地道美語怎麼說 第21課:潛規則
Jessica 在北京學漢語，她的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎麼說的詞，就會來請教她。今天是楊林要問的：潛規則。
YL:Jessica! 上次我給你的簽名照呢？快還給我!
Jessica:Why? 你不是參加“陽光女生”的比賽，要當 super star了麼？
YL:別提了! I got eliminated!
Jessica:被刷下來了？!
YL:是啊。雖然過了第一輪海選，可第二輪一上來就被刷了! 哼! 這裏面肯定有潛規則! 對了，潛規則美語怎麼說啊？
Jessica:Well, if you suspect the competition has some secret, back-door deals, you can say there are some "unspoken rules".
YL:哦，unspoken, u-n-s-p-o-k-e-n, unspoken 就是“沒有明說的”，rules 規則；unspoken rules 就是“潛規則”嘍!
Jessica: That's right! So, you think you were cut because the selection process wasn't fair and open, like the competition is following some unspoken rules. Right?
YL:沒錯! 我看，獲勝者可能是內定的！
Jessica:If that's true, then the whole competition is rigged!
YL:rigged?
Jessica:Yes! r-i-g-g-e-d, rigged 就是內定. It means the outcome has been predetermined by the producers.
YL:哦，比賽結果被“內定”就是 rigged! 那還比個什麼勁兒啊!
Jessica:I agree. Rigged competitions aren't worth attending, because someone is pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
YL:等會兒，你說 someone is pulling the strings from behind the scenes， “從後面拉線”，就是有人幕後操縱的意思，對不對？
Jessica:Exactly! So tell me what you've learned today!
YL:第一“潛規則”在美語裏叫 "unspoken rules";
第二，說比賽結果內定，可以說 rigged；
第三，幕後操縱，叫 pull the strings from behind the scenes.
