Sally: Did you hear the news about Tom and his wife?

　　Lisa: No....what happened?

　　S: Well, Jane told me that Tom has been having an affair! I heard his wife caught him at a hotel with another woman!

　　L: Really? That's a shocker! I always thought Tom was a loyal, devoted family man.

　　S: Hey Mary, did you hear about Tom?

　　Mary: No, what happened? Is he okay?

　　S: Well, keep this under your hat, but it seems Tom has been having an affair! Everyone's talking about it!

　　Sally 告诉 Lisa，她听说 Tom 搞婚外情，被他太太在旅馆里捉奸。Lisa听后很吃惊，说 That's a shocker! 意思是这件事太出人意料了，因为她一直觉得Tom是个很忠实的居家男人 family man. 这时另外一位同事 Mary也加入讨论。Sally 又把这个小道消息告诉 Mary, 还让她 keep this under your hat 意思是保密。

　　Mary: You know, to be perfectly honest, I'm not really keen on office gossip. For one thing, how do we even know the rumor is true? Did you hear it straight from the horse's mouth?

　　S: Not exactly. Jane said that Phyllis told her that they overheard a conversation between Katy and her friend Samantha about Tom's affair.

　　M: Well, that doesn't sound like a very accurate source. I really think you should take this rumor with a grain of salt.

　　Mary说，自己对办公室里的这些八卦不感兴趣。I'm not keen on office gossip. 她问Sally, Did you hear it straight from the horse's mouth? Mary在这里用到了一个习惯用语， straight from the horse's mouth. 意思是从当事人本人，或是可靠消息来源那里得到的消息。Sally承认，是辗转好几拨人，听到的小道消息。Mary说，you should take this rumor with a grain of salt. 意思是那就不能全信了。，To take something with a grain of salt 意思是带着怀疑的态度，有所保留。 Lisa 听后说：

　　L: But Mary, everyone gossips in the office. It's part of office culture.

　　M: That may be true, but sometimes gossip can be counterproductive and even dangerous. Did you ever play the "telephone game" when you were a kid?

　　L: Um....no. What's the "telephone game?"

　　M: Everyone sits in a circle and you start with a sentence of information. For example, "John hates chocolate cookies." Then each person whispers that sentence to the next person in turn.

　　Lisa 觉得，办公室里大家都喜欢传八卦，It's part of office culture. 是办公室文化的一个部分。Mary 却觉得，gossip can be counterproductive. 这样做只会有消极效应。Mary 问 Lisa 小时候玩没玩过 "telephone game"电话游戏，大家做成一圈，一个挨一个地把一句话用耳语的方式传给自己旁边的人，看传到最后会变成什么样子。