飲水機旁的流言蜚語

經濟學中有個有趣的理論叫作“飲水機效應（watercooler effect）”：指的是辦公室里圍繞著某個大眾文化事件的熱烈討論。在我們工作的office里面，或者在公司的休息處，總是會安置一臺飲水機以供大家休息時飲用茶水。在飲水機旁碰到相熟的同事有時會停下來聊幾句，這種看似不經意的聊天可能變成公司發展的“利器”，當然這種地方也可能是流言蜚語的滋生地。曾經在飲水機旁的你是點子王還是流言傳播者？

The Watercooler Effect

Garret： Am I crazy， or is it really dry today？

Penelope： You’re not crazy. And the dry air is probably why we’ve been spending so much time around the watercooler these days.

Garret： ①Yeah， that， and the fact that the office rumor mill is in full swing.

Penelope： Yeah！ ②I heard there was a big project coming up， and only the top 3 sellers in the whole company will have a shot at landing it.

Garret： Really？ I hadn’t heard that， though I do have some other juicy 1）tidbits I may or may not have heard upper management going on about.

Penelope： Oh yeah？ What have you heard？

Garret： ③Just that the company’s stock is about to take a dive， so a bunch of the board members are 2）bailing while they still can. They figure it’s better to just cut and run if they wanna minimize their losses.

Penelope： Are you sure？ Because， you know， if news gets out about this， it’s gonna be 3）pandemonium around here. What if people start jumping out of windows， like when the stock market crashed in the Great Depression？

Garret： Well， that would be going a bit overboard. ④But I know what I heard， and this company is pretty much on its last legs.

Penelope： ⑤Well， you’ll have to forgive me if I take your warning with a grain of salt. I mean， over the years， I’ve heard just about every rumor you could imagine pass from wise lips to 4）discerning ears next to this old watercooler， and only a small percentage of all that gossip turned out to be true. Now， I’m in no way accusing you—

Garret： …of being a rumor 5）monger？ Because that’s sure what it seems like.

Penelope： No， I know you’re a standup guy. This is actually all part of the Watercooler Effect.

Garret： The what， now？

Penelope： The watercooler has a lot to do with why we spread rumors， why we believe them， and how they 6）mutate， and how they can be managed.

Garret： ⑥So， level with me Penny. You’re saying that this is a real thing？ That a watercooler can actually influence the spread of rumors？

Penelope： First of all， it’s not just me saying it. But yes， scientists have proven that 7）proximity can essentially facilitate the spread of information， so friends or colleagues who meet face to face are in fact more likely to communicate with one another than those who live or work far apart.

Garret： But how about the truthfulness of the information given？ Is telling people potentially important information over phone calls， texts and emails seen as unreliable？

Penelope： That’s up for debate. But I happen to believe a certain theory that people come up with their best ideas when grouped together informally.

Garret： Well， we’d better get back to our desks. I heard that they installed new cameras to see who’s at their desks and who’s not.

Penelope： Ugh…You and your rumors…

加勒特：是我瘋了，還是今天天氣真的太干燥？

佩內洛普：你沒有瘋。干燥的空氣可能導致我們最近都花太多時間待在飲水機旁。

加勒特：沒錯，是那樣，而且事實上辦公室的流言正傳得沸沸揚揚的。

佩內洛普：是的！我聽說有大項目要開展，整個公司只有最頂尖的三名銷售人員有機會參與項目。

加勒特：真的嗎？我沒聽說過，但我確實聽過其他一些讓人津津樂道的花邊新聞，但其不一定從高級管理層的討論中得知。

佩內洛普：哦，是嗎？你聽到了什么？

加勒特：就是公司的股票即將大幅下跌，一群股東趁還來得及的時候紛紛退股。他們認為如果想要把損失降到最低，最好就是斬倉逃離。

佩內洛普：你確定嗎？因為，你懂的，如果相關消息公布出來，這里會掀起軒然大波。如果人們開始跳樓自殺，就像大蕭條時期股市崩盤的時候一樣，那該怎么辦？

加勒特：嗯，那就有點走極端了。但我明白我所聽到的，這家公司大致上氣數將盡了。

佩內洛普：呃，如果我對你的忠告半信半疑的話，你得原諒我。我的意思是，多年來，我在這臺老飲水機旁聽到的每一個流言，你可以想象它從智者的嘴里傳到有辨別力的人的耳朵里，所有這些流言蜚語中只有一小部分被證明是事實。現在，我不是要指責你——

加勒特：……指責我是個謠言散布者？因為你確實好像是這個意思。

佩內洛普：不，我知道你是個值得信賴的人。這確實是飲水機效應的全部。

加勒特：什么，現在嗎？

佩內洛普：飲水機跟我們為什么散播流言、為什么相信流言、它們如何變異的和如何被管理的有很大關系。

加勒特：那么，老實告訴我，佩妮。你說的是實情？一臺飲水機能確確實實影響到謠言的傳播？

佩內洛普：首先，不只是我在說這事。然而是的，科學家證明了彼此空間的接近本質上能有助于信息的傳播，所以面對面相見的朋友或同事事實上比那些生活或工作都分開很遠的親友更有可能彼此溝通。

加勒特：但是我們收到的信息的真實性如何？是要告訴人們通過電話、短信和郵件傳達的重要信息都有可能不可靠嗎？

佩內洛普：那有待商榷。但我相信的某個理論說，當人們非正式集合在一起的時候，他們能想出最好的點子。

加勒特：嗯，我們最好回到自己的座位上。我聽說他們安裝了新的攝像頭，看看誰在自己的座位上，誰不在。

佩內洛普：唷……你和你的謠言……

Smart Sentences

① Yeah， that， and the fact that the office rumor mill is in full swing.

沒錯，是那樣，而且事實上辦公室的流言正傳得沸沸揚揚的。

in full swing： at the highest level of activity or operation（正全力進行中，正處于全盛時期）。例如：

When I went back to the office， the preparation for tomorrow’s celebration was in full swing.

我回到辦公室時，明天慶祝活動的準備工作正如火如荼地進行著。

② I heard there was a big project coming up， and only the top 3 sellers in the whole company will have a shot at landing it.

我聽說有大項目要開展，整個公司只有最頂尖的三名銷售人員有機會參與項目。

have a shot at sth.： have a chance for sth.（有機會）。例如：

I don’t think you and I have a shot at getting a raise this time.

我覺得我跟你這次都沒有機會加薪。

③ Just that the company’s stock is about to take a dive， so a bunch of the board members are bailing while they still can.

就是公司的股票即將大幅下跌，一群股東趁還來得及的時候紛紛退股。

take a dive： plummet； fall sharply（急劇下降）。例如：

The company’s sales took a dive after the food poisoning incident.

自從發生了食物中毒事件，公司的銷售一落千丈。

④ But I know what I heard， and this company is pretty much on its last legs.

但我明白我所聽到的，這家公司大

致上氣數將盡了。

on its last legs： about to stop working or become nonfunctional（最后一程，氣數將盡）。例如：

They said the printer is on its last legs and we should try to find a new one.

他們說那臺打印機快不行了，我們應該找臺新的。

⑤ Well， you’ll have to forgive me if I take your warning with a grain of salt.

呃，如果我對你的忠告半信半疑的話，你得原諒我。

take sth. with a grain of salt： not fully believe sth.（半信半疑）。例如：

This applicant’s resume is too good to be true. We have to take it with a grain of salt.

這位應聘者的簡歷好得有點難以相信，我們得持保留態度。

⑥ So， level with me Penny.

那么，老實告訴我，佩妮。

level with sb.： be straight forward with sb.（坦誠對待某人）。例如：

I really think we should level with them about the company’s situation.

我真的覺得我們應該把公司的情況告訴他們。