托福听力：听力中常见的惯用语
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
Paraphrase: completely disorganized or confused
TPO: T13L2 – Ecology
Yeah,well, there used to be beavers all over the place, something like 200 million beavers, just in the continental 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 odds 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 essentially 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 unfamiliar 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 blemishes.
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。
