在1999年1月CET Band 6A卷的閱讀理解第四篇的開(kāi)頭有這樣一句話：The Carnegie Foundation report says that many colleges have tried to be“all things to all people．In doing so，they have increasingly catered to a narrow-minded careerism while failing to cultivate a global vision among their students．此處“all things to all people“是讓所有的學(xué)生學(xué)到所有實(shí)用的東西嗎？
首先，我們看一下“all things to all people?原義是什么：“all things to all people?來(lái)自于all things to all men（Bible）。原文如下：
Though I am free and belong to no man，I make myself a slave to everyone，to win as many as possible． To the Jews，I became like a Jew，to win the Jews．．．．To those not having the law，．．．so as to win those not having the law．To the weak I became weak，to win the weak．I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some．
從上文中我們可以看出be all things to all men的意思是：八面玲瓏，盡力討好所有的人。后來(lái)all things to all men成了習(xí)語(yǔ)。因此many colleges have tried to be“all things to all people?的意思就是：許多大學(xué)試圖做到八面玲瓏，滿足所有師生的各種需求。
此外，在六級(jí)閱讀考試中也出現(xiàn)過(guò)《圣經(jīng)》中其它的習(xí)語(yǔ)，如：在 1997年1月的CET Band 6A卷的閱讀理解第四篇第三段中： Ridiculous beliefs？Not to many people，especially many women and members of minority races who，like Coleman，feel that the scales have dropped from their eyes．“the scales have dropped from their eyes?也源于《圣經(jīng)》：Immediately，something like scales fell from Saul's eyes，and he could see again．，后來(lái)the scales fall from one's eyes成了習(xí)語(yǔ)，英文的意思是：someone suddenly realizes the truth after having been deceived“恍然大悟；頓然覺(jué)醒”。例如：After I saw the video，the scales fell from my eyes：she has been deceiving me all the time．看完錄像后，我才恍然大悟，明白了她一直在騙我。
在2001年1月的CET Band 6A卷的閱讀理解第一篇最后一段中： Studies of birds may offer unique insights into sleep．Jerome M．Siegel of the UCLA says he wonders if birds' half-brain sleep“is just the tip of the iceberg．He speculates that more examples may turn up when we take a closer look at other species．“the tip of the iceberg?“冰山一角?，其英文的意思是：small but evident part of a much larger concealed situation， problem，etc．很小的（表面的）一部分；露在表面的東西（而絕大部分沒(méi)有顯露出來(lái)）。例如：Over 100 burglaries are reported every month，and that's just the tip of the iceberg．（i．e．many more occur but are not reported）每月報(bào)道的夜間入室盜竊案有一百多起，但是那只是“冰山一角?（更多則沒(méi)有報(bào)道）。實(shí)際上，“冰山一角?在漢語(yǔ)中，尤其是在網(wǎng)上，已經(jīng)被廣泛地使用。
習(xí)語(yǔ)的理解是CET-6和研究生英語(yǔ)閱讀理解中經(jīng)常考查的項(xiàng)目，平時(shí)多看原版的英文報(bào)刊，對(duì)于我們了解英語(yǔ)國(guó)家的一些常用習(xí)語(yǔ)或典故很有幫助，從而提高CET-6英語(yǔ)閱讀的速度和準(zhǔn)確率。
首先，我們看一下“all things to all people?原義是什么：“all things to all people?來(lái)自于all things to all men（Bible）。原文如下：
Though I am free and belong to no man，I make myself a slave to everyone，to win as many as possible． To the Jews，I became like a Jew，to win the Jews．．．．To those not having the law，．．．so as to win those not having the law．To the weak I became weak，to win the weak．I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some．
從上文中我們可以看出be all things to all men的意思是：八面玲瓏，盡力討好所有的人。后來(lái)all things to all men成了習(xí)語(yǔ)。因此many colleges have tried to be“all things to all people?的意思就是：許多大學(xué)試圖做到八面玲瓏，滿足所有師生的各種需求。
此外，在六級(jí)閱讀考試中也出現(xiàn)過(guò)《圣經(jīng)》中其它的習(xí)語(yǔ)，如：在 1997年1月的CET Band 6A卷的閱讀理解第四篇第三段中： Ridiculous beliefs？Not to many people，especially many women and members of minority races who，like Coleman，feel that the scales have dropped from their eyes．“the scales have dropped from their eyes?也源于《圣經(jīng)》：Immediately，something like scales fell from Saul's eyes，and he could see again．，后來(lái)the scales fall from one's eyes成了習(xí)語(yǔ)，英文的意思是：someone suddenly realizes the truth after having been deceived“恍然大悟；頓然覺(jué)醒”。例如：After I saw the video，the scales fell from my eyes：she has been deceiving me all the time．看完錄像后，我才恍然大悟，明白了她一直在騙我。
在2001年1月的CET Band 6A卷的閱讀理解第一篇最后一段中： Studies of birds may offer unique insights into sleep．Jerome M．Siegel of the UCLA says he wonders if birds' half-brain sleep“is just the tip of the iceberg．He speculates that more examples may turn up when we take a closer look at other species．“the tip of the iceberg?“冰山一角?，其英文的意思是：small but evident part of a much larger concealed situation， problem，etc．很小的（表面的）一部分；露在表面的東西（而絕大部分沒(méi)有顯露出來(lái)）。例如：Over 100 burglaries are reported every month，and that's just the tip of the iceberg．（i．e．many more occur but are not reported）每月報(bào)道的夜間入室盜竊案有一百多起，但是那只是“冰山一角?（更多則沒(méi)有報(bào)道）。實(shí)際上，“冰山一角?在漢語(yǔ)中，尤其是在網(wǎng)上，已經(jīng)被廣泛地使用。
習(xí)語(yǔ)的理解是CET-6和研究生英語(yǔ)閱讀理解中經(jīng)常考查的項(xiàng)目，平時(shí)多看原版的英文報(bào)刊，對(duì)于我們了解英語(yǔ)國(guó)家的一些常用習(xí)語(yǔ)或典故很有幫助，從而提高CET-6英語(yǔ)閱讀的速度和準(zhǔn)確率。