】女士问道：“我知道这个项目你需要很多钱，但为什么不向Sam求助呢？”
男士回答道：“向他借？我还是省省力气吧。”对话中，why don’t you do sth.
表示一种委婉的建议。I’ll save my breath的意思是“省省力气吧，没用的”。
11.count on
W：I wonder to know whether Mary takes her camera.
M：You should never count on her.She is always forgetful.
【解析】女士说：“我想知道Mary是否带相机了。”男士说：“你永远不要指望她，她总是丢三落四的。”count on的意思是“依靠，指望”。
12.pigs fly
W：John says that he is bound to pass the exam.
M：He’ll succeed when pigs fly.
【解析】女士说：“约翰一定能通过考试。”男士幽默地说道：“他能考试及格，猪都能飞了。”pigs fly表示某事绝对不可能。
13.count the days
M：Are you looking forward to going home for holidays？
W：Sure.I’m counting the days.
【解析】男士问女士：“你盼着回家度假吗？”女士说：“当然，我数着日子呢。”count the days暗示女士归心似箭，已经到了数着日子的地步了。
14.bite off more than one can chew
M：I’ve decided to take eight courses next semester.
W：Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
【解析】男士告诉女士他决定下学期选八门课。女士的劝说意思是“别贪多嚼不烂”。
15.cost somebody an arm and a leg
W：Did you see the pearl necklace Sam gave to Mary？
M：It must have cost him an arm and a leg.
【解析】女士问男士：“你看到Sam给Mary买的珍珠项链了吗？”男士说：“一定花了他一只胳膊一条腿。”这个表达的意思是“让某人花了一大笔钱”。
16.not do anything/a lot/much for sb.
W：What do you think of my new hairstyle？
M：It doesn’t do anything for you.
【解析】女士问男士，觉得她的新发型如何？男士认为这个发型并没有使她更漂亮。
17.hold water
W：I believe the wealthier you are，the happier you feel.
M：Your argument doesn’t hold water.
【解析】女士认为，越富有，越快乐。男士反驳说：“你的观点站不住脚。”hold water
意思是“说不通，站不住脚”。
18.can not do
without
W：Harry.You’d better forget Mary.
M：Impossible！I can’t live without her！
【解析】女士劝男士忘了Mary。男士答道；“不可能！没她我就没法活！”这个表达式的含义是“没有……就无法……”。
19.burn the midnight oil
W：What’s wrong with you，John？You look very tired.
M：I have a big test today，so I burnt the midnight oil last night.
【解析】女士问男士：“有什么不舒服吗？你看上去很疲惫。”男士说他今天有一个重要考试，昨天晚上熬夜了。burn the midnight oil的含义就是stay up，即“熬夜”。
20.put all one’s eggs in one basket
M：I am now busy with job hunting.
W：You’d better apply for several jobs and don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
【解析】男士告诉女士：“我正忙着找工作。”job hunting表示“找工作”。女士建议男士多申请几份工作，别孤注一掷。put all one’s eggs in one basket意思是“孤注一掷”。
21.if only
W：Have you found your wallet？
M：If only I could remember where I had left it.
【解析】女士问男士：“找到钱包了吗？”男士说：“要是我记得把它放在哪里了就好了。”
if only的意思是“要是……就好了”，表示一种假设，是虚拟语气的一种。
22.no wonder
W：I feel faint.
M：No wonder.You haven’t had a bite all day.
【解析】女士说她感到头晕。男士说：“不足为奇，你一整天都没有吃一口东西了。”
no wonder的含义是“不足为奇”。
23.in vain
W：As a friend，you should persuade him to accept the chance of going abroad for further study.
M：I had a talk with him about it，but in vain.
【解析】女士说道：“作为朋友，你应该劝他接受这个出国进修的机会。”男士说：“我
和他就此事谈过，但没用。”in vain的含义是“无用的，徒劳的”。
24.from scratch
M：It is reported that John Smith will have had 100 chain stores totally by the end of this year.He is the big cheese now.
W：But no one knows he started from scratch with 200 dollars he’d borrowed from his friend.
【解析】在男士话语中，it is reported that
意为“据报道……”，chain stores意为“连锁店”，the big cheese指的是“大人物”。女士说道：“但没人知道他是从一个朋友那里借来200美元白手起家的。”from scratch的含义就是“白手起家”，相当于from the beginning。
25.up to scratch
W：Mr.Smith，I’m wondering to know whether you are interested in our software.
M：Sorry，I have to say this software couldn’t be up to scratch.It is not easy to use.
【解析】女士想要知道Smith对她们公司的软件是否感兴趣。在男士的话语中，be up to scratch的含义是“达到标准”。
26.can’t too+a.
M：Why are so many young girls obsessed with being thin？
W：As a man，you can’t understand it.As for girls，they can’t be too thin.
【解析】在男士的话语中，be obsessed with的含义是“对……很痴迷”，男士意思是：“为什么如此多的年轻女孩这么痴迷变瘦呢？”女士话语中，can’t be too thin的意思是：“对于女孩子来说，再怎么瘦也不为过。”
27.It’s written all over your face.
M：If you really like the purse，I will buy it for you.
W：Why do you know I like it very much？
M：It’s written all over your face.
【解析】It’s written all over your face直译为“一切都写在你脸上了”，意思相当于it’s very obvious，即“太明显了”。
28.like peas and carrots
W：I admire Mary and Sam.They are always together whatever they do.
M：Exactly.They are like peas and carrots.
【解析】admire意为“羡慕”，女士说很羡慕玛丽和山姆，无论做什么总是在一起。like
peas and carrots的含义是“形影不离”。
29.a third wheel
M：Mary and I would like to see a movie after work.Would you like to go with us？
W：Anyway，thanks.But I don’t want to be a third wheel.
【解析】男士问女士，愿不愿意与他和玛丽一起下班后看电影？女士的回答中提到不
想成为a third wheel，意思是“多余的人”，即我们常说的“电灯泡”。
30.in one ear and out the other
W：As his father，you should persuade him to change his mind and choose medicine as his major.
M：Yes I did，but since he already made his decision，my advice went in one ear and out the other.
【解析】女士认为男士应该劝说儿子改变主意，选择医学为专业。男士很无奈，说道：“我劝过，但是因为儿子已经做了决定，我的建议也只能左耳朵进右耳朵出了。”意思是儿子不听劝。
31.be in sb.’s shoes
M：I really understand my son’s decision that he persists in choosing maths as his major.Why doesn’t he change his mind to learn accounting？
W：If you are in his shoes，you are likely to understand him.
【解析】在男士的话语中，persist in doing sth.的意思是“执意要做什么”。accounting指的是“会计专业”。女士回答中be in sb.’s shoes的含义是“设身处地，站在某人的立场上”。
32.pay lip service
M：Did you have a fine holiday？I remember you told me that your boyfriend had promised you to go abroad for holidays in the summer vacation.W：He always pays lip service.
【解析】男士问女士假期过得是否愉快，因为女士曾说她男朋友答应假期带她去国外度假。在女士的回答中，lip指的是“嘴唇”，pay lip service的含义就是“光动嘴，不付诸行动”。
33.down-to-earth
M：I am determined to stop smoking since now.
W：Shouting slogans alone will never get things done.What you need is down-to- earth efforts.
【解析】男士信誓旦旦地说要戒烟。在女士的话语中，slogan的意思是“标语”，down-to-earth的含义是“脚踏实地的，实实在在的”，因而女士是在说，光喊口号没用，要实实在在地努力。
34.find fault with sb.
W：Recently，I’m not satisfied with my husband.He hasn’t given me flowers for a week and I really hope he can be more romantic.
M：You shouldn’t find fault with him all the time.
【解析】女士说她最近不满意她的丈夫，说丈夫已经有一周没有给她送花了，而且希
望丈夫能更浪漫一些。find fault with的含义是“挑剔，吹毛求疵”。
35.ups and downs
W：Mr.Smith was a successful investor before.But he is so unfortunate that he experienced a tough period recently.At first he was bankrupt，and then his wife died in a car accident.
M：Life is full of ups and downs.
【解析】unfortunate意为“不幸的”，tough意为“困难的”，bankrupt意为“破产”。
女士认为史密斯先生最近很不幸，先是破产了，然后妻子死于一场车祸。男
士也很感慨地说：“生活有得意时也有失意时。”ups and downs的含义就是
“人生的起起伏伏”。
36.odds and ends
M：I hear that you are moving in June.What can I do for you？
W：Thanks.Everything is done except for a few odds and ends.
【解析】男士听说女士要搬家，问是否需要帮忙。odds and ends的含义就是“零零碎
碎的东西”。女士的意思是，都准备好了，除了一些零碎东西。
37.His（or her）bark is worse than his（or her）bite.
M：I really don’t want to talk to my father any more.He is always shouting at me！
W：Actually your father cares about you all the time.Don’t worry，his bark is worse than his bite.
【解析】男士说不愿意再和父亲说话了，因为他父亲总是对他大吼大叫。女士则告诉他其实他父亲一直都很在乎他。bark原意指“大声的愤怒的喊叫，狗的叫声”，his bark is worse than his bite的含义就是“一个人外表看起来大吼大叫，但心地很善良”，接近汉语里的“刀子嘴，豆腐心”。
38.at one’s service
M：Madam，do you have anything I can do for you？
W：No，thanks.
M：If you need anything，I’m at your service.
【解析】at one’s service的含义就是“随时可以提供帮助”，在上面这个情景中，意思
是，如果您需要什么，尽管吩咐。
39.knock oneself out
W：You’d better go to bed now.Don’t knock yourself out trying to finish the project today.
M：I would like to，but there is not plenty of time！
【解析】女士希望男士上床去睡觉，别让自己太累，别非得今天完成工作。knock oneself out的意思是“使……筋疲力尽”。
40.at one’s finger’s tips
W：Could you give me some advice on how to get along well with Jim？
M：If it was at my fingers’tips，I would give you all the information right now.
【解析】get along well with sb.意为“和某人愉快相处”。在男士的话语中，使用了虚
拟语气，表示纯然假设，与现在事实相反；at one’s finger’s tips的意思是“了
如指掌”，这句话的意思是：如果这事情我了如指掌的话，我会把全部情况立
即告诉你（表明实际情况是“我不清楚”）。
41.at stake
M：Mary，I’m afraid I can’t go with you for dinner.I’m occupied with a big project now，and I have to finish today，otherwise I’m likely to be fired.
W：Your health is at stake，not your job.
【解析】be occupied with意为“忙于……”，fire意为“开除”。女士的话中，at stake的意思是“有风险，岌岌可危”，因而这句话的意思是：是你的健康受到损害，不是你的工作。
42.at one’s wits’end
W：We have discussed the solution to the problem for a whole day.Who can put forward a feasible one now？
M：I’m afraid I can’t.I’m at my wits’end now.
【解析】feasible意为“切实可行的”。wit原意是指“一个人的才智”，如果一个人的才智已经到头了，已经不知所措了，那么我们就可以用“at one’s wits’end”来表示，意思相当于中文里的“江郎才尽”。
43.round the clock
W：I’m wondering whether you can go with me to see a movie today？
M：I’m afraid not.I have to finish a presentation and maybe I will work round the clock.
【解析】I’m wondering是一种很委婉、客气地询问对方是否可以做某事的说法。
round the clock的含义是“昼夜不停”。
44.in good time
M：We hardly missed the train.
W：Yeah，thanks to the fast taxi driver，or we couldn’t arrive at the station in good time.
【解析】thanks to表示“多亏了……”，in good time的意思是“及时”。
45.have one’s hands full
W：Henry，here is a new order.Please deal with it right now.
M：Sorry，I can’t accept the new order any more since I already have my hands full.
【解析】order的意思是“订单”。have one’s hands full表示“让某人手里满满当当的”，
意思就是“忙得不可开交”。
46.exclusive of
M：Hello，I would like to book a single room for Tuesday next week.What is the rate，please？
W：The current rate is$100 per night exclusive of breakfast.
【解析】book a single room预订一个单人间。What is the rate，please？是在问房价是多少。exclusive of的含义是“不包含”，所以女士的回答是说目前房价是一晚100元，不含早餐。
47.hang in there
M：Learning English is so tough that I don’t want to learn it any more.
W：Hang in there！
【解析】男士认为英语学习太难了，不想再学下去了。hang in there表示一种鼓励，
意思是“别泄气，坚持下去！”
48.burn a hole in one’s pocket
W：Jim，your shoes are cool.How much did it cost you？
M：1，000 yuan.
W：It can really burn a hole in my pocket.
【解析】某物把一个人的口袋烧了个洞，意思是说“这样东西价格昂贵”。