然而，成语通常很难理解。你也许能够通过上下文来猜测其意，但如果不能的话，那么就不易理解其意了。譬如，很多成语起源于英国人钟爱的传统活动，如搏斗、航海和狩猎。其不仅在意思上是十分特殊的，而且成语中的有些词是二、三百年前，甚至是在更久远年代使用的词汇，因此可能有点晦涩难懂。以下是一些例子：
-now that the prime minister has been elected there will be a lot of jockeying for position to get the key posts in his administration. (horse racing)
由于首相已被选定，所以在谋求其政府要职的过程中将会出现许多欺诈牟利的行为。(赛马)
-i finally ran the book to earth in a second-hand bookshop in wales. i had been searching for it for three years. (hunting)
我最终在威尔士的一家旧书书店里觅求到了这本书。我找这本书已经有三年的时间了。(打猎)
-they took her ideas on board and decided to increase the budget. (sailing)
他们考虑了她的意见，并决定增加预算。(航海)
-you should fall in with our arrangements; we can`t make alternative plans for you. (army)
你应该同意我们的安排，我们不可能再为你另做安排。(军队)
-we saw the boss at the bar but we gave him a wide berth. we did not want to talk to him then. (sailing)
我们在酒吧里见到了老板，但我们避开了他。我们那时不想与他说话。(航海)
what is the best way to learn idioms? it is best to learn idioms as you do vocabulary. in other words, select and actively learn idioms which will be useful to you. write the idiom in a relevant and practical sentence so that you will be able to remember its meaning easily. if you can, record the idioms in a file and on a card along with other words and idioms which have similar meanings.
学习成语的最好方法是什么?最好就是像学单词一样学成语。换句话说，要选出并主动学习那些对你有用的成语。把这个成语写在一句与之相关、有实际意义的句子中，这样你就可以轻易记住它的意思了。如果可以的话，你可以把这些成语记录在那些写有意思相近的其它单词或成语的卡片上，收在文件中。