Set Phrases are our“cultural icons”．or word images；they are indicators of adetermined use that we have intemalized．These set phrases，with stress on the firstword，have been taken into everyday English from descriptive phrases，with stress onthe second word．As soon as a descriptive phrase becomes a set phrase，the emphasisshifts from the second word to the first．The original sense of each word is more orless forgotten and the new meaning takes over．
固定短语是我们的“文化图标”或文字形象；它们是我们内化形成的固定用法的标示。这些固定短语，是从描述性短语变为日常英语的，重音在第一个单词，而描述性短语的重音在第二个单词。描述性短语一旦成为固定短语，重音就从第二个单词转移到第一个单词上。每一个单词的原意几乎被忘却，而被新的意义所代替。
Set phrases indicate that we have internalized this phrase as an image，that we allagree on a concrete idea that this phrase represents．A hundred years so ago，whenLevi Strauss first came out with his denim pants，they were described as blue jeans．NOW that we all agree on the image，however,they are blue jeans．
固定短语表明我们已把这个短语内化为一种形象，并且都认同这个短语所代表的具体概念。大约一百年前，当李维斯一施特劳斯最先展出牛仔裤时，人们都将它描述为blue jeans。既然我们都认同了这个形象，它就成了bluejeans。
A more recent example would be the descriptive phrase．He§a real party animal刀is slang expression refers to someone who has a great time at a party．鼢en it first be—came popular,the people using it needed to explain（with their intonation）that he wasan animal at a party．As time passed，the expression became clich6 and we changed theintonation to Hes a realparty animalbecause“everyone knew’what it meant．
描述性短语“He’s a real party animal”算是近年来的一个例子。这个俚语表达指的是把大量时间用在社交聚会上的人。当它最初流行时，使用它的人需要解释（用他们的语调）说he was an animal at a party．随着时间的推移，这种表达成了套语，而后我们把语调变成了He’s a real party animal，因为每个人都已知道它的含义。
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——Rainer Stroh， Munich， Germany
“这本书太棒了！我爱死它了！我会在我的英语俱乐部把它作为高级课程的教科书！”
——Justin， National Sun Yat-Sen University， Taiwan
“我是U．C．Berkeley大学的一名毕业生，但人们有时却很难听懂我的话。自从我开始学习这本书的课程之后，我的导师说：‘你终于学会英语了！”’
——Mieko Matsuzawa， Bioengineer
“这本教材的优点在于它所提供的技巧为我从此打开了语言学习的大门。”
——Dr.C.C. Chan， Senior Member of IEEEE；Director， International Research Center for Electric Vehicles