大家也许都熟悉town这个词。它是城镇，要是某个话题传得沸沸扬扬，满城风雨，那一定是件激起人们强烈好奇心的事儿了。

我们看个例子来体会talk of the town这个习惯用语的含义是什么。说话的人正打长途电话给一个搬到外地去住的老朋友，Pete。

Pete, want to hear the talk of the town these days? The president of bank ran away with a pretty young cashier and two million dollars of the bank's money. It's all people talk about.

他说：他的特大新闻是本地银行经理和年轻貌美的出纳偷了银行的两百万美元私奔了。这是眼下人人议论的话题。

所以他说的talk of the town一定是指闹得满城风雨的街谈巷议。 Talk of the town的话题是激起人们强烈兴趣或好奇心的事件，丑闻，或者桃色新闻，而且往往是流言蜚语。