礼节美语——Office Gossip I

Sally 早上遇到同事 Lisa, 马上凑上前去，很神秘地说：

Sally: Did you hear the news about Tom and his wife?

Lisa: No....what happened?

S: Well, Jane told me that Tom has been having an affair! I heard his wife caught him at a hotel with another woman!

L: Really? That's a shocker! I always thought Tom was a loyal, devoted family man.

S: Hey Mary, did you hear about Tom?

Mary: No, what happened? Is he okay?

S: Well, keep this under your hat, but it seems Tom has been having an affair! Everyone's talking about it!

Sally 告诉 Lisa，她听说 Tom 搞婚外情，被他太太在旅馆里捉奸。Lisa听后很吃惊，说 That's a shocker! 意思是这件事太出人意料了，因为她一直觉得Tom是个很忠实的居家男人 family man. 这时另外一位同事 Mary也加入讨论。Sally 又把这个小道消息告诉 Mary, 还让她 keep this under your hat 意思是保密。

Mary: You know, to be perfectly honest, I'm not really keen on office gossip. For one thing, how do we even know the rumor is true? Did you hear it straight from the horse's mouth?

S: Not exactly. Jane said that Phyllis told her that they overheard a conversation between Katy and her friend Samantha about Tom's affair.

M: Well, that doesn't sound like a very accurate source. I really think you should take this rumor with a grain of salt.

Mary说，自己对办公室里的这些八卦不感兴趣。I'm not keen on office gossip. 她问Sally, Did you hear it straight from the horse's mouth? Mary在这里用到了一个习惯用语， straight from the horse's mouth. 意思是从当事人本人，或是可靠消息来源那里得到的消息。Sally承认，是辗转好几拨人，听到的小道消息。Mary说，you should take this rumor with a grain of salt. 意思是那就不能全信了。To take something with a grain of salt 意思是带着怀疑的态度，有所保留。 Lisa 听后说：

L: But Mary, everyone gossips in the office. It's part of office culture.

M: That may be true, but sometimes gossip can be counterproductive and even dangerous. Did you ever play the "telephone game" when you were a kid?

L: Um... no. What's the "telephone game?"

M: Everyone sits in a circle and you start with a sentence of information. For example, "John hates chocolate cookies." Then each person whispers that sentence to the next person in turn.

Lisa 觉得，办公室里大家都喜欢传八卦，It's part of office culture. 是办公室文化的一个部分。Mary 却觉得，gossip can be counterproductive. 这样做只会有消极效应。Mary 问 Lisa 小时候玩没玩过 "telephone game"电话游戏，大家做成一圈，一个挨一个地把一句话用耳语的方式传给自己旁边的人，看传到最后会变成什么样子。

A: Gossip spreads fast, especially in the office!

B: That's true! It's part of office culture.

A: Not the desirable part! 办公室里的闲话和谣言可能会带来很不好的后果。

B: I know! But gossip is everywhere. 社会上，校园里，办公室里。

A: 唉，大家都喜欢传闲话。That's why we have tabloids and paparazzi, right?

B: Unfortunately, yes.

A: 就算家庭成员之间也喜欢传闲话，比如，过年时家里人聚在一起，少不了东家常西家短地聊天。I guess that's part of the holiday fun?

B: Maybe. But family members can do something else together besides gossiping, right?

A: 对啊，我们中国人过年喜欢吃吃喝喝啊，打麻将啊，看电视啊。

B: 美国人也差不多，不过我们还可以 do logger sports!

A: 那是什么？

B: Listen to American Sports English and you'll know.

ASE: Logger Sports

Y: 谢谢你邀请我和你一起过圣诞节。

P: You know, Yang Chen, I think the best thing about Christmas is spending time with people you care about.

Y: That's true. 还有壁炉，太棒了。你点壁炉的木头是哪里来的?

P: I chopped down the trees and cut the wood myself. I really enjoy doing logger sports.

Y: Logger sports?

P: Yeah, in America people race to see who can cut down trees and chop wood the fastest.

Y: Oh, that's so stupid，比赛谁砍木头砍得快。

P: That's right. In college I was on a wood chopping team, but eventually I got the axe.

Y: Got the axe? 看来你真的很投入，还自己买一把斧头。

P: Actually, no. When you say you got the axe, it means you were kicked out of a group. For example, after I was late to work three days in a row, my boss finally gave me the axe.

Y: 你老板把你开除了?

P: I really have an axe to grind with him.

Y: 你可不要拿着斧头去威胁你的老板。

P: When you say you have an axe to grind with someone, it means that you are mad because he or she did something bad to you.

Y: For example?

P: If I generously invited someone to my house for Christmas and she didn't even bother to bring me a present, I would probably have an axe to grind with her.

Y: Of course I brought you a present!

P: What is it?

Y: Me! My wonderful company!

P: Can I exchange your wonderful company for something else at the store?

Y: Hohoho, Merry Christmas!

A: Hmm, 比赛砍木头，Kat, have you ever done logger sports?

B: Actually, my family just buy chopped wood from the store for Christmas. We'd rather spend more time on gossiping than on chopping wood.

A: haha! 原来是这样！好了，节目时间差不多了，这次的撰稿人是晓北，编辑是蔚然。同学们，我们下次的美语训练班再见!

B: Bye! Happy New Year！