i·dea /aɪˈdɪə/ ●●● S1 W1 noun 1 plan/suggestion 计划/建议 [countableC]IDEA a plan or suggestion for a possible course of action, especially one that you think of suddenly 〔尤指突然想到的〕计划;建议;想法,主意 You should talk to Ken - he’s always full of good ideas. 你应该和肯谈谈,他总是满脑子好主意。
I knew it was a bad idea to leave him on his own. 我知道把他独自留下不是个好主意。
It was my wife’s idea to move house. 要搬家是我妻子的主意。
idea for The idea for the book came from an old war movie. 这本书的构思源自一部战争老电影。
the idea of doing something I had the idea of asking Katie for help. 我想请凯蒂帮忙。
Don’t say ‘the idea to do something’. Say
the idea of doing something. However, you can say
it is a good idea to do something and
it was someone’s idea to do something.
不要说 ‘the idea to do something’. 而要说 the idea of doing something. 但可以说 it is a good idea to do something 以及 it was someone’s idea to do something.
2 knowledge 认识 [countableC, uncountableU]UNDERSTAND a general understanding of something, based on some knowledge about it 大致的了解 Could you give me an idea of how bad his injuries are? 你能告诉我他的伤有多严重吗?
You must have some idea (=have at least a little knowledge) of what happened to the money. 这笔钱的去向你肯定略知一二。
Don’t worry if you don’t understand it right now – you’ll get the idea (=begin to understand or be able to do something). 如果你现在不明白,不要着急你会懂的。
have no idea/not have any idea She doesn’t have any idea where they’ve gone. 她压根儿不知道他们去哪里了。
a general/rough idea (=a not very exact idea) 大致的想法 Can you give me a rough idea of how much the repairs will cost? 你能否告诉我修理费用大约要多少?
not have the faintest/slightest/foggiest idea spoken I don’t have the faintest idea what to get Rachel for her birthday. 我完全不知道该给蕾切尔买什么生日礼物。
3 aim/intention 目的/意图 [countableC, uncountableU]PURPOSE the aim, intention, or purpose of doing something 〔做某事的〕目的,意图 The idea is to teach children to save money. 目的是教孩子省钱。
idea of/behind The idea behind the outing is to encourage employees to get to know each other. 远足的目的是鼓励员工相互了解。
They wanted Mike to go to law school, but he had other ideas (=had different plans). 他们想让迈克上法学院,但他另有打算。
4 how you imagine STH to be 如何想象某事物 [countableC, uncountableU]IMAGINE an image in your mind of what something is like or should be like 概念,想法idea of Chefs differ in their idea of what makes a good dessert. 拿什么当餐后甜点最好,厨师们想法各异。
I only have a vague idea of the kind of work I’ll be doing. 我对将要从事的工作只有个模糊的概念。
It helps if you have a clear idea of what you want. 清楚自己要的是什么有好处。
not my idea of something Chocolate milk and a piece of cake is not my idea of dinner. 巧克力牛奶加一块蛋糕并不是我想象中的晚餐。
The very idea of kissing him made her feel physically sick. 一想到要吻他,她就恶心想吐。
5 belief/opinion 信念/意见 [countableC usually plural]BELIEVE someone’s opinion or belief about something 〔某人对某事的〕看法,信念idea about She had some rather unusual ideas about raising children. 对于抚养孩子她有些与众不同的见解。
where did you get that idea? (=used to say that what someone thinks is completely wrong) 你那想法从哪儿来的?〔指某人的想法完全错误〕 No, I’m not seeing Jane. Where did you get that idea? 不,我没在和简谈恋爱。你这想法从哪儿来的?
6 principle 原则 [countableC]BELIEVE a principle or belief about how something is or should be 原则,信念idea of The whole idea of democracy was something strange and new to most people. 那时对于大部分人来说,民主这个概念陌生而新鲜。
idea that It’s based on the idea that all people are created equal. 它是基于人人生而平等这个观念之上的。
7 have an idea (that) SUREto be fairly sure that something is true, without being completely sure 猜想(…),估计(…)〔指猜想确有某事,但无绝对把握〕 I’m not sure where my necklace is, but I have a pretty good idea who took it. 我说不准我的项链在哪儿,但我大体上猜到是谁拿的。
8 get the wrong idea UNTRUEto think that something is true when it is not 误解 Don’t get the wrong idea about Dan and Helen – they’re just friends. 不要误会丹和海伦,他俩不过是朋友而已。
get the wrong idea• People have got the wrong idea about this one.• People often got the wrong idea about Nanny Ogg, and she took care to see that they did.• A lot of people get the wrong idea.• Don't get the wrong idea - the Dixons aren't as arrogant as they sound. 9 have the right idea CORRECTto act or think in a way that will probably lead to the correct result 〔行事或思维〕方法正确,方向对头 He still makes a few mistakes but I reckon he’s got the right idea. 他还会犯一些错误,但我认为他已经走对路了。
10 that’s/there’s an idea spokenLIKE somebody OR something used to say that you like what someone has just suggested 好主意〔用于表示赞同某人的建议〕 ‘Why don’t you invite Paula to come with us?’ ‘There’s an idea.’ “你为什么不邀请葆拉和我们一起去?”“好主意。”
11 that’s the idea spoken a) PRAISEused to tell someone who is learning to do something that they are doing it the right way, in order to encourage them 干得好,做得对〔用于鼓励正在学做某事的人〕 Keep your knees bent and lean forward slightly. That’s the idea! 屈膝稍向前倾。对,就是这样!
b) used to emphasize what the main point of something is, or to say that someone understands that point 对,就是这样〔用于强调某事的要点或说明某人理解了该要点〕 ‘You’re thinking of getting a new job?’ ‘Yeah, that’s the idea.’ “你在考虑找新工作吗?”“对,是这样。”
12 bright idea a very clever idea, often used in a joking way to mean a very stupid idea or action 聪明点子,好主意〔常为反话,用于开玩笑〕 Whose bright idea was it to leave the back door wide open? 这是谁的好主意,把后门大敞着?
13 give somebody ideas/put ideas into somebody’s head to make someone think of doing something that they had not thought of doing before, especially something that they should not do 使某人产生某种念头〔尤指不该做的事〕 Nick tells me he wants a motorbike. Have you been putting ideas into his head? 尼克对我说想要一辆摩托车,是不是你让他胡思乱想的?
14 is it somebody’s idea of a joke? used when you are surprised and often rather annoyed by what someone has said or done 有某人这样开玩笑的吗?〔用于对某人的言语或行为表示惊讶和生气〕 ‘She wants you to do it by tomorrow.’ ‘Is that your idea of a joke?’ “她想让你明天之前做好。”“有你那样开玩笑的吗?”
15. what’s the big idea? spoken used when you cannot understand why someone has done something (你)这是干什么?(你)这样做用意何在? 16 you have no idea (how/what etc) spokenVERY used when you are telling someone that something is extremely good, bad etc 你简直想不到〔用于告诉某人某事非常好、非常坏等〕 You have no idea how worried I was. 你简直想不到我当时多么着急。
17. the idea! old-fashioned spokenAPPROVE used to express surprise or disapproval when someone has said something stupid 什么话!〔用于对方说了蠢话时,表示惊讶或贬斥〕 → buck your ideas up at buck up COLLOCATIONSverbshave an idea 有个主意I’ve had an idea. Why don’t we walk into town? 我有主意了,我们走着去城里怎样?
get an idea 获得灵感She got the idea from an article in a magazine. 她从杂志上的一篇文章获得了灵感。
give somebody an idea 令某人想到What gave you the idea for the book? 你是怎么想到写这本书的?
come up with an idea (=think of an idea) 想到一个主意He’s always coming up with interesting ideas. 他老是会有一些新奇的念头。
hit on an idea informal (=suddenly think of an idea) 突然有了个主意Then we hit on the idea of renting a cottage. 于是我们突然想到租一间乡村小屋。
toy with an idea informal (=think about using an idea, but not very seriously) 不很认真地考虑I’m toying with the idea of going back to college. 我在想要不要回去上大学,只是随便想想罢了。
brainstorm ideas (=get a group of people to all try and think of ideas) 集思广益,头脑风暴nWe had a meeting to brainstorm ideas for the new advertising campaign.
share/exchange ideas (=tell someone else your ideas, and learn their ideas) 分享/交流想法nan opportunity for local business people to share ideas
an idea comes to somebody (=someone suddenly thinks of an idea) 某人突然想到一个主意The idea came to me while I was having a bath. 我在洗澡时想到了这个主意。
adjectivesa good/bad idea 好主意/坏主意Keeping the drinks cold in the bath was a good idea. 把冷饮放在浴缸里保温是个好主意。
nKnocking down this wall was a really bad idea.
a great/brilliant/excellent idea 极好的主意What a great idea! 多妙的主意!
a bright idea (=a very good idea - often used ironically) 聪明点子〔常作嘲讽语〕Whose bright idea was it to leave the washing out in the rain? 把洗好的衣服晾在雨中是谁的好主意?
a clever idea 聪明点子It seemed like a clever idea at the time. 当时这似乎是个聪明点子。
interesting 有趣的The idea sounded interesting, but I didn’t think it would work. 这主意听起来挺有意思,但我觉得不可行。
stupid/ridiculous/crazy 愚蠢的/可笑的/疯狂的nThe idea sounded crazy to me.
nCamping in the middle of winter was a ridiculous idea!
nHe had the crazy idea of hitchhiking around South America.
original/innovative (=no one has thought of it before) 有独创性的/新颖的nThe company is looking for people who can come up with original ideas.
a half-baked idea (=an idea that has not been carefully thought out) 考虑不周的主意nIt’s yet another of the government’s half-baked ideas.
phrasesbe full of ideas (also be bursting with ideas) (=have a lot of ideas) 有许多奇思妙想The children were enthusiastic and full of ideas. 这些小孩子热情很高,思维活跃。
nfire/bounce ideas off one another (=discuss each other’s ideas and think of good new ones)Our regular meetings are opportunities to fire ideas off each other.
THESAURUSidea something that you think of, especially something that you could do or suggest 主意,想法I think that’s an excellent idea. 我觉得那个主意太妙了。
Let me know if you have any good ideas. 你有什么好主意的话就告诉我。
thought something that comes into your mind 想法,念头The thought had entered my mind that he might be lying. 我心里产生了一个想法: 他可能在撒谎。
It was a worrying thought. 那个念头真让人心焦。
She was lost in her thoughts. 她陷入沉思。
impression the idea that you have in your mind about what someone or something is like 印象What was your impression of him? 你对他有什么印象?
inspiration a good and original idea, which makes you think of doing or creating something 灵感Where did you get your inspiration from for the book? 写这本书的灵感你是哪里得来的?
nHe suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
nThe design for the house was entirely the inspiration of the architect.
brainwave British EnglishBrE, brainstorm American EnglishAmE a sudden new and clever idea, especially one that solves a problem 灵感,突然想到的妙计I thought I’d have to sell the house, but then I had a brainwave. 我原以为得把房子卖掉,不过后来我想到了一条妙计。
concept an idea of how something is, or how something should be done 概念;观念Concepts of beauty are different in different cultures. 不同的文化中美的概念各不相同。
the traditional concept of marriage 传统的婚姻观
notion an idea about life or society, especially one that is a little silly or old-fashioned 〔尤指有点傻或过时的〕概念,观点 There is no evidence to support the notion that poverty is caused by laziness. 没有证据能证实穷困是懒惰造成的这一观点。
idea for• Ellen got the idea for the business ten years ago.
have some idea• We also have some idea of how casting might be achieved.• He might have some ideas about what she should do next.• You must have some idea of when Joyce will be home.• I now have some idea of what it's about.• You should now have some ideas about how well your group is working.• The researcher has to have some idea of what he or she is looking for, even though the outcome may be unpredictable.• Also very important, if at all possible, is to have some idea of a teacher's normal mode of operation.• Once you have some ideas of what would suit you, you will need help to take these ideas forward. idea about• Her ideas about marriage are very old-fashioned.