牛津英语教材中的习语和典故集锦

以表胆小、卑怯、卑鄙，

blue

表忧郁

2

Do your homework about

为

……

做好 准备

As easy as pie

易如反掌

As plain as day

显而易见

An arm and a leg

昂贵的代价

Hold firm

坚信

A white lie

善意的谎言

The Heel of Achilles

亦作

Achilles’ heel

致命要害

唯一弱点；薄弱环节

An Apple of Discord

争斗之源；不和之因；祸根

Helen of Troy

这个成语，

除了表示

a beautiful girl or woman; a beauty who ruins her country

等意义外，还可以用来表示

a terrible disaster brought by sb. or sth. you like best

的意思。

on one

’

s last legs

奄奄一息，过时

Scrooge--- a character who is extremely mean .

（吝啬鬼）

a sacred cow

—

This policy, which used to be very successful, remains a sacred cow, though it

no

longer

meets

the

needs of

the

current

situation..

(Someone

or

something

that

is

held

in

high regard and can not be harmed. It is from religion).

be

over

the

moon

—

Terry

was

over

the

moon

because

his

favourite

team

had

just

won

the

championship match. (Someone who is very happy. It is from works).

Pandora’s

box—

How

could

we

have

known

that

by

applying

for

a

credit

card

we

were

opening Pandora’s box. (One action has caused a lot of bad things to happen. It comes from

works).

引来祸害

Waterloo

—

After spending all his money and failing to raise funds for his project, he is facing

his Waterloo. (A final defeat or failure. It comes from history).

Mother Teresa

—

She has done a lot of charity work this year and is a real Mother Teresa. (A

person who works selflessly for others. It comes from real life).

Judas

犹大

To describe someone who betray their friends or beliefs.

Mickey Mouse course

（

a course that is very easy

）非常容易

a

dark horse

黑马

Daniel in the lion’s den

艰巨的任务

catch-22

令人左右为难的规定

leading light

导航灯，重要人物

Jonah

带来不幸的人

a Herculean task

极为艰巨的工作

a

good Samaritan

心地善良，乐于助人的人

David and Goliath

以弱胜强

Jekyll and Hyde

双重人格者，两面派

a tough nut

难对付的人，胆大果断的人

men in the street

普通人

mend one

’

s way

改过自新

around the clock

夜以继日

between jobs = unemployed

in the air

悬而未决

start from the scratch

从头做起

82.

face the musi c

表示“面对失败；接受批评

/

处罚； 承担后果

83.

call w

hite black/call black white

混淆是非

84.

a black sheep

害群之马；

85.

a white lie

善意的谎言

86.

white war

没有硝烟的战争，常指

―

经济竞争

。

87.

White elephant

无用而累赘的东西；

；

88.

why bother

？

.

没必要

89.

in a blue mood /having the blues

表示

―

情绪低落

;

90.

white coffee

不加牛奶的

coffee

91.

black and blue

遍体鳞伤的；青一块紫一块

92.

green hand

新手

93.

Once bitten, twice shy

一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳

94.

Make hay while the sun shines

趁热打铁

95.

You can say that again.

你说的完全真确

96.

It counts for

nothing

这一点也不重要。

/< /p>

这不算什么。

97.

so what :

那又怎样

??

那又如何

??

98.

Actions speak louder than words.

行动比言语更有说服力。

（事实胜于雄辩。

）

99.

The best fish are / swim near the bottom.

好鱼居水底。

（有价值的东西不能轻 易得到。

）

100.

A rising tide lifts all boats.

水涨众船高。

101.

Time lost cannot be recalled. (recall vt.

召回，恢复

)

光阴一去不复返。

102.

To stand still is to move back..

逆水行舟，不进则退。

103.

It is no use crying over spilt milk.

覆水难收。

（打翻牛奶，哭也没用）

104.

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

抱最

好的希望，作最坏的准备。

105.

All that glitters is not gold. / All is not gold that

glitt

ers.

闪光的并非都是金子。

106.

Those who live in glass houses should not thro

w stones.

自己有弱点，勿揭他人短

107.

one man's meat is another man's poison

表示“萝卜青菜，

各有所爱”，

此处是要表达同一

种学习英语的 方法不是每个人都适用

108.

Don’t count your chickens until they are hatched.

--

Don’t

count

on

something

going

well

until it happens.

不要过早乐观

109.

..A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

一鸟在手胜过二鸟在林。

110.

The pot calls the kettle black.

五十步笑一百步。

3

解题技巧：结合语境，根据本义去理解

练习一

1.-

--You shouldn`t have told everyone my secret.

---

wait a minute! I didn`t tell anyone…I promise!

---Oh, ________! You big mouth!

A. I didn`t buy it

B. I mean it

C. You don`t forget it

D. You got it

2.---Do you know the newly appointed CEO?

--_______.

A.I `ll check it

that there is one

C. More often than not

D. It will come to me

in the office regard him as ―____‖.He is not only knowledgeable but also honest a

nd nice

to everyone.

A. a wet blanket

B. a black sheep

apple of their eyes

D. the salt of the earth

4.---I can`t bear the air pollution in this city any more. It is getting worse and worse.

---_____!We `ve never had so many chemical factories before.

A. I wouldn`t bet on it. B. You said it

C. Keep it up

D. come off it

5.---I think it was his excitement for his success in the first half that led to his eventual failure in

the game.

----

You bet. Old sayings never fail,‖______‖

A.

failure is the mother of success

goes before a fall

C.A hero is nothing but a product of his time

D. A fall into the pit, a gain in the wit

6. ---He is a very hard

—

working student.

---______.As far as I know,he often burns the midnight oil.

A.

You can say that again B. Absolutely not

C. Heaven knows

D. No way

7.--- Excuse me, I have to return my book to the library.

---_____. It isn

’

t due until next Saturday.

A.

take it easy

B. take it seriou

sly

your order

D. Take your time

8.---Shall we offer the new position to Jack?

---______. You are the boss.

A. you bet

B. It`s your call C. No problem

D. It depends

9.---Can you read the sign, madam? No photos allowed in the room!

----_________.

A.

Never mind

B. Don`t mention it

C. Sure , I can`t

D. Pardo

n me

10.

—

Mum. My coach

says I`m doing well in the training.

--___? You still have a long way to go.

A.

why not

B. So what

C. how so

D. where to

11.

—

Would you mind answering some questions on shopping habits?

—

________.

A. Yes, with great pleasure B. No, I am afraid I can't make it

C. Yes, it is worth the time D. No, as long as it doesn't take long

12. ----This is your order, a hamburger and an apple pie.

A. Anything else

B. Is that OK

C. For here or to go

D. Something to drink

13.

—

He got fired last week, crashed his car and got his wallet stolen on the train.

—Just like they say,―______.‖

A. Every tragedy makes heroes of common people

B. Rain comes after sunshine, and after a dark cloud,a clear sky

C. It never rains but it pours

D. Misfortunes come singly

14.2015

江苏

.

–Why didn’t you invite John to your birthday party?

4

--

Well, you know he’s______.

early bird

B. a wet blanket

C. a lucky dog

D. a tough nut

15.2016

江苏

—Jack still can’t help being anxious about his

job interview.

—

Lack of self-confidence is his______, I am afraid.

A. Achilles’ heel

B.

child’s play

C.

green fingers

D.

last straw

16. Sorry for not having got what you wanted. She kept her mouth shut and just said __________.

A. that’s her feet of clay

B. a little bird told her

C. she wanted to kill the fatted calf

D. she was the salt of the earth

17.

–––

It is ridiculous that John wants to make academic progress but never devotes any time to it.

–––

Maybe it’s time for him to kno

w______.

A. heaven never helps the man who will not act

B. he who makes constant complaint gets little compassion

C. hope for the best, but prepare for the worst

D. it is easy to be wise after the event

18.

No one is perfect and even famous people may have their ________

．

A. feet of clay

B. cup of tea C. piece of cake

D. hearts of gold

19.

—

Tom was caught cheating in the exam.

—

Just his luck. ________

．

A. He has to kill the fatted calf

B. He has to face the music

C. He must be the apple of his parents' eye

D. He must be a black sheep

20.

—

I followed your advice on how to learn English

，

but I am still poor in it. Why?

—

Well

，

________

．

A. no pains

，

no gains

B. no sweet without sweat

C. all is well that ends well

D. one man's meat is another man's poison

21.

Whenever and wherever we are, keep in mind that we should listen more to others. It’s wrong

to express ourselves without thinking. Just as we all know, __________.

A. a good beginning makes a good ending

B. a still tongue makes a wise head

C. a great hope makes a great man

D. a good husband makes a good wife

22.

---Students should try to do a little studying every

evening throughout the term, rather than

study all night during the week before the exam.

---Exactly. ______.

A. It’s as easy as pie

B. You shouldn’t color the truth

C. Slow and sure wins the race

D. The early bird catches the worm

23.

Two of the boys were caught playing computer games in the Internet café

. Mr. Chen criticized

them severely in front of the whole class.

—

They deserved it. And Mr. Chen was just ________.

A. killing the fatted calf

B. putting the cart before the horse

C. teaching a fish to swim

D. beating the dog before the lion

24.

I’m surpris

ed to discover that so many idioms come from the Bible. What about you?

--

That’s very interesting. I like the story about ―________‖, which is a good example to show

the hidden weaknesses in the people we admire.

A. feet of clay

B. see the handwriting on the wall

C. kill the fatted calf

D. the apple of somebody’s eye

25.

—Don’t be a slave to work, Ralph! You must take it easy sometimes.

5