Women have a basic evolutionary need to voice concerns about others to their peers, a new book has shown.

据英国《每日邮报》10月17日报道，一本新书指出，女性向同伴谈及对他人的关注，是生理进化的基本需要。

The desire stems from a deeper need to protect the community they live in.

这种渴望源于她们保护自身生活环境的一种深层次需要。

Duels and Duets author John L. Locke, a professor of linguistics, told: "The word gossip has a pejorative sound to it, but with it, women are, in a sense, servicing the moral code of the community. "

名为《决斗与二重奏》的新书作者约翰·L·洛克是一位语言学教授，他告诉记者：“‘说闲话’这个词本身具有贬义的色彩，但是从某种程度上来说，女性正是用这一方式来服务于这个社会的道德准则。”

"One study of gossip showed that gossipers were concerned about women who are bad housekeepers, and women who are bad mothers, and women who are promiscuous."

“一项关于说闲话的研究表明，那些好说闲话的人总是关注那些糟糕的家庭主妇，不负责的母亲，以及私生活混乱的女性。”

"Those things are all threats to each woman in a community; therefore they have every good reason to want to talk about those things."

“这些都是社会生活中每一个女性都可能面临的威胁，因此她们有无数正当理由去谈论这些事情。”

Men however, are more concerned with displaying their strength and showing off to women, by "dueling"—bantering and exchanging playful insults among boys.

男性则更热衷于通过“决斗”的方式显示自己的实力，并向女性炫耀——他们互相打趣，玩笑式的辱骂嬉闹。

"Like if two guys, for example, come up to each other, and one of them maybe insults him a little bit about his bulging midriff, or his thinning hair."

“举个例子来说，如果两个男人碰到了一起，其中一个很有可能会嘲笑一下对方凸起的腹部或是稀疏的头发。”

"Women would simply never, never, never do that."

“但是女性则永远永远不会这么做。”

The professor argues girls are more likely to comment to friends about another person's appearance rather than tell them to their faces.

教授认为，女性更可能和朋友们一起讨论另外一个人的外表而不是当面告诉对方。

They are used to sharing information with each other or "dueting", often finishing each other's sentences as a bonding method.

她们通常会一起共享信息，或者来个“二重奏”，以另一个人发言的结尾作为下一个话题的开始。

Locke said: "When women are dueting and trading in intimate disclosures about themselves and their friends, they're fortifying a relationship."

洛克说：“当女性在这样闲聊或是和朋友交换私密信息的时候，她们其实是在强化这种友谊关系。”