例：leave no stone unturned 不遗余力；全力以赴
Model:
——Lynn left no stone unturned in her research, and handed in an excellent paper．(Lynn全力以赴做她的研究，交了一篇优秀的论文。)
例：on cloud nine 沉浸在幸福之中；非常高兴
Model:
——Marcia looks like she's on cloud nine．Do you know what made her so happy? (Marcia好象沉浸在幸福之中。你知道她为什么这么高兴吗？)
——She just had a paper accepted for publication．(她有一篇文章要发表了。)
例：on the tip of one's tongue 一时想不起来，话到嘴边又忘记
Model:
——Are you sure you can't remember the name of that record? (你肯定记不起来那张唱片的名字吗？)
——It's just on the tip of my tongue! (我就是一时想不起来了。
例：reach the bottom of the barrel 用完，弹尽粮绝
Model:
——Don't you have any other clean shirts? (你还有其它干净衬衫吗？)
——I guess I've reached the bottom of the barrel．(我想我已经用完了。)
例：rub sb．the wrong way 使（某人）有点恼火；惹怒；引起反感；烦扰，打搅
Model:
——What do you think of our new economics instructor? (你觉得新经济学老师怎么样？)
——I don't know．Something about him rubs me the wrong way．(不知怎么的，他有点让我反感。)
例：scratch the surface 只懂皮毛，很不了解（通常和限制性副词如only, hardly等词连用）
Model:
——You've certainly done a lot of research for your project．（你显然对你的课题做了不少研究。）
——It seems like a lot, but actually I've only scratched the surface．(看上去不少，但事实上我只懂一些毛皮。)
例：up in the air 尚未决定的；捉摸不定的；悬而未决的
Model:
——Her plans for the weekend are still up in the air．(她尚未决定如何度过这个周末。)
例：wear and tear 磨损；消耗
Model:
——Why do you always put on slippers when you go into your apartment? (为什么你老是一进公寓就穿上拖鞋？)
——It saves wear and tear on the carpet．(拖鞋不磨损地毯。)
例：with flying colors 大获全胜；胜利地
Model:
——How did Ellen do on her Ancient History exam? (Ellen古代史考得怎么样？)
——She passed with flying colors．(她考得好极了。)
例：get off on the wrong foot 开始就不顺利；一开始就犯了个错误
Model：[1995．5．]
——I hate to get off on the wrong foot．(我讨厌一开始就犯错误。)
例：get on someone's nerves 使人不安，使人心烦
Model：[1996．8．]
——Why did you come to the meeting late? I left a message with your roommate about the time change．(为什么你开会迟到？我让你的同屋告诉你改时间的事了。)
——She has a very short memory and it really gets on my nerves sometimes．(她记性不好，有时真让我心烦。)
例：give someone a break 不要去管，饶了某人吧
Model：[1994．5．]
——Give me a break．I'm nervous enough as it is．(不要管我，我已经够紧张了。)
例：head and shoulders above （在…方面）强于某人
Model：[1991．10．]
——In computer programming, Susan is head and shoulders above the rest of us．(在计算机编程上，Susan比我们强。)
例：in the red 赤字，负债
Model：[1996．5．]
——So far the clubs are about three hundred dollars in the red, and we still have four months to go before membership renewal．( 到目前为止，俱乐部有300元赤字，然而还有4个月才到交会员费的时间。)
——Well, we may have to raise our dues．（那么，我们必须提高会员费了。）
例：in the dark 一无所知；不了解情况
Model：[1994．1．]
——Do you have any idea what this notice is about? (你知道这通知讲的是什么吗？)
——I'm as in the dark as you are．（我也跟你一样不了解情况。）
托福听力需要听读写三位一体进行备考，词汇和短语、习语的积累是必不可少的。
