IELTS Part 2 cue card 常考 describe a person you admire / a successful business / a goal you achieved；Part 3 幾乎一定延伸到工作與教育——工作類慣用語是 Band 7 的高頻武器。

15 個工作與成功慣用語

| 慣用語 | 中文 | 自然例句 | |---------------------------------|------------------|------------------------------------------------------------| | get ahead | 領先、出人頭地 | She works hard to get ahead in her career. | | have a knack for (sth) | 有...的天份 | He has a knack for explaining difficult concepts. | | climb the ladder | 爬升職階 | My aunt climbed the corporate ladder in just five years. | | burn the midnight oil | 熬夜苦幹 | I had to burn the midnight oil before the final. | | go the extra mile | 多付出一份 | Great teachers always go the extra mile for students. | | call the shots | 發號施令 | As CEO, she calls the shots on every major decision. | | think outside the box | 跳脫框架思考 | Start-ups need people who can think outside the box. | | learn the ropes | 熟悉業務 | It took me a month to learn the ropes at my new job. | | pull your weight | 盡自己本分 | Every team member needs to pull their weight. | | cut corners | 偷工減料 | You can't cut corners when you're building a brand. | | bite off more than you can chew | 貪多嚼不爛 | I bit off more than I could chew with three projects. | | a stepping stone | 踏腳石 | This internship is just a stepping stone for me. | | hit the ground running | 一上場就全力衝刺 | She hit the ground running in her new role. | | land on your feet | 安然度過 | He was laid off, but he landed on his feet within weeks. | | work like a dog | 拼命工作 | I worked like a dog to save up for the trip. |

考場 Q&A 示範

Q&A 1：Part 2 — Describe a successful person you admire

The person I admire most is my cousin Sarah. She started at a small design firm right out of university, and within just seven years, she's climbed the corporate ladder all the way to creative director. What makes her stand out is that she has a knack for spotting trends — she genuinely thinks outside the box in a way most designers don't.

She also goes the extra mile for her junior staff — when I was interning with her last summer, she made time every Friday to review my work, even when she was clearly burning the midnight oil on her own deadlines. I think that's why she's where she is today — she worked like a dog for years without cutting corners.

用了：climb the ladder / have a knack for / think outside the box / go the extra mile / burn the midnight oil / work like a dog / cut corners——7 個分散在 90 秒裡，每個都貼題。

Q&A 2：Part 3 — Is it important to be passionate about your career?

I'd say it matters a lot, especially if you want to get ahead. Without passion, you'll never go the extra mile — you'll just pull your weight, do the basics, and probably get stuck at mid-level. On the other hand, people who love what they do tend to hit the ground running on every new project, and that's what gets noticed by management.

That said, I don't think everyone can land on their feet doing something they love. Sometimes you have to treat an early job as a stepping stone rather than a passion.

用了：get ahead / go the extra mile / pull your weight / hit the ground running / land on your feet / a stepping stone——6 個抽象 Part 3 的好夥伴。

用法陷阱

❌ "I burnt the midnight oil yesterday"

這太極端了——只是「晚睡」不算 burn the midnight oil。這詞用在真的為了大事熬整夜：final、deadline、求職面試前。

❌ "I have a knack of cooking"

介系詞錯。是 a knack for，不是 of。

❌ "He climbed the ladder of success in three months"

太短了，不真實。Climb the ladder 通常搭配多年。

✅ 正確搭配

  • burn the midnight oil + 明確大事：...before the IELTS exam
  • have a knack for + 技能：...for languages / for drawing / for solving puzzles
  • climb the ladder + 時間跨度：...over a decade / throughout her career

跟教育題目的搭接

很多工作慣用語其實適用教育題：

| 慣用語 | 教育題情境 | |---------------------------|---------------------------------------| | burn the midnight oil | 考試前的學生 | | have a knack for | 形容一個天生會某科的學生 | | a stepping stone | 學位當作職涯起點 | | think outside the box | 描述好老師 / 好教育 | | learn the ropes | 形容大一新生適應 | | go the extra mile | 稱讚好老師 |

Part 2 cue card 抽到「A teacher who influenced you」就靠這幾個撐整段。

練習任務

用這題練 2 分鐘獨白：

Describe a time when you worked really hard to achieve something.

目標：塞 5 個工作類慣用語，錄音後自檢：

  • [ ] 是否有任何一個用錯情境？
  • [ ] 是否太密集（每 20 秒超過 1 個就太多）？
  • [ ] 發音是否自然？

搭配閱讀

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