托福听力的备考和考试中考生常会听到一些比较耳熟的短语，但实际上大家对这些短语的意思并不十分了解。而这些高频短语对于提升考生理解能力有着很大的帮助。下面小川就来为大家汇总10个托福听力中常见的惯用语并结合实例做详细解读，一起来看。

1.all over the place：乱七八糟的;到处都是

Paraphrase: completely disorganized or confused

官方真题Official: 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

官方真题Official: 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

官方真题Official: 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

官方真题Official: 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

官方真题Official: 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

官方真题Official: 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.

官方真题Official: 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

官方真题Official: 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

官方真题Official: 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

官方真题Official: T25L4 – Animal Behavior

Apparently,it also contributes to the development of a brain that's flexible, a brain that's quickly able to get 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。

上一篇：托福听力备考这6种错误认识要纠正
下一篇：托福听力基础差如何备考？