词语掌故：小道消息(1/2)

英语自学网

概述：词语“小道消息”的来由。
Hints:
Samuel F. Morse
Washington
Baltimore
文中有一处连字符，42秒、44秒、1分10秒左右各有一处破折号：--
校对：赤壁小鬼头
翻译&注解：pussbb
组长：olivertt
答疑：994116450a
发音点评：Mornight
本期材料发音模仿地址：
http://bulo.hujiang.com/menu/11885/item/740315/
         
Some of the most exciting information comes by way of the grapevine.
That is so because reports received through the grapevine are supposed to be secret. The information is all hush-hush. It is whispered into your ear with the understanding that you will not pass it on to others.
You feel honored and excited. You are one of the special few to get this information. You cannot wait. You must quickly find other ears to pour the information into. And so, the information -- secret as it is -- begins to spread. Nobody knows how far.
The expression by the grapevine is more than 100 years old.
The American inventor, Samuel F. Morse, is largely responsible for the birth of the expression. Among others, he experimented with the idea of telegraphy -- sending messages over a wire by electricity. When Morse finally completed his telegraphic instrument, he went before Congress to show that it worked. He sent a message over a wire from Washington to Baltimore. The message was: "What hath God wrought?" This was on May 24th, 1844.有些最激动人心的信息是小道传播的（by way of the grapevine）。
这是因为小道消息本该是秘密的，信息是完全保密的。有人对着你的耳朵轻声说出时，认为你不会把它传播给别人。
你感到既荣幸又兴奋。你是那得到信息的特别的少数人。你迫不及待，必须马上找到其他人把信息告诉给他们。因此，信息虽然是秘密的，但是开始传播，而且没有人知道会传到多远。
“By the grapevine”（秘密传播，通过小道消息传播）这个短语有超过一百年的历史。
美国发明家塞缪尔·芬里·莫尔斯与这个短语的诞生有很大关系。和许多人一样，他也针对电报（即用电通过金属线发送信息）这个想法做了实验。莫尔斯终于完成了电报发送器时，他在国会议员面前展示机器可以用。他用电线从华盛顿发送一条消息至巴尔的摩。这条消息是“上帝做了何等大事？”消息的发送日期是1844年5月24日。