2022年11月11日 VOA慢速英語：語法和八卦

 

Imagine a time when you heard information about the personal life or behavior of another person – a friend, a neighbor, a classmate, or even a famous person.
想象一下，當您聽到有關另一個人的個人生活或行為的信息時——朋友、鄰居、同學，甚至是名人。
 
In other words, you heard gossip.
換句話說，你聽到了八卦。
 
What kinds of terms and structures do English speakers commonly use to gossip? Let's start with a few important terms and definitions.
說英語的人通常使用哪些術語和結構來八卦？讓我們從一些重要的術語和定義開始。
 
Definitions, verbs
定義、動詞
 
Gossip is information about the personal lives and behavior of other people. The information can be either correct or incorrect.
八卦是關于他人個人生活和行為的信息。信息可能正確也可能不正確。
 
While many people have a bad opinion of gossip (at least when they are the subject of it), the reality is that most people join in it from time to time.
雖然很多人對八卦有不好的看法（至少當他們是八卦的主題時），但現實是大多數人不時加入八卦。
 
English speakers commonly use a few verbs when gossiping. These verbs often connect with the senses such as hearing and seeing.
說英語的人在閑聊時通常會使用一些動詞。這些動詞通常與聽覺和視覺等感官相關聯(lián)。
 
For example:
例如：
 
I heard that Tom got into trouble. Sally said she saw the police arrest him!
我聽說湯姆遇到了麻煩。莎莉說她看到警察逮捕了他！
 
 
In the example, we have the past forms heard and saw. Note that the speaker is telling information about Tom's life and possible behavior. The speaker did not actually experience the events.
在示例中，我們聽到和看到了過去的形式。請注意，說話者正在講述有關湯姆生活和可能行為的信息。演講者實際上并沒有經歷這些事件。
 
In our example, the speaker reported something. This is a general way that gossip spreads: one person says or tells something to another person. As a result, verbs that describe speaking – such as tell or say – are commonly used in gossip. Consider these examples:
在我們的例子中，說話者報告了一些事情。這是八卦傳播的一般方式：一個人對另一個人說或告訴某事。因此，描述說話的動詞——例如告訴或說——通常用于八卦。考慮這些例子：
 
Sally told me about Tom's troubles.
莎莉告訴我湯姆的煩惱。
 
Sally said Tom has been getting into trouble.
薩莉說湯姆遇到了麻煩。
 
Helping verbs, yes/no questions
幫助動詞，是/否問題
 
Gossip often makes up part of a larger discussion. As a result, speakers often bring up the subject of gossip by asking a question. The helping verbs do and have play an especially important part in these questions. This is because these helping verbs are used to create yes or no questions.
八卦通常構成更大討論的一部分。因此，演講者經常通過提問來提出八卦的話題。助動詞確實和已經在這些問題中發(fā)揮了特別重要的作用。這是因為這些助動詞用于創(chuàng)建是或否問題。
 
Let's explore one common structure:
讓我們探索一種常見的結構：
 
do or have + subject + main verb + the rest of the sentence.
do or have + 主語 + 主要動詞 + 句子的其余部分。
 
For example:
例如：
 
Did you hear about Tom?
你聽說過湯姆嗎？
 
Have you heard about what Tom did?
你聽說過湯姆做了什么嗎？
 
Note that the main verb in both of these examples is hear (or heard). Although the verb's exact meaning connects with the ear or the sense of hearing, it often also has a broader meaning. In other words, it can also mean to be aware of something.
請注意，這兩個示例中的主要動詞都是“聽到”（或“聽到”）。雖然動詞的確切含義與耳朵或聽覺有關，但它通常也具有更廣泛的含義。換句話說，它也可能意味著意識到某事。
 
For example, a person might say they "heard about a scandal" even if they learned of the scandal by reading about it in a newspaper or on the internet.
例如，一個人可能會說他們“聽說過一個丑聞”，即使他們是通過在報紙或互聯(lián)網上讀到丑聞而得知的。
 
Practice
實踐
 
Let's take some time to work on these ideas. Use the verb hear to talk about a famous actor's divorce.
讓我們花一些時間來研究這些想法。用動詞hear來談論著名演員的離婚。
 
Pause the audio to consider your answer.
暫停音頻以考慮您的答案。
 
Here is one possible answer:
這是一個可能的答案：
 
I heard about the actor's divorce.
我聽說演員離婚了。
 
Now form a question about a person named Sally. Be sure to use helping verbs such as do or have.
現在形成一個關于一個名叫 Sally 的人的問題。一定要使用幫助動詞，例如do或have。
 
Pause the audio to consider your answer.
暫停音頻以考慮您的答案。
 
Here are two possible answers:
這里有兩個可能的答案：
 
Did you hear about Sally?
你聽說過莎莉嗎？
 
Have you heard about Sally?
你聽說過莎莉嗎？
 
Closing thoughts
結束的想法
 
The goal of today's report was not to make you want to gossip. Rather, the goal was to get you thinking about how grammar connects with a common subject of discussion.
今天報告的目的不是讓你想八卦。相反，我們的目標是讓你思考語法如何與一個共同的討論主題聯(lián)系起來。
 
The next time you listen to English speakers – perhaps in a movie or show – pay careful attention to how they share information. And if you notice questions such as "Did you hear about....?" or "Have you heard about....?" then you might want to prepare yourself to listen to some gossip.
下次你聽講英語的人時——也許是在電影或節(jié)目中——要特別注意他們是如何分享信息的。如果您注意到諸如“您聽說過……嗎？”之類的問題?；?ldquo;你聽說過……嗎？” 那么你可能要準備好聽一些八卦。