Choose an Idiom

 　　Choose the word or phrase which best completes each sentence.

　　1. He has to know you for a long time before he really begins to come out of his ___.

　　a . shoe b . hell c . shed d . hole

　　2. I tell you I know for certain that Lisa will be promoted to manager. The boss told me himself, so it’s straight from the ___!

　　a . nag’s head b . cat’s whiskers c . horse’s mouth d . lion’ den¹

　　3. Just look at the way she goes round giving people orders. She’s getting a bit too big for her ___, if you ask me.

　　a . boots b .braces² c . trousers d . brains

　　4. My visitors arrived early, and caught me on the ___.

　　a . stove b . grapevine c . spot d . hop³

　　5. The young boy was scolded by his teacher, but it was like water off ___ .

　　a . a windmill b . a duck’s back c . a dripping tap d . an umbrella

　　6. Why don’t you have potatoes in their ___ tonight for a change?

　　a . sleeves b . shells c . jackets d . coats

　　7. The boy is the ___image of his father.

　　a . live b . true c . spitting d . coats

　　8. He’s one of the few ___ diplomats⁴ we have in this country.

　　a . budding b . blooming c . growing d . promised

　　9. Writing rhymes for greeting cards is really easy. It’s money for old ___.

　　a . rags b . bread c . rope d . rubbish

　　10. Of course you won’t become more intelligent if you eat a lot of fish - that’s just an old ___ tale.

　　a . maids’ b . ladies’ c . mothers’ d . wives’

　　11. The day after the office party, John had a terrible ___ and couldn’t bear the slightest noise.

　　a . hangover b . conscience c . feeling d . anxiety

　　12. The whole idea seemed a ___ shot.

　　a . hot b . long c . wild d . high

　　13. He knew every ___ and cranny of Europe.

　　a . nook b . gap c . hole d . niche⁵

　　14. I enjoy my job - the fly in the ___ is that I start early in the morning.

　　a . fat b . porridge c .soup d . ointment⁶

　　15. It’s a ___ shame that so little is done nowadays to help the homeless in our large cities.

　　a . sweeping⁷ b . crying c . dying d . pitying

　　16. My uncle is a bit of a wet ___ — he’s always spoiling everyone’s fun.

　　a . rag b . sheep c . rat d . blanket

　　17. There were loud ___from the students when the President announced that the teacher was unable to come because of illness.

　　a . outcry b . wolf whistles c . catcalls d . hoots⁸

　　18. He just wanted one ___before settling down and getting married.

　　a . final fling b . last leap c . happy hop d . joyful⁹ jump

　　19. She has a soft ___ for pets and babies.

　　a . heart b . way c . smile d . spot

　　20. Everyone bosses me about at work; I’m nothing but a___.

　　a . lame¹⁰ b . general dogsbody c . blue-eyed boy d . marked man

　　答案与参考译文:

　　1.b (He begins to stop being shy ) 他非得认识你很长时间之后才会真正愿意开始与你攀谈。

　　2.c (It’s directly from someone who knows ) 告诉你，我知道莉萨肯定会被提拔为经理。这个消息是老板亲口告诉我的，所以绝对可靠。

　　3.a (She has too high an opinion of herself ) 看看她到处指手划脚的那副样子。如果你问我，我觉得她开始变得过于自以为是了。

　　4.d (They’ve arrived when I wasn’t expecting them ) 客人来得早，弄得我措手不及。

　　5.b (No matter how the teacher scolded him, it had absolutely no effect on him.) 那个小男孩受到老师的责骂，可是责骂犹如鸭背之水，毫无作用。

　　6.c (Potatoes with the peel still on. They are usually baked in the oven. ) 你们今晚为何不换换口味，吃带皮的土豆?

　　7.c (He looks exactly like his father ) 这孩子和他的父亲长得简直一模一样。

　　8.a (One of the few diplomats who is developing well )他是我们这个国家几个初露头角的外交家之一。

　　9.c (It’s a very easy way to make money )为问候卡配小诗真容易。这么赚钱不费吹灰之力。

　　10. d (A foolish and false belief, often to do with medicine, which at one time people believed to be true ) 你如果吃许多鱼，当然不会变得更聪明——吃鱼能变聪明不过是无稽之谈罢了。

　　11. a (The feeling of headache and general sickness he feels the day after he has drunk too much alcohol) 办公室舞会后的第二天，约翰头痛得厉害，也感觉非常恶心，哪怕是一丁点儿声音也受不了。

　　12.b (A “long shot” is something which has very little chance of success ) 整个设想好像不大可能实行。

　　13.a (He knew everywhere) 他对欧洲每个角落都非常熟悉。

　　14.d (A minor¹¹ disadvantage which stops me enjoying something fully) 我喜欢自己的工作，美中不足的是我很早就得动身。

　　15.b (It’s a great shame ) 当前在我们的大城市中为帮助无家可归者而做的工作太少了，这真是奇耻大辱!

　　16.d (He takes the pleasure out of everything by being very negative and constantly finding fault with things )我叔叔真扫兴——他老是破坏大家的兴致。

　　17.c (Sharp cries and whistles of disapproval¹² )校长宣布那位老师因病不能来时，学生们发出一片嘘声。

　　18.a (He wanted to enjoy himself for one last time before getting married )他只是想在安顿下来、结婚之前尽情玩乐一番。

　　19.d (She is very fond of pets and babies) 他对爱畜和婴儿最易动情。

　　20.b (A “general dogsbody” is someone who is like a slave because everyone gives him/her orders在工作中人人都把我差来谴去。我最多只能算是个勤杂工。

1 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

2 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。

3 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

6 ointment   

n.药膏，油膏，软膏

参考例句：

• Your foot will feel better after the application of this ointment.敷用这药膏后，你的脚会感到舒服些。
• This herbal ointment will help to close up your wound quickly.这种中草药膏会帮助你的伤口很快愈合。

7 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

8 hoots   

咄，啐

参考例句：

• His suggestion was greeted with hoots of laughter. 他的建议引起了阵阵嗤笑。
• The hoots came from the distance. 远处传来呜呜声。

9 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

10 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

11 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

12 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。