2022年11月11日 VOA慢速英语：语法和八卦

 

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，当您听到有关另一个人的个人生活或行为的信息时——朋友、邻居、同学，甚至是名人。
 
In other words, you heard gossip.
换句话说，你听到了八卦。
 
What kinds of terms and structures do English speakers commonly use to gossip? Let's start with a few important terms and definitions.
说英语的人通常使用哪些术语和结构来八卦？让我们从一些重要的术语和定义开始。
 
Definitions, verbs
定义、动词
 
Gossip is information about the personal lives and behavior of other people. The information can be either correct or incorrect.
八卦是关于他人个人生活和行为的信息。信息可能正确也可能不正确。
 
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.
虽然很多人对八卦有不好的看法（至少当他们是八卦的主题时），但现实是大多数人不时加入八卦。
 
English speakers commonly use a few verbs when gossiping. These verbs often connect with the senses such as hearing and seeing.
说英语的人在闲聊时通常会使用一些动词。这些动词通常与听觉和视觉等感官相关联。
 
For example:
例如：
 
I heard that Tom got into trouble. Sally said she saw the police arrest him!
我听说汤姆遇到了麻烦。莎莉说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，我们听到和看到了过去的形式。请注意，说话者正在讲述有关汤姆生活和可能行为的信息。演讲者实际上并没有经历这些事件。
 
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:
在我们的例子中，说话者报告了一些事情。这是八卦传播的一般方式：一个人对另一个人说或告诉某事。因此，描述说话的动词——例如告诉或说——通常用于八卦。考虑这些例子：
 
Sally told me about Tom's troubles.
莎莉告诉我汤姆的烦恼。
 
Sally said Tom has been getting into trouble.
萨莉说汤姆遇到了麻烦。
 
Helping verbs, yes/no questions
帮助动词，是/否问题
 
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.
八卦通常构成更大讨论的一部分。因此，演讲者经常通过提问来提出八卦的话题。助动词确实和已经在这些问题中发挥了特别重要的作用。这是因为这些助动词用于创建是或否问题。
 
Let's explore one common structure:
让我们探索一种常见的结构：
 
do or have + subject + main verb + the rest of the sentence.
do or have + 主语 + 主要动词 + 句子的其余部分。
 
For example:
例如：
 
Did you hear about Tom?
你听说过汤姆吗？
 
Have you heard about what Tom did?
你听说过汤姆做了什么吗？
 
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.
请注意，这两个示例中的主要动词都是“听到”（或“听到”）。虽然动词的确切含义与耳朵或听觉有关，但它通常也具有更广泛的含义。换句话说，它也可能意味着意识到某事。
 
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，一个人可能会说他们“听说过一个丑闻”，即使他们是通过在报纸或互联网上读到丑闻而得知的。
 
Practice
实践
 
Let's take some time to work on these ideas. Use the verb hear to talk about a famous actor's divorce.
让我们花一些时间来研究这些想法。用动词hear来谈论著名演员的离婚。
 
Pause the audio to consider your answer.
暂停音频以考虑您的答案。
 
Here is one possible answer:
这是一个可能的答案：
 
I heard about the actor's divorce.
我听说演员离婚了。
 
Now form a question about a person named Sally. Be sure to use helping verbs such as do or have.
现在形成一个关于一个名叫 Sally 的人的问题。一定要使用帮助动词，例如do或have。
 
Pause the audio to consider your answer.
暂停音频以考虑您的答案。
 
Here are two possible answers:
这里有两个可能的答案：
 
Did you hear about Sally?
你听说过莎莉吗？
 
Have you heard about Sally?
你听说过莎莉吗？
 
Closing thoughts
结束的想法
 
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.
今天报告的目的不是让你想八卦。相反，我们的目标是让你思考语法如何与一个共同的讨论主题联系起来。
 
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.
下次你听讲英语的人时——也许是在电影或节目中——要特别注意他们是如何分享信息的。如果您注意到诸如“您听说过……吗？”之类的问题。或“你听说过……吗？” 那么你可能要准备好听一些八卦。