出題形式：
　　習語題通常都是以what開頭的特殊疑問句, 一般來說問的比較直接, 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?
　　剖析習語：
　　在做習語題的時候經常會碰到一些難題。其難題之一就是當幾個熟悉的單詞在一起構成短語時，其短語的整體意思與單詞本身的意思則大相徑庭，這便是習語的難點所在。每一種語言都有它獨特的習語。一般說來,有些習慣用語從字面上看不出它們的確切意思，這是因為考生不可能從組成某個習語的字面上來懂得它的意思。另外還有些習語在不同場合卻表達不同的意思,它們在詞典上的解釋是相同的，但是卻有不同的用法。所以在解這類題目的時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。 當一段材料中說：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作進了醫院，昨天他出院回家了。他看起來確實和以往一樣健康，我很高興。從這樣的一個題目中我們就不難推出問題的答案了。
　　“sandwich generation” sandwich就是“三明治”, generation就是“一代人”。所以，sandwich generation就是“既要贍養老人，又要撫養下一代的人”。他們和夾在三明治當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. 老年人現在都比較早地退休了，他們的壽命也比以往長。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老人，又要撫養他們自己的孩子，他們的經濟負擔時間也就更長。實際上這句詞語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”，與天氣沒有關系。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。對不起，今天我有點兒不舒服，所以不能去上班了。under the weather是有小毛病的時候最普遍的用法。所以在聽力材料中聽到這個短語的時候就可以大概猜到問題了，一定是關于健康方面的。
　　解題技巧：
　　談到習語，沒有太多的捷徑，只有熟練掌握常用美國習語，正確理解其慣用語境合場合才能事半功倍。千萬不要從詞語的字面意思來揣摩詞義，事實上，習語往往與該詞的字面意思相差千里;再解答該類題型時，可以遵循這樣一種邏輯：見到什么，不選什么。例如，在課堂演講結束之前，教授通常會總結一下所論述的觀點。教授說：To wrap up… 大家知道，wrap字面上作“包裝，包裹”之意，但與up結合，即成了“總結”之意。在答案中遇到“包裝，包裹”的字眼，完全可以不予理會。例如:
　　舉例說明：
　　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 “一點兒也不少，非常” 之意
　　答案A，B將該習語強行分割開，如將nothing對應few，將short of 對應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，在做習語題的時候一定要多多積累，根據材料的上下文去推斷。不要解釋習語的字面意思，脫離語境，制造混亂，不準確或不完整的解釋。切記切記!