注：很多网友在考完托福后突然发现，自己的听力真的提高了很多，在考试中学到了很多美国习语。本文特地把托福考试中常出现的重要习语总结出来，供准备参加2006下半年托福考试的朋友使用。为体现原汁原味，本文未对这些词组进行翻译，不过在每个词组后面都有相应的英文解释。

　　我们相信，只要大家坚持用心去练，肯定会对你们听力提高会有帮助的，而且在考试的时候你会发现这样的效果特别好，当然这种感觉是建立在你大量练习和能力提高的基础上的。

　　above all - most importantly

　　account for - explain

　　as a matter of fact - in fact ,to speak the truth

　　as a rule - generally ;normally

　　about to - be ready to;be on the point of doing something

　　an old hand - be an experienced persom

　　any day now -soon

　　approach sb -talk to sb

　　be fed up with - be out of patience with

　　be on one’s own - live independently

　　be on the safe side - take no chances

　　be out of something - have no longer in supply

　　be tired of - be bored with ,frustrated with

　　be up to ones’ears - be extremely busy

　　be up to someone -be a person’s responsibility

　　be out for -trying to get

　　be out of the question - be unacceptable ,impossible

　　bite off more than one can chew - take on more than onecanhandle

　　break down - cease to n

　　break the ice - begin to be friendly wuth people onedoesn’tknow

　　break the news - inform or give bad news

　　brush up on - imporve noe’s knowledge of somethingthroughstudy

　　bump into - meet unexpectedly
　　
　　by and large - in general

　　by heart - by memory

　　by all means - absolutely ,definitely

　　by no means - in no way

　　call off -cancel

　　cheer up - be happy

　　come down with - become sick with

　　come into -receive,especially after another’s death

　　come up with - think of

　　count on - depend upon

　　count out - eliminate

　　die down - become quiet ,become less

　　do without - manage without something

　　drop by - visit informally; pay a short visit

　　every other - alternate

　　fall behind - lag; fail to accomplish something on time

　　fall through - fail to happen or be completed

　　far cry form - completely different from;a long way

　　feel like - have a desire or wish for

　　feel up to - feel well enough to or be capabele of

　　few and far between - not happening often; rate

　　figure out - determine; reason out by thinking

　　fill in for -take another’s place

　　fill sb.in - tell what sb. should know

　　fish out of water - out of one’s element ornaturalenvironment

　　flying colors -success,victory

　　for good - permanently; forever

　　for the time being - for now; temporarily

　　get away with - escape without punishment

　　get rid of - give something away; sell, destroy, or throwawaysomething

　　get the ball rolling - start something; make a beginning

　　get the hang of - understand; learn
　　
　　give a hand - help

　　go without saying - understood; clear without needing tobestated

　　go off -begin to ring
　　
　　hang on - keep hold of; persevere;keep doing something

　　hard to come by - difficult to obtain

　　have a heart - have kind feelings; be understanding

　　have a hunch - have an idea based on feelings ratherthanreason

　　hold off - delay;postpone

　　hop to it - get started on something quickly

　　hit it off - get along well with someone
　　
　　ill at ease - uncomfortable

　　in hot water - in trouble

　　in the air -uncertain

　　in the dark - keep someone without knowdge; informationfromsomenoe

　　in the lone run - looking toward the future; eventually

　　ins and outs - all the details; the various parts anddifficultiesto be seen

　　iron out - remove the difficulties or find an answer for

　　jump to conclusions - arrive too quickly at a decisionoropinion

　　keep an eye on - watch closely

　　keep one’sfingers crossed - wish that nothing goes wrong

　　keep on one’s toes - be ready for action; prepared

　　knock oneself out - make a great effort

　　learn the ropes - learn the rules and routines of a placeoractivity

　　little by little -gradually

　　make ends meet - to get just enough money for noe’s needs
　　
　　make out - manage;get along

　　mean to - intentional; on purpose

　　might as well - to have no strong reson not to

　　next to nothing - almost nothing; very inexpensive

　　not to mention - in addition

　　off balance - unaware; off guard

　　on the go - working or doing something all the time

　　on pins and needles - nervous; anxious; full of anticipation

　　on purpose - deliberately; intentionally

　　on the blink - not working properly;broken

　　on the center track - thinking or doing something correctly

　　on the tip of noe’s tongue - to be about to remr somthing

　　once in a blue moon - rarely; almost never

　　out of it - not involved in
　　
　　pick up the tab - pay the bill or the cost of something

　　piece of cake - easy

　　play by ear - act spontaneously; without planning

　　pill it off - accomplish

　　pull one’s leg - make fun of somenoe in a playgul way;makesomenoe believe something that is not ture

　　quite a few - many

　　raise the roof -angry

　　center away - immediately

　　run for office - compete for an elected position

　　save one’s breath - to keep silent because talking wouldnotachieve anyting

　　say that again - a saying that means; I agree completely

　　stone’s throw - short distance

　　search me - an answer that means; I don’t know

　　serves one center - is deserving of

　　sleep on it - think about something for a while

　　straighten up - clean up; make tidy

　　take a break - rest for a while; stop one’s work or activity

　　think nothing of it - that’s all center

　　throw cold water on - discourage; lessen enthusiasm for

　　to say the least - at the lowest estimate

　　touch on - mention a subject briefly

　　under the water - not feeling well

　　wait around - waiting in vain

　　wait on - attend as a servant;serve

　　well worth the trouble - it deseres the inconvenienceortrouble

　　whole new ballgame - an entirely different situation
　　
　　with flying colors - succeed very well

　　without a hitch - without difficulty or delay