YR: Jessica, congratulations! And I'm mad at you!
Jessica: What? Why? What's going on?
YR: 我听说你交了个特帅的男朋友!所以当然恭喜你一下喽!不过,咱俩是好朋友,你居然瞒着我,所以我生气啦!
Jessica: What boyfriend? Where did you hear it?
YR: 大家都这么说啊。就是……啊……怎么说来着,street words say...
Jessica: Do you mean "word on the street"?
YR: 对!Word on the street is you've got a new boyfriend! 坊间传言,你交了新男友哦!
Jessica: Gosh! this is pure rumor! Yiru, you must tell me who told you this. I need to dispel this rumor!
YR: 我也是道听途说,这样吧,你告诉我道听途说用美语怎么说,我就告诉你传谣言的人是谁!
Jessica: Deal! 道听途说……Let me see...Okay, you can say "I heard something through the grapevine." Grapevine is spelt g-r-a-p-e-v-i-n-e.
YR: 哦,grapevine是葡萄藤的意思,I heard it through the grapevine 就是“通过葡萄藤听来的消息”,也就是道听途说喽!还有别的说法么?
Jessica: You can also say "a little bird told me." For example, if you don't want to tell others the source of your information, you can say "Let's just say I know because a little bird told me."
YR: 哈哈,真可爱,A little bird told me, 小鸟告诉我的!
Jessica: 好啦,现在你可以告诉我了吧?Who's spreading the rumor?
YR: Well, let's just say a little bird told me!
Jessica: Hey! That's cheating, Yiru! Besides, if you say "a little bird told me," usually it means both you and I actually know the source of the information, but neither of us wants to say it. 可我现在不知道啊!
YR: 原来,在用a little bird told me的时候,大家对消息来源其实都心知肚明,只是故意不说。好吧,那我告诉你吧,其实——I heard the rumor through the grapevine!
Jessica: Hey!
YR: 今天我们学的内容包括:
第一,坊间传言可以说 Word on the street is...;
第二,道听途说可以说 I heard it through the grapevine;
第三,大家心照不宣地不挑名消息来源,可以说 A little bird told me。