Jessica 在北京學(xué)漢語，她的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎么說的詞，就會(huì)來請教她。今天是楊林要問的：潛規(guī)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(dāng) super star了么？

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! 這里面肯定有潛規(guī)則! 對了，潛規(guī)則美語怎么說啊？

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(guī)則；unspoken rules 就是“潛規(guī)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(cuò)! 我看，獲勝者可能是內(nèi)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(nèi)定. It means the outcome has been predetermined by the producers.

YL:哦，比賽結(jié)果被“內(nèi)定”就是 rigged! 那還比個(gè)什么勁兒啊!

Jessica:I agree. Rigged competitions aren't worth attending, because someone is pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

YL:等會(huì)兒，你說 someone is pulling the strings from behind the scenes， “從后面拉線”，就是有人幕后操縱的意思，對不對？

Jessica:Exactly! So tell me what you've learned today!

YL:第一“潛規(guī)則”在美語里叫 "unspoken rules";

第二，說比賽結(jié)果內(nèi)定，可以說 rigged；

第三，幕后操縱，叫 pull the strings from behind the scenes.