英国新闻听力 告密者

Helen: Hello, welcome to Real English from BBC Learning¹ English. I’m Helen. 

Zo?: 还有我，刘佳。

Helen: Today we’re going to look at words and phrases that have recently become part of the English language.

Zo?: 在今天的地道英语里，我们来学习一些当代英语中最新出现的词汇，短语还有习惯表达。那 Helen, 咱们今天要学的新词是什么呢？

Helen: Today’s new word is whistle-blower. That’s whistle and blower; whistle-blower.

Zo?: Whistle-blower. Whistle 就是吹口哨儿， blower 就是吹哨儿的人，把他们连在一起，是什么意思呢， Helen?

Helen: Well, listen carefully. A whistle-blower is someone who tells the government or the public that the company he works² for is doing something wrong or illegal. It’s common in newspaper reporting.

Zo?: 不成不成，有点儿晕。是说那种专门把坏事或者见不得人的消息告诉别人的人吗？

Helen: I’ll give an example. Imagine you were working for a law firm, but you found out that the company was taking money from criminals and not telling the truth in court. What would you do?

Zo?: 嗯，我想我会报警，或者把这个消息告诉给媒体。

Helen: So, you would be a whistle-blower.

Zo?: I see, a whistle-blower. 就是给公众或者权威机构通风报信儿的人。

Example

A: Why did you have to leave your job, Fred?

B: Well, I became a whistle-blower. The company wasn’t paying its taxes and I told the police. They closed the company as a result, and I lost my job!

Zo?: Would you become a whistle-blower, Helen?

Helen: Hmmm… yes. If the company was doing something illegal, I think I would have to say something. But I would be scared.

Zo?: Why?

Helen: Well, you would probably lose your job for one thing, and if the company was doing something illegal they might do something bad to you, to keep you quiet.

Zo?: In that case, you have to be very careful.

Helen: Exactly. Anyway, let’s recap, whistle-blower is...

Zo?: Whistle-blower. 就是形容对于一些不法行为给公众或者权威机构通风报信儿的人。

Helen: You’ve been listening to Real English from BBC Learning English. Join us again soon. Bye-bye.

Zo?: 咱们下次节目再见。

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。