出題形式：
　　習(xí)語(yǔ)題通常都是以what開(kāi)頭的特殊疑問(wèn)句, 一般來(lái)說(shuō)問(wèn)的比較直接, 例如：
　　What does the professor mean when he says this?
　　A：Henry James was one of the critics who had very few comments on Whitman.
　　B：Henry James was one of the critics who thought Whitman's works lacked sweetness.
　　C：Henry James was one of the critics who firmly believed Whitman was good.
　　D：Henry James was among those who criticized Whitman's works intensely.
　　What does the professor mean by saying___?
　　What does X refer to?
　　剖析習(xí)語(yǔ)：
　　在做習(xí)語(yǔ)題的時(shí)候經(jīng)常會(huì)碰到一些難題。其難題之一就是當(dāng)幾個(gè)熟悉的單詞在一起構(gòu)成短語(yǔ)時(shí)，其短語(yǔ)的整體意思與單詞本身的意思則大相徑庭，這便是習(xí)語(yǔ)的難點(diǎn)所在。每一種語(yǔ)言都有它獨(dú)特的習(xí)語(yǔ)。一般說(shuō)來(lái),有些習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)從字面上看不出它們的確切意思，這是因?yàn)榭忌�不可能從組成某個(gè)習(xí)語(yǔ)的字面上來(lái)懂得它的意思。另外還有些習(xí)語(yǔ)在不同場(chǎng)合卻表達(dá)不同的意思,它們?cè)谠~典上的解釋是相同的，但是卻有不同的用法。所以在解這類(lèi)題目的時(shí)候是需要積累一些這方面的素材的。例如:
　　“in the pink”是表示“身體很健康，精力充沛”的常用語(yǔ)。 當(dāng)一段材料中說(shuō)：He is in the pink,那你就知道他肯定感到身體很好。E.g. Our next door neighbor came back from the hospital yesterday after his heart attack. And I'm glad to say he certainly looks in the pink again. 我們的隔壁鄰居心臟病發(fā)作進(jìn)了醫(yī)院，昨天他出院回家了。他看起來(lái)確實(shí)和以往一樣健康，我很高興。從這樣的一個(gè)題目中我們就不難推出問(wèn)題的答案了。
　　“sandwich generation” sandwich就是“三明治”, generation就是“一代人”。所以，sandwich generation就是“既要贍養(yǎng)老人，又要撫養(yǎng)下一代的人”。他們和夾在三明治當(dāng)中的肉一樣夾在老一代和下一代之中。E.g. Older people tend to retire earlier and live longer these days. And if they don't have pensions big enough to live on, this means their children in the sandwich generation have to bear the financial burden longer. 老年人現(xiàn)在都比較早地退休了，他們的壽命也比以往長(zhǎng)。如果他們的退休金不夠維持生活的話，這就意味著他們的孩子既要撫養(yǎng)老人，又要撫養(yǎng)他們自己的孩子，他們的經(jīng)濟(jì)負(fù)擔(dān)時(shí)間也就更長(zhǎng)。實(shí)際上這句詞語(yǔ)可以從字面上猜出其含義，捅破這層窗戶紙，答案不難得出了。
　　“under the weather”的意思是“我不太舒服”，與天氣沒(méi)有關(guān)系。例如：Mr. Jones, this is Sally Smith. I'm sorry, but I can't come to work today - I'm feeling a little under the weather. 瓊斯先生，我是薩莉?史密斯。對(duì)不起，今天我有點(diǎn)兒不舒服，所以不能去上班了。under the weather是有小毛病的時(shí)候最普遍的用法。所以在聽(tīng)力材料中聽(tīng)到這個(gè)短語(yǔ)的時(shí)候就可以大概猜到問(wèn)題了，一定是關(guān)于健康方面的。
　　解題技巧：
　　談到習(xí)語(yǔ)，沒(méi)有太多的捷徑，只有熟練掌握常用美國(guó)習(xí)語(yǔ)，正確理解其慣用語(yǔ)境合場(chǎng)合才能事半功倍。千萬(wàn)不要從詞語(yǔ)的字面意思來(lái)揣摩詞義，事實(shí)上，習(xí)語(yǔ)往往與該詞的字面意思相差千里;再解答該類(lèi)題型時(shí)，可以遵循這樣一種邏輯：見(jiàn)到什么，不選什么。例如，在課堂演講結(jié)束之前，教授通常會(huì)總結(jié)一下所論述的觀點(diǎn)。教授說(shuō)：To wrap up… 大家知道，wrap字面上作“包裝，包裹”之意，但與up結(jié)合，即成了“總結(jié)”之意。在答案中遇到“包裝，包裹”的字眼，完全可以不予理會(huì)。例如:
　　舉例說(shuō)明：
　　Professor：I have chosen to limit this study to the reactions of Whitman's admirers for the simple reason that the opinions of his detractors have remained static. Early critics, like later ones, violently objected to Whitman's technique and subject matter. Among them was Henry James, whose criticism was nothing short of bitterness.
　　Narrator：Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question.
　　Professor：Among them was Henry James, whose criticism was nothing short of bitterness.
　　What does the professor mean when he says this?
　　A：Henry James was one of the critics who had very few comments on Whitman.
　　B：Henry James was one of the critics who thought Whitman's works lacked sweetness.
　　C：Henry James was one of the critics who firmly believed Whitman was good.
　　D：Henry James was among those who criticized Whitman's works intensely.
　　解析：
　　Nothing short of 是 “一點(diǎn)兒也不少，非�！� 之意
　　答案A，B將該習(xí)語(yǔ)強(qiáng)行分割開(kāi)，如將nothing對(duì)應(yīng)few，將short of 對(duì)應(yīng)lack。因此A，B 予以排除。
　　答案C正好將詞義本末倒置，也予以排除，答案為D。
　　因此正確答案為D。
　　總之，在做習(xí)語(yǔ)題的時(shí)候一定要多多積累，根據(jù)材料的上下文去推斷。不要解釋習(xí)語(yǔ)的字面意思，脫離語(yǔ)境，制造混亂，不準(zhǔn)確或不完整的解釋。切記切記!