听力原句：

　　Librarian：Oh, well I guess you might think that. But when I saw it back then it was anything but boring.

　　语境释义：并不;一点也不

　　注：近似词组nothing but意为“只不过是”,例如：It's nothing but a joke.

　　2.in such short notice

　　听力原句：

　　Student：Hi, thanks for seeing me in such short notice.

　　语境释义：如此仓促

　　3.in person

　　听力原句：

　　Manager: Right, the choir. It’s nice to finally meet you in person. So, you are having problems with...

　　语境释义：亲自，当面

　　4.high-end

　　听力原句：

　　Pro: Ok, basically they have to offer things that most people can find anywhere else, you know quality, that means better exercise equipment,high-end stuff, and classes-exercise classes may be aerobics.

　　语境释义：高端的

　　5.drive…home

　　听力原句：

　　Therefore, it’s best to be a non-conformist – to do your own thing, not worrying about what other people think. That’s an important point. He really drives this argument home throughout the essay.

　　语境释义：把(论点、问题等)讲得透彻、明白

　　6.goof off

　　听力原句：

　　Student: I went off to the stack and found some really good material for my part, but when I got back to our table, they were just goofing off and talking. So I went and got materials for their sections as well.

　　语境释义：游手好闲，混日子

　　7.go down the drain

　　听力原句：

　　Student: I know, but I didn’t want to risk the project going down the drain.

　　语境释义：前功尽弃，付诸东流

　　8.start from scratch

　　听力原句：

　　Student: But we’ve got all the sources and it’s due next week. We don’t have time to start from scratch.

　　语境释义：从头开始

　　9.come down to

　　听力原句：

　　It’s been shaped by constraints over vast stretches of time, all of which comes down to the fact that the best foraging strategy for beavers isn’t the one that yields the most food or wood.

　　语境释义：归结为

　　10.open spot

　　听力原句：

　　I am afraid we don’t have any openings at lunch time. A lot of students want to work then, so it is really rare for us to have an open spot at that time of day.

　　语境释义：职位空缺

　　11.not necessarily

　　听力原句1：

　　Well, design doesn't necessarily include things like sculptures or decorative walkways or… or even eye catching window displays, you know art.

　　听力原句2：

　　Professor：That’s another possible reason although it doesn’t necessarily explain other behaviors such as eating, drinking or sleeping.”

　　语境释义：不一定，未必(不是“不需要”或者“不必要”的意思!)

　　12.be at odds with

　　听力原句：

　　They try to fit in with the rest of the world even though it’s at odds with their beliefs and their identities.

　　语境释义：与…相违背、相冲突

　　注：在听力中该短语会有连读，要多听。

　　13.lesser-known

　　听力原句：

　　Employee：You are lucky to have professor who includes the lesser-known writer like her on the syllabus, you know, not the usual authors we’ve all read.

　　语境释义：不知名的

　　14.pros and cons

　　听力原句：

　　I mean no one really thinks that, say a bee goes through weighing the pros and cons of pollinating this flower or that flower.

　　语境释义：权衡利弊，仔细斟酌

　　15.in a different light

　　听力原句：

　　Student: I mean... Being a waiter, I get to see a lot of the professors, like in a different light, we joke around a little you know. In the classroom, they always have to be pretty formal, but …

　　语境释义：从不同的角度，从另外一面

　　16.low key

　　听力原句：

　　Pro: Oh, that's very thoughtful of you, Eric, but it will be low key, nothing flashy. That's not her style.

　　语境释义：低调的，不张扬的

　　17.common denominator

　　听力原句：

　　There are variations on this model of course, but the common denominators are always an idea of creating a shopping space that will get people to shop in the city without needing their cars.

　　语境释义：共同点，共性

　　注意：denominator本意为“分母”

　　18.tongue in cheek

　　听力原句：

　　But if you took away all the DNA that codes for genes, you still have maybe 70% of the DNA left over. That’s the so-called JUNK DNA. Though the word junk is used sort of tongue in cheek.

　　语境释义：半开玩笑地

　　19.pull them from thin air

　　听力原句：

　　To begin, how do we create fictional characters? We don’t just pull them from thin air, do we? I mean we don’t create them out of nothing.

　　语境释义：凭空捏造

　　20.touch base

　　听力原句：

　　Advisor: Hi, Steven I schedule this appointment, cause it has been a while since we touched base.

　　语境释义：联系，进行接触