“小道消息”英語咋說

字號(hào):

大家都知道謠言傳播的速度是飛快的。有句話說,謠言已經(jīng)走了半個(gè)地球,而事實(shí)還剛剛在穿鞋。人們坐在一起閑聊,天南地北,說長(zhǎng)道短,中間難免傳播些流言飛語,小道消息。美國(guó)有好多成語和俗語是形容這一方面的。
    through the grapevine
    要是你問一個(gè)人,你說的那個(gè)消息是從那兒聽來的,他可能會(huì)說:through the grapevine。grape是葡萄,grapevine就是葡萄藤。Through the grapevine的意思實(shí)際上就和中文里說的:通過小道消息來的一樣。也就是說,這個(gè)消息是經(jīng)過人們口頭傳播傳到他這兒來的,他也不知道到底是從誰那兒開始的。
    早在一百多年前,當(dāng)美國(guó)南北戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)正在進(jìn)行的時(shí)刻,士兵們把那些非官方渠道來的消息,也就是秘密地在他們中間傳播的消息稱為grapevine。
    例如:What do you think of the news that our regiment is being transferred to California. It's not announced officially yet, but this morning I got it through the grapevine.
    你對(duì)我們部隊(duì)調(diào)到加利福尼亞州去的消息是怎么想的。這個(gè)消息還沒有正式宣布,我是今天早上通過小道消息聽來的。
    又如:I don't always believe what I get through the grapevine, but it's true at least half the time and and it's a lot faster than whatever the army tells you about what we're doing.
    我不完全相信小道消息。但是,小道消息至少有一半是確實(shí)的,而且比部隊(duì)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)告訴我們的要快多了。
    to shoot the breeze
    To shoot就是發(fā)射、開槍、發(fā)炮等,breeze就是陣陣微風(fēng)。To shoot the breeze這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語使人腦子里出現(xiàn)了一幅畫面,也就是:一些好朋友沒事聚在一起閑聊天,毫無顧忌地想說什么就說什么。
    例如:On Friday nights I usually go to a movie. But it was raining so hard last night I just stayed in the dorm to sit around and shoot the breeze with a couple of friends.
    一般來說,星期五晚上我總是去看電影的??墒?,昨晚上雨下得好大呀,所以我就呆在宿舍里和兩個(gè)朋友一起聊天。
    又如:One thing I enjoy about shooting the breeze--you can relax and say anything you want to. You're among friends and nobody takes things seriously.
    我很喜歡聊天,因?yàn)槟憧梢院芊潘桑胝f什么都行。你是和朋友在一起,沒有人會(huì)很認(rèn)真的。