Choose an Idiom选择成语

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 .braces    c . trousers    d . brains

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

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

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 ___ diplomats² 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 . niche³

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

a . fat    b . porridge    c .soup   d . ointment⁴

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

a . sweeping    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 . hoots⁵

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

a . final fling    b . last leap   c . happy hop    d . joyful⁶ 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 . lame  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 minor⁷ 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 disapproval⁸ )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。