昨天去我姐姐家，看到我的小侄女噘着嘴不高兴。一问才知道她得重新考期中考。为什么呢？原来，他们班好多人在最近的考试中都得了好成绩，老师怀疑有人漏题，所以全部人都要重考。这让我想到一个习惯用语。那就是：foul-play。
foul play这个短语的意思是“不正当的行为，严重犯规”。就像上面提到的情况，老师认为不可能所有人成绩都这么好，所以怀疑有人舞弊。在下面的例子里，一名公司主管谈到他看到办公室一团混乱之后的反应：
- When I got back to my office, my papers were scattered. I found my file cabinet had been opened and my computer turned off. My first thought was that it was a case of foul-play. But, it turned out to be rather innocent; just my colleague's kids playing around without any supervision.
当我回到办公室的时候，桌上的纸撒了一地。我发现我的档案柜被打开，电脑也被关了。我第一反应是有人闯进了办公室。但后来我发现这只是虚惊一场，是我同事的孩子在没有大人看管的情况下，在我办公室里玩着。
大家可能已经注意到了，foul play也经常被用在犯罪行为上，意思就是非法的暴力行径。我的一个朋友就跟我讲过，去年圣诞节他们整个社区都遭到了一场洗劫：
- She discovered that thieves had broken in, and other neighbors had reported similar incidences of foul-play.
她发现小偷破门而入，其他邻居也有类似遭遇。
所以说，居住的社区真的很重要呢！
上面提到，foul play经常被用在犯罪行为上。下面的例子就提到了这样一起犯罪：
- Police discovered the woman's body in the river. Her husband claimed she had accidentally fallen out of a canoe. Soon enough, it was determined that foul-play was involved. She had been struck on the head with a rock and left to die. The husband murdered her and intended to collect an expensive insurance policy!
警方在河里发现一具女尸。死者丈夫说，她是不小心从独木舟掉到河里去的。但是不久后，警方发现这其中其实参杂了非法行为。死者的头部是被石块击中，然后流血而死。她的丈夫谋杀了她，是为了一大笔保险费!
太可怕了！不过到最后，这个丈夫肯定也被绳之以法了。这就像英语里一句俗语说的：
- Crime doesn't pay.
犯罪得不偿失。
