1. C 耳，耳朵　 either of the two organs by which people or animals hear, each side of the head
2. S 听力　 keen recognition of sounds, especially in music or languages
3. S 倾听；注意　 sympathetic attention
4. C 穗　 the head of a grain-producing plant, used for food

　believe one's ～s　相信所听到的话
　bend an ～　留心听
　box one's ～　打某人的耳光
　close one's ～s　充耳不闻
　cover one's ～s　捂住耳朵
　gain ～　引起注意
　give a ～ to　听取…
　give one's ～s　不惜任何代价
　have ～ for music　喜欢音乐
　have sb's ～　引起注意
　lend an ～ to　注意听…
　meet the ～　被听到
　stop one's ～s　充耳不闻
　talk sb's ～　对某人唠叨不休
　win a ～　引起注意
　dull ～　听觉迟钝
　ill-developed ～　发育不全的耳朵
　inner ～　内耳
　middle ～　中耳
　musical ～　音乐欣赏力
　practiced ～　经过训练的耳朵
　quick ～　灵敏的听觉
　sharp ～　灵敏的听觉
　about one's ～s　在近旁，引起麻烦
　by ～　凭听觉
　play it by ～　临机应变
　play music by ～　不看乐谱弹奏乐曲
　have a word in sb's ～　同某人私下谈话
　give sb a box on the ～　打某人一记耳光
　familiar to the ～　耳熟
　sweet to the ～　悦耳
　up to the ～s in　深陷于…之中
　with all one's ～s　全神贯注地（听）
　an ～ of corn　玉米穗
　an ～ of wheat　麦穗
　all ～s to〔at〕　全神贯注地听…

　Her trained ear detected the weaknesses.　她训练有素的耳朵听出了这些弱点。
　His right ear was taken off.　他的右耳被割除了。
　The blind touched the elephant's ear and said that it was just like a huge fan.　这位盲人触摸到大象的一只耳朵，然后说这头大象像一把大扇子。
　Big rings hang from her ears.　她耳朵下面垂着大耳环。
　She hit him on the ears.　她打了他一记耳光。
　Bullets whistled past our ears.　子弹从我们耳边呼啸而过。
　I was too afraid of her to shudder, too afraid of her to put my fingers to my ears.　我怕她怕得不敢发抖，怕得不敢用手指捂耳朵。
　I heard him say so with my own ears.　我亲耳听他这么说的。
　Walls have ears.　隔墙有耳。
　Everybody says there is more in his statement than meets the ear.　大家都说他话中有话。
　She has a good ear for languages.　她学语言的听力很好。
　She's got a good ear for music.　她很会欣赏音乐。
　The band doesn't sound out of tune to me, but then I've no ear for music.　对我来说，乐队没有走调，不过我没有欣赏音乐的才能。
　Gary quite likes pop music, but has an ear for the classics as well.　加里很喜欢流行音乐，不过他也有欣赏古典音乐的才能。
　Rice was shooting out into ears.　稻子已经抽穗了。
　She has some ears of rice in her hand.　她手里拿着几穗稻子。

 ♣ a word in sb's ear
　说悄悄话　having a private talk
　May I have a word in your ear?　我和你说句悄悄话行吗?
　When you have time would you come to my office, I'd like to have a word in your ear.　你有空请来我办公室，我想同你私下谈谈。
 ♣ about one's ears
　彻底地，猛烈地　all round one
　The war brought their plans down about their ears.　战争使他们的计划成为泡影。
　I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems; all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.　我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题，现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。
　Immediately after she offered the suggestion, a storm broke about her ears.　她一提出那建议，立刻就引起一场轩然大波。
 ♣ be all ears
　全神贯注地听着，专心倾听　listen eagerly
　The children were all ears when Granny told them stories.　奶奶讲故事的时候，孩子们都全神贯注地听着。
　Philip was all ears.　菲利普仔细倾听。
 ♣ box sb's ears
　打…耳光　slap sb on the side of the head
　If you don't behave yourselves I'll box your ears!　你们若不规矩，我会打你们耳 光的！
 ♣ bring a storm about sb's ears
　引起对某人的强烈反感〔愤怒〕　cause sb to be very tiresome or angry
　His foolish act has brought a storm about his ears.　他的愚蠢行动招致了人们的强烈不满。
　You'll be bringing a storm about your ears if you try to criticize their way of doing things.　你要是批评他们的做法，那你就捅了马蜂窝了。
 ♣ come out of one's ears
　大量　be in great excess
　The Duke and Duchess were so wealthy that they seemed to have money coming out of their ears.　公爵和公爵夫人非常富裕，他们似乎有用不完的钱。
 ♣ come to〔reach〕 one's ears
　让…听到　be made aware of
　The news soon came to his ears.　这消息传到了他耳朵里。
　I hope the bad news won't come to her ears.　我希望这个坏消息别让她听见。
　He broke the rule that family discord should never reach the ears of outsiders.　他打破了家丑不可外扬的规矩。
 ♣ fall on deaf ears
　未受到重视；未被理睬，不被听取　not be mentioned
　His complaints fell on deaf ears.　没有人理会他的抱怨。
 ♣ fall on one's ears
　听起来　sound
　Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears.　他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。
　Words thus strung together fall on the ears like music.　这样连贯的话语听起来有音乐感。
 ♣ gain the ear of
　得到某人的注意　get sb to listen to one
　We'll only get our proposal considered if we can gain the ear of the managing director.　如果我们能够得到总干事的注意，我们的建议才会得到考虑。
　He gained the ear of the managing director and voiced his opinion.　他说的话总经理愿意倾听，于是他就直抒己见了。
 ♣ give (an) ear to
　倾听，注意　listen; pay attention to
　You should give ear to what he has to say.　你应该注意听他的发言。
　The press gave ear to the chancellor's warning of a possible rise in interest rates.　新闻界倾听了大臣关于利率可能提高的告诫。
　Children should give an ear to their parents' advice.　小孩应该听从父母的劝告。
 ♣ give one's ears
　不惜任何代价（要）　make great personal sacrifice for; pay any price for
　I would give my ears to have a try.　我无论如何得试一试。
　I would give my ears for a glance at that balance sheet.　我一定要看一看财政收支表。
　I'd give my ears for a chance to fly on Concorde.　为了能获得驾驶协和飞机的机会，我愿不惜任何代价。
 ♣ give sb a thick ear
　打…耳光　slap sb on the side of the head
　My father gave me a thick ear when he heard I'd been playing truant.　我父亲知道我一直逃学时，打了我一记耳光。
 ♣ go in one ear and out of the other
　左耳进，右耳出；只当耳旁风　be not really listening
　It's no use asking Tim to deliver any message for you. Everything I say to him goes in one ear and out of the other.　让蒂姆捎信没有用，我对他讲的任何事他都当作耳边风。
 ♣ have long ears
　爱打听别人的事情　be inquisitive
　Brenda has long ears; someday, she's going to hear something that will upset her.　布伦达爱打听别人的事情，总有一天，她会听到使她心烦意乱的事情。
 ♣ have one's ears burning
　耳朵发热　be the subject of conversation
　I'm surprised you didn't have your ears burning last night because we were talking about you.　我奇怪的是昨晚当我们在谈论你的时候，你居然感觉不到。
 ♣ have the ear of
1. 有机会接触到高层次的消息来源 have access to a higher source of information
　What he says is probably true because he has the ear of the Queen.　他说的事情也许是真的，因为他有见到女王的机会。
2. （意见、看法等）得到某人重视；被某人听取和接受 (ideas, opinions etc.) are respected by sb
　I didn't think you can have his ear.　我看他不会听你的。
 ♣ lend an ear
　细听，倾听　listen attentively
　Lend an ear to him. It seems that he knows the whole story.　仔细听他讲，他似乎知道全部内情。
　If you would lend an ear for a couple of minutes you might learn something to your advantage.　要是你愿意认真听几分钟的话，你可能会学到一些对你有用的东西。
 ♣ on one's ear
1. 发怒，惊讶，动乱 angry; surprised
　His insult really put me on my ear.　他的侮辱确实使我恼火。
　He set the racing world on its ear by breaking eight world records.　他创造了8项世界纪录使径赛界人士大为惊讶。
2. 轻率 hurriedly
　If you ever made that mistake, you went out on your ear.　要是你曾犯过那个错误，你是太轻率了。
 ♣ play by ear
　凭听觉而不是识谱来演奏音乐　play a tune which one has heard, remembered, or invented but not seen written in notes
　I could play by ear.　我能够凭听觉而不是识谱来演奏音乐。
　No one could play by ear.　没有人能够凭听觉而不是识谱来演奏乐器。
　I can play the piano by ear, but I regret now that I never learned to read music properly.　我能不看乐谱弹奏钢琴，不过现在我后悔没有真正学会识乐谱。
 ♣ play it by ear
　见机行事　judge the correct way to deal with sth as it happens, without fixed plans in advance
　In dealing with that unpredictable man, you simply cannot follow a prearranged plan, you have to play it by ear.　和那个捉摸不定的人打交道，你简直无法按预定计划行事，只好随机应变。
 ♣ prick up one's ears
　立刻竖起耳朵仔细听　suddenly start listening carefully
　He certainly pricked up his ears when you told him about your good luck.　当你把你的吉利事告诉他时，他肯定竖起耳朵在仔细听。
　He wasn't paying much attention then pricked up his ears when he heard that the terms included the use of a company car.　他起初不太注意，但当他听到项目包括使用公司汽车时，他立即注意了起来。
 ♣ ring in one's ears
　言犹在耳　sound like a bell in (a space)
　The children's laughter was still ringing in my ears as I left the playground.　我离开操场时，孩子们银铃般的笑声还在我耳边回响。
　The voice of the singer still rings in my ears.　歌唱家的声音仍萦绕在我耳边。
　With these words still ringing in his ears, he got back into his old habits.　这些话还在耳边回响，他却已故态萌发了。
 ♣ set by the ears
　使争吵不休　lead to disharmony among people
　The mere mention of the subject set the whole company by the ears.　一提起这个题目，就引起众人的争吵。
　Trying to agree where to go on holiday set the family by the ears.　试图商定去哪里度假，结果造成了家庭不和。
 ♣ shut one's ears to
　对…充耳不闻　pretend not to hear
　She shut her ears to all the advice of her friends.　她全然不听朋友们的劝告。
 ♣ strain one's ears
　尽力倾听　try one's best to listen
　There is someone straining his ears at the door.　门边正有人在竭力听着什么。
 ♣ throw out on sb's ear
　不客气地把某人打发走　forcibly eject sb
　The drunk was making a nuisance of himself and so the manager threw him out on his ear.　那醉汉自己招人讨厌，因此经理不客气地把他打发走了。
 ♣ turn a deaf ear to
　置若罔闻，装没听到　pay no attention to; pretend not to hear
　Mary turned a deaf ear to Lois's asking to ride her bicycle.　洛伊丝向玛丽借自行车，玛丽假装没听见。
　Can't you find a way of turning a deaf ear to her endless complaints? 　你有办法假装听不见她那没完没了的抱怨吗?
　She turned a deaf ear to their complaints.　她不理睬他们的抱怨。
　But the authorities turned a deaf ear to their demands.　但当局不理睬他们的要求。
　He turned a deaf ear to my request for help.　他对于我的求助置若罔闻。
　It is wrong to turn a deaf ear to others' criticism.　对别人的批评充耳不闻是错误的。
 ♣ up to one's ears
　深深卷入　overwhelmed with
　They've borrowed so much money that they're up to their ears in debt.　他们借了这么多的钱以致债台高筑。
　I'm sorry, I'll have to cancel lunch today because I'm up to my ears in paper work.　很遗憾，今天我只得不吃午饭了，因为我有很多文书工作要做。
 ♣ wet behind the ears
　少不更事，无所适从　inexperienced
　Many of these youngsters know the job in theory but they're still wet behind the ears when it comes to putting it into practice.　这些年轻人中很多人理论上知道怎么干，但要付诸实践时，仍然是幼稚无知的。
 ♣ with half an ear
　不专心（听）　listen inattentively
　I was only listening to the radio with half an ear.　我只是顺便听着收音机。

1. 他既不会欣赏音乐也不会欣赏绘画。
　［误］ He has neither ears for music nor eyes for painting.
　［正］ He has neither ear for music nor eye for painting.
　［析］ ear作“听力，听觉”解时用单数形式。
2. 他对老师的警告置若罔闻。
　［误］ He turned deaf ears to his teacher's warning.
　［正］ He turned a deaf ear to his teacher's warning.
　［析］ 表示“对…置若罔闻”，可以说turn a deaf ear to...，在这个习语里， ear是单数，前面须带不定冠词a.

　［词源］　中古英语ere<古英语ēare（耳）
<古英语ær（穗）