英语听力精选进阶版 6721

William: Hello, I'm William Kremer and this is Authentic¹ Real English.

Wang Fei: 大家好，我是王飞。William, can I choose the word for today's programme?

William: Well, actually, Wang Fei, I've got lots of really good words to talk about.

Wang Fei: Oh go on, please!

William: OK, go on then.

Wang Fei: Thanks. I was reading a newspaper and I found this word: Climategate. Climate 意思是气候，那 Climategate 是什么意思呢？

William: Ah. That's a little bit complicated². Basically³, the word gate is used after another word to indicate that something is a scandal⁴.

Wang Fei: A scandal 丑闻。

William: And possibly the biggest scandal in American history was the Watergate scandal.

Wang Fei: Watergate… that was why President Nixon had to resign wasn't it?

William: Yes, you know your history!

Wang Fei: Yes. Was it a scandal about water?

William: No, no. The word Watergate was actually the name of a building but it came to be used to refer to the whole scandal. And it is because Watergate was such a big scandal that nowadays, whenever there is any kind of scandal, the media likes to use the word –gate as a suffix⁵.

Wang Fei: A suffix 后缀。So Climategate is a scandal about the climate?

William: That's right! It happened a couple of years ago now. It was when some emails and other documents from a university in England led to people asking questions about the way that scientists researched climate change.

Wang Fei: Climategate 也就是气候门事件，那是几年前的一个新闻事件。当时一些泄漏的电子邮件和文件，导致了人们对那些研究气候变化科学家们的质疑。

William: Let me give you another example from last year. Gordon Brown, who was Prime⁶ Minister at the time, was overheard⁷ calling an old lady a "bigot".

Wang Fei: A bigot 老顽固。Wow, William, that's not a very good word.

William: No, it's a very strong word. Unsurprisingly this was a bit of a scandal and it came to be known in the media as 'bigotgate'.

Wang Fei: Bigotgate. 听起来很滑稽，是不是？

William: I think you're right. I think using –gate on the end of a word can make it seem a little bit humorous. And it is possible to use this word –gate in normal conversation to make a joke. Listen to this:

Example

Man A: Have you seen Mark recently?

Man B: Mark – he hasn't spoken to me since beergate!

Man A: Beergate? What do you mean?

Man B: We had a big argument because I said Mark never bought a round of beer in the pub⁸! He got very upset and went home.

Wang Fei: 在刚才的例句中，说话者造了一个词，beergate 意思是说关于在酒吧买啤酒引起的争执！I wonder, could there ever be an Authentic Real Englishgate?

William: Ooh, I hope not. I can't really imagine what that could be!

Wang Fei: No, neither can I. 再见！

William: Bye bye.

1 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

2 complicated   

adj.错综复杂的，麻烦的，结构复杂的

参考例句：

• The poem is so complicated that I cannot make out its meaning.这首诗太复杂，我理解不了它的意思。
• This is the most complicated case I have ever handled.这是我所处理过的最为复杂的案子。

3 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

4 scandal   

n.丑事，丑闻，流言蜚语，反感，愤慨

参考例句：

• Scandal and gossip are meat and drink to him.各种丑闻和流言蜚语是他最感兴趣的事。
• His theft from the shop caused scandal in the village.他因偷商店的东西引起全村的公愤。

5 suffix   

n.后缀；vt.添后缀

参考例句：

• We add the suffix "ly" to make the adjective "quick" into the adverb " quickly ".我们在形容词“ quick”后加“ly” 构成副词“quickly”。
• It described the meaning of suffix array and also how to built it.它描述的含义，后缀数组以及如何建立它。

6 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

7 overheard   

adj. 串音的, 偶而听到的 动词overhear的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• We talked quietly so as not to be overheard. 我们低声交谈，以免别人听到。
• I told Lucy the news under my breath, but Joyce overheard me. 我低声地把这个消息告诉露西，可还是被乔伊斯听到了。

8 pub   

n.[英]旅馆，小店，酒馆

参考例句：

• He is the landlord of this pub.他是这家酒店的店主。
• They saw that four large men marched into the pub.他们看到四个彪形大汉走进了酒吧。