Jessica在北京學漢語,她的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎么說的詞,就會來請教她。今天是楊林要問的:八卦。
JESSICA: 楊林,What are you planning on doing Friday night?
YL: 星期五晚上我要和幾個特別好的朋友聚會,都是女孩兒!
JESSICA: Wow....A girls' night out! That's awesome!
YL: Girls' night out? 沒錯! 就是只有女孩參加的姐妹淘聚會! 我們打算在朋友家里吃飯、看片、唱歌,當然,最重要的就是--八卦! 對了,八卦怎么說?
JESSICA: 八卦就是gossip. It means a trivial chat among friends.
YL: 哦,聚會時的閑聊八卦就是 gossip. I enjoy gossiping with my friends. 我喜歡和朋友們瞎聊。 But, Jessica, 八卦這個詞也有不好的意思,就是傳流言蜚語,gossip 也有這種意思么?
JESSICA: Yes! Gossip can also mean spreading rumors.
YL: 哎! 這倒讓我想到另外一個和八卦有關的詞---八卦雜志,小報兒,怎么說?
JESSICA: Those are called tabloids. tabloid is spelled t-a-b-l-o-i-d, tabloid. In America, tabloids usually refer to media that follow celebrity scandals.
YL: 哦,tabloid 就是專門報道名人丑聞的八卦媒體。所以我可以說 tabloid magazines, 八卦雜志,也可以說 tabloid web site,八卦網站。
Jessica: 對。
YL: I see. So, what about the reporters who gather information for the tabloids---狗仔隊! 怎么說?doggies?
Jessica: (Chuckle) No! 狗仔隊是paparazzi, p-a-p-a-r-a-z-z-i, paparazzi. It's in plural form.
YL: 那我可以說. The local paparazzi are following this movie star everywhere.當地的狗仔隊四處跟蹤這個電影明星。對么?
Jessica: 沒錯! Now let's see what you've learned today!
YL: 第一,閑聊八卦,或者傳流言蜚語,都可以用gossip
第二,八卦媒體是tabloid
第三,狗仔隊,是復數名詞 paparazzi!