四六级必读美文系列:办公室八卦是好还是坏

 　　Do you take part in office gossip? I don't like to think of myself as a gossip, but I have to admit I often do it In my turbulent industry，I justify¹ my behavior -perhaps wrongly -by reasoning that gossip helps me get information and figure out what is going on.

　　办公室里的八卦你会参加吗？我不想让人觉得我八卦，但我也承认我常会参与其中。在我这个千变万化的行业中，我认为我的行为是合理的，理由是八卦可以帮我获得信息，弄清形势——这样想也许是错误的。

　　Amid a rise in office gossip，researchers are disagreeing over whether it is fundamentally good or bad. Some defend it as a way of building bonds among people and sharing essential information. But others hold that office gossip can be savage² and destructive, as the New York Times reports. (At one company, PrintingForLess.com, which has a strict no-gossip policy, gossiping about colleagues can become a firing offense³.)

　　随着办公室八卦的兴起，研究人员对它到底是好还是坏也存在不同看法。一些人为它辩解说，这是同事间建立关系和分享必要信息的一种途径。但根据《纽约时报》的报导，也有人认为，办公室八卦可能十分低级，具有破坏性。(一家名为PrintingForLess.com的公司制定了严格限制八卦的政策，谈论同事的闲话可能面临解雇。)

　　(1) In one case analyzed⁵ in a scholarly journal, middle school teachers' gossip about their principal became so poisonous that the principal retaliated⁶, many teachers fled the schoo1 and students' test scores declined. In this case, gossip amounted to "a form of warfare⁷ that brought everyone down."

　　(1)在某学校期刊分析的一个案例中，中学教师对他们校长的八卦很坏，以至于校长进行了报复，很多教师逃离了学校，学生的考成绩一落千丈。在这个案例中，八卦成为了一种损人不利己的战争。

　　On the other hand, less malignant⁸ gossip that stops short of repeating lies or breaching⁹ confidences can serve as a source of understanding, (2) Gossip helps us analyze⁴ the motivations of other people, and enables those low on the food chain, in particular, to understand how power is used in their organizations, says this New York Times article. It is relaxing, it brings people together, and as a pastime it beats gambling¹⁰, drinking or doing drugs，this reasoning holds.

　　另一方面，没有重复谎言或泄漏机密的不存恶意的八卦可能带来互相理解。 (2)《纽约时报》的文章说，闲谈可以帮助我们分析其他人的动机，尤其是那些处于食物链低端的人可以了解所处组织中的权力是如何使用的。它是一种放松，可以让人们融洽，作为一种消遣它比赌博、饮酒或吸毒要好，这种判断也不无道理。

　　Whatever side you take, gossip is here to stay. It is a universal human practice and it is too complex to say it is either good or bad, a University of Colorado researcher says. When researchers at Case Western University asked students to cite 1essons they had 1earned from gossip, the students gave these examples: "Infidelity will eventually catch up with you" and "Cheerfu1 peop1e are not oecessari1y happy." This positive dimension of gossip was featured receot1y in the news1etter Work & Family Life.

　　无论你站在哪一面，八卦都不会改变。美国科罗拉多大学的研究人员说，这是人类普遍存在的，很难说清到底是好是坏。当凯斯西大学的研究人员要求学生列出从八卦中得到的教训时，学生举出的例子有：“最终将众叛亲离"和"快乐的人不一定幸福”。最近的《工作家庭生活》通讯提到了八卦的积极一面。

　　(3)I have seen gossip he1p co-workers in some places where I have work, giving rise to compassion¹¹ or offers of support when someone is going though hard times. On the other hand, I have also seen gossip over an office romance, for example-distract people from the work and even force unwanted transfers.

　　(3)我看到八卦在我曾工作过的一些地方给同事带来了好处，增进了感情或给遇到困难的人提供了支持。另一方面，我也看到八卦一一比如针对办公室恋情，分散了人们的工作精力，甚至带来了意想之外的变动。

　　四六级句型讲解

　　1. In one case analyzed in a scholarly journal, middle school teachers' gossip about their principal became so poisonous that the principal retaliated, many teachers fled the schoo1 and students' test scores declined.

　　本句是一个复合句，主句是middle school teacher' gossip about their principal became so poisonous.其中about their principal介词短语作后置定语，修饰gossip。后面that引导结果状语从句，与so相呼应。前面in one case...journal介词短语作状语，其中analyzed in a scholarly journal过去分词短语作后置定语，修饰case。

　　语法重点：介词短语作状语，介词短语作定语，结果状语从句

　　2. Gossip helps us analyze the motivations of other people, and enables those low on the food chain, in particular, to understand how power is used in their organizations, says this New York Times article.

　　本句是一个复合句。 says前面的成分充当says的宾语。其中 analyze...other people是help的宾语补足语。to understand... organizations不定式短语作enables的宾语补足语。其中bow引导名词性从句，作understand的宾语。

　　语法重点：宾语从句，宾语补足语

　　3. I have seen gossip he1p co-workers in some places where I have work, giving rise to compassion or offers of support when someone is going though hard times.

　　本句是一个复合句。gossip help co-workers in some places where I have worked是省略了引导词的宾语从句，作seen的宾语，其中where引导限制性定语从句，修饰place。giving rise to...hard times现在分词短语作结果状语。其中when引导时间状语从句。

　　语法重点：宾语从句，定语从句，分词短语作状语，时间状语从句

1 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

2 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

3 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

4 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

5 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句

7 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

8 malignant   

adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Alexander got a malignant slander.亚历山大受到恶意的诽谤。
• He started to his feet with a malignant glance at Winston.他爬了起来，不高兴地看了温斯顿一眼。

9 breaching   

攻破( breach的过去式 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。
• Third, an agency can abuse its discretion by breaching certain principles of judge-made law. 第三，行政机关会因违反某些法官制定的法律原则而构成滥用自由裁量权。

10 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

11 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。