【大家说英语】 第178期:流言蜚语

 Lesson 10 Talk About It 第十课 主题讨论

May 22 5月22日

The Gossip¹ 流言蜚语

"Look! Caleb is back!" said² Sherry. “看！卡列布回来了！”雪莉说。

Tim and Natalie stopped chatting³. 提姆和娜塔莉停止了聊天，

They watched Caleb pass them in the hall. 他们看着卡列布在走廊上从他们身旁走过，

He was⁴ looking down at the floor. 他低头看着地板。

"He didn't come to school for five weeks," said Sherry. “他有五个礼拜没来上学了，”雪莉说，

"There is a rumor⁶ he did⁵ something really bad. “有个传闻说他做了一件很不好的事情，

Maybe he stole⁷ something." 说不定他偷了东西。”

"Really? I thought⁸ something bad happened to his family?" said Tim. “真的吗？我以为是他家里发生了什么不好的事情，”提姆说，

"Maybe someone⁹ died¹⁰." “说不定有人去世了。”

Natalie listened to her friends. 娜塔莉听着她的朋友所说的话。

She started to say that maybe Caleb did something bad to his family. 她正开口要说卡列布搞不好对他的家人做了什么不好的事情，

But she stopped. She knew that probably¹¹ wasn't true¹². 但是她克制住了。她知道自己要说的话大概不是真的。

She and her friends liked to gossip. 她和她的朋友喜欢说长道短。

They talked about everyone, even¹³ people they hardly¹⁴ knew! 他们谈论所有人，甚至包括他们不太认识的人！

But that was OK, wasn't it? 可是这样没关系，不是吗？

They just want to know the truth¹⁵, right? 他们只是想要知道真相，对不对？

Still, Natalie felt bad. 尽管如此，娜塔莉还是觉得心里不安，

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about it," she said. “也许我们不该谈论这件事。”她说。

"Why shouldn't we talk about it? “我们为什么不能谈论这件事？

We aren't hurting anybody," said Tim. 我们又没有伤害任何人，”提姆说。

But Natalie knew that wasn't true. 可是娜塔莉知道实际上不是如此，

If Caleb heard them, he would¹⁶ be hurt. 卡列布要是听到他们说的话，一定会觉得很受伤。

Natalie listened while¹⁷ her friends kept talking. 娜塔莉听着她的朋友继续说着，

"Maybe he was kicked¹⁸ out of school for five weeks," said Sherry. “也许他被赶出了学校五个礼拜，”雪莉说，

Natalie often talked with her friends like this. 娜塔莉经常和她的朋友这样聊天，

But maybe it was time to change. 可是或许是改变的时候了。

What would you do? 你会怎么做？

1 gossip   

n.流言蜚语，爱说长道短的人；vi.传播流言

参考例句：

• She broadcast the gossip all over the town.她将这个流言传遍全镇。
• They spread a lot of tacky gossip about his love life.关于他的爱情生活，他们散播了许多不堪的闲言闲语。

2 said   

v.动词say的过去式、过去分词

参考例句：

• He said to me that he could not come.他对我说他不能来。
• He said to his mother that he would do it by himself.他对他的母亲说他将自己独立做那件事。

3 chatting   

n.闲谈，聊天v.聊天( chat的现在分词 )；闲谈；闲聊；参加网络闲聊

参考例句：

• My kids spend hours chatting on the phone to their friends. 我的几个孩子在电话上和朋友聊天一聊就是几个小时。
• We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire. 我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

5 did   

v.动词do的过去式

参考例句：

• How many goals did you score in the last game?上一场比赛你们进了几个球？
• Why did you choose basketball in the first place?你为何首先选择篮球呢？

6 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

7 stole   

n.女用披肩v.偷( steal的过去式 )；悄悄地做，悄悄地走

参考例句：

• They stole the jewels from under the police's nose. 他们就在警察的眼前偷走了珠宝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He stole a car for the hell of it. 他只是为了好玩而偷汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 thought   

n.想法，思想，思维，思潮，关心，挂念；v.vbl.think的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• It was just a thought.这仅仅是一个想法。
• She thought he had a cold.她认为他感冒了。

9 someone   

pron.某人，有人

参考例句：

• I can hear someone knocking.我听到有人敲门。
• Someone wants to see her.有人找她。

10 died   

vbl.死亡，消逝v.死亡，枯萎( die的过去式和过去分词 )；死时处于（某种状态）或具有（某种身份）adj.死亡的，消逝的

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was utterly bereft when his wife died. 他的妻子去世时，他十分凄凉。

11 probably   

adv.大概，或许，很可能

参考例句：

• Next year I shall probably be looking for a job. 明年我很可能找份工作。
• We're going on holiday soon,probably next month.我们很快要去度假了，可能是下个月。

12 true   

a.真实，不假的；忠实，可靠的；正确无误的

参考例句：

• He who doesn't reach the Great Wall is not a true man.不到长城非好汉。
• I will come and see if it is true.我要来了解一下，是否真有其事。

13 even   

adj.平坦的，偶数的，相等的；adv.甚至，恰好，正当

参考例句：

• It was cold yesterday,but it's even colder today. 昨天冷，今天更冷了。
• He's the best teacher even though he has the least experience.尽管他经验最少，但教得最好。

14 hardly   

adv.几乎没有，刚刚，几乎不，勉强是

参考例句：

• I could hardly believe my eyes.我简直不相信自己的眼睛。
• The hens hardly laid any eggs in summer.母鸡夏天几乎不下蛋。

15 truth   

n.真理；真相，事实，实际情况

参考例句：

• We must find out the truth of the matter.我们必须弄清楚事情的真相。
• You may trust me that I'm speaking the truth.你可以相信我在说实话。

16 would   

aux.will的过去式；愿，要；常常；大概；将要，会

参考例句：

• Why would you say that?为什么你会这么说？
• Would you please help me?你能帮帮我吗？

17 while   

conj.当…的时候；而；虽然；尽管 n.一会儿

参考例句：

• In a short while,the cat ate up the fish.不久，那只猫便将鱼吃个精光。
• He teaches English in the school all the while.他一直在这所学校里教英语。

18 kicked   

v.踢( kick的过去式和过去分词 )；踢蹬，踢（腿）；（因干了蠢事、失去良机等）对（自己）生气；体育运动

参考例句：

• She kicked her attacker in the groin. 她朝袭击者的下身踢了一脚。
• She was punched and kicked by her attackers. 她遭到袭击者的拳打脚踢。