很多网友在考完托福后突然发现，自己的听力真的提高了很多，在考试中学到了很多美国习语。本文特地把托福考试中常出现的重要习语总结出来，供准备参加2006下半年托福考试的朋友使用。为体现原汁原味，本文未对这些词组进行翻译，不过在每个词组后面都有相应的英文解释。
我们相信，只要大家坚持用心去练，肯定会对你们听力提高会有帮助的，而且在考试的时候你会发现这样的效果特别好，当然这种感觉是建立在你大量练习和能力提高的基础上的。
above all - most importantly
account for - explain
as a matter of fact - in fact ，to speak the truth
as a rule - generally ；normally
about to - be ready to；be on the point of doing something
an old hand - be an experienced persom
any day now -soon
approach sb -talk to sb
be fed up with - be out of patience with
be on one‘s own - live independently
be on the safe side - take no chances
be out of something - have no longer in supply
be tired of - be bored with ，frustrated with
be up to ones‘ears - be extremely busy
be up to someone -be a person‘s responsibility
be out for -trying to get
be out of the question - be unacceptable ，impossible
bite off more than one can chew - take on more than one can handle
break down - cease to function
break the ice - begin to be friendly wuth people one doesn‘t know
break the news - inform or give bad news
brush up on - imporve noe‘s knowledge of something through study
bump into - meet unexpectedly
by and large - in general
by heart - by memory
by all means - absolutely ，definitely
by no means - in no way
call off -cancel
cheer up - be happy
come down with - become sick with
come into -receive，especially after another‘s death
come up with - think of
count on - depend upon
count out - eliminate
die down - become quiet ，become less
do without - manage without something
drop by - visit informally； pay a short visit
every other - alternate
fall behind - lag； fail to accomplish something on time
fall through - fail to happen or be completed
far cry form - completely different from；a long way
feel like - have a desire or wish for
feel up to - feel well enough to or be capabele of
few and far between - not happening often； rate
figure out - determine； reason out by thinking
fill in for -take another‘s place
fill sb.in - tell what sb. should know
fish out of water - out of one‘s element or natural environment
flying colors -success，victory
for good - permanently； forever
for the time being - for now； temporarily
get away with - escape without punishment
get rid of - give something away； sell， destroy， or throw away something
get the ball rolling - start something； make a beginning
get the hang of - understand； learn
give a hand - help
go without saying - understood； clear without needing to be stated
go off -begin to ring
hang on - keep hold of； persevere；keep doing something
hard to come by - difficult to obtain
have a heart - have kind feelings； be understanding
have a hunch - have an idea based on feelings rather than reason
hold off - delay；postpone
hop to it - get started on something quickly
hit it off - get along well with someone
ill at ease - uncomfortable
in hot water - in trouble
in the air -uncertain
in the dark - keep someone without knowdge； information from somenoe
in the lone run - looking toward the future； eventually
ins and outs - all the details； the various parts and difficulties to be seen
iron out - remove the difficulties or find an answer for
jump to conclusions - arrive too quickly at a decision or opinion
keep an eye on - watch closely
keep one‘sfingers crossed - wish that nothing goes wrong
keep on one‘s toes - be ready for action； prepared
knock oneself out - make a great effort
learn the ropes - learn the rules and routines of a place or activity
little by little -gradually
make ends meet - to get just enough money for noe‘s needs
make out - manage；get along
mean to - intentional； on purpose
might as well - to have no strong reson not to
next to nothing - almost nothing； very inexpensive
not to mention - in addition
off balance - unaware； off guard
on the go - working or doing something all the time
on pins and needles - nervous； anxious； full of anticipation
on purpose - deliberately； intentionally
on the blink - not working properly；broken
on the right track - thinking or doing something correctly
on the tip of noe‘s tongue - to be about to remember somthing
once in a blue moon - rarely； almost never
out of it - not involved in
pick up the tab - pay the bill or the cost of something
piece of cake - easy
play by ear - act spontaneously； without planning
pill it off - accomplish
pull one‘s leg - make fun of somenoe in a playgul way； make somenoe believe something that is not ture
quite a few - many
raise the roof -angry
right away - immediately
run for office - compete for an elected position
save one‘s breath - to keep silent because talking would not achieve anyting
say that again - a saying that means； I agree completely
stone‘s throw - short distance
search me - an answer that means； I don‘t know
serves one right - is deserving of
sleep on it - think about something for a while
straighten up - clean up； make tidy
take a break - rest for a while； stop one‘s work or activity
think nothing of it - that‘s all right
throw cold water on - discourage； lessen enthusiasm for
to say the least - at the lowest estimate
touch on - mention a subject briefly
under the water - not feeling well
wait around - waiting in vain
wait on - attend as a servant；serve
well worth the trouble - it deseres the inconvenience or trouble
whole new ballgame - an entirely different situation
with flying colors - succeed very well
without a hitch - without difficulty or delay