I am certainly no expert and would consider myself a noob too, at least in regards to the full depth of chess knowledge, but there are a couple of things you can do and use as reference.
First of all there is a great free chess app out there called winboard. http://www.tim-mann.org/xboard.html. Download it and install it.
Then what? Well chess games are saved in a format called "pgn". well there is this file of all the opening moves out there called eco.pgn (no I don't know what eco stands for and for that matter I don't know what pgn stands for either). http://www.chessville.com/misc/misc_codes_ecocodes.htm. Download that and save it somewhere.
Now from within winboard you can open the eco file and peruse the bazillions of openings and defensive responses...now will that help..well maybe...there are too many to really learn IMO.
If you want to see an evaluation of chess openings and responses check this page out.
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/explorer
otherwise, google is your friend.
Another good one. The openings index is pretty good in that it orders the openings as per the ECO codes found in PGN files.
http://loiodice.com/chess/
But what you really need, rather than the actual openings, is the ideas behind the openings, and particularly what the aim of each specific line is. You are probably only going to find that in a decent book.
I have a book on openings and the most important chapter does not discuss any specific opening, but rather what the aim of a good opening should be:
1. Harmonious development of pieces.
2. Control of space, particularly the centre of the board.
3. Formation of a sound pawn structure.
Once you have achieved the above, you can safely enter the middle game. Of cource, that is easier said than done. I generally enter the middle game in a precarious state, since harmony, control and formation are not my strong points. 🙁
Excellent book on the ideas behind the chess openings is
THE IDEAS BEHIND THE CHESS OPENINGS
Unfortunately out of print, but there are second hand copies floating around. Picked one up late last year. Had lost my copy ( given to me by my first coach when I was 12 ).
So happy!!!