美联社17日发表文章，直白地形容正在进行的美国总统选举是“撒谎季”。正像马克·吐温的《竞选州长》中所描述的那样，谣言和谎言占据了选举的大部分。夸海口开空头支票，将微小问题恶意夸大，故意歪曲和更改关键数据和事实，这些“雕虫小技”在美国政客的竞选过程中，简直就是小菜一碟，屡试不爽。

　　下面我们就看看这篇文章是如何描述“撒谎”的：

　　This is the season of lies.

　　这是一个撒谎的季节。

　　【season of lies】撒谎季，season除了表示“季节”，还可以表示体育中的“赛季”，美剧播放也以season（季）为单位。

　　We watch with fascination as candidates for the world's most powerful job trade falsehoods and allegations of dishonesty.

　　我们兴奋地看着世界上最重要工作的竞选人不断地撒谎并指责对手撒谎。

　　【falsehood】虚伪; 谎言

　　例句：She called the verdict a victory of truth over falsehood.

　　她将这一判决称为真理对谬误的胜利。

　　【dishonesty】不正直，不诚实; 欺诈

　　例句：Dishonesty is ultimately self-defeating.

　　弄虚作假最终会自食其果。

　　Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump routinely calls rival Ted Cruz "Lyin' Ted." Cruz retorts: "Falsely accusing someone of lying is itself a lie and something Donald does daily."

　　“撒谎的特德”是共和党总统竞选人唐纳德?特朗普对他的党内竞争对手特德?克鲁兹最习惯的称呼。克鲁兹则反唇相讥地说：“妄称对方撒谎，本身就是撒谎。这是特朗普天天做的事情。”

　　【Falsely accusing someone of lying is itself a lie.】妄称对方撒谎，本身就是撒谎。

　　【罗姆尼的鼻子】“没准儿，他说的经济增长就是用这种骗人的方式进行吧！”

　　News organizations dedicate enormous resources to separating candidates' truthful wheat from their dishonest chaff.

　　新闻机构现在必须投入大量资源和精力对竞选人言论进行甄别，去伪存真。

　　【separate the wheat from the chaff】to separate what is useful or valuable from what is worthless.将有用或有价值的事物与无价值的区分开来。

　　例句：The managers hoped that the new procedure for evaluating employees would separate the wheat from the chaff.

　　经理希望新的员工考核流程能让优秀员工体现其价值。

　　We all stretch the truth. We learned to deceive as toddlers. We rationalize our fabrications that benefit us. We tell little white lies daily that make others feel good.

　　我们都会说谎，从幼儿时就学会了说谎。我们为自己的捏造找借口，以有利于自己。为了让别人更愉快，我们每天都可能会说些善意的谎言。

　　【stretch the truth】言过其实，说话过分夸大。

　　例句：The slightest stretch of any truth will produce an absurdity.

　　真理越过一步,就会变成谬误。

　　【deceive】欺骗

　　【fabrication】捏造

　　【white lies】善意的谎言

　　例句：Do you believe that we need white lies in our life?

　　你认为我们的生活中需要善意的谎言吗？

　　Politicians distort the truth more often, use more self-justifications and deceive in larger ways, and with more consequences, experts in psychology and political science say.

　　心理学家和政治学家表示，政客更经常歪曲事实，更多地自我辩白，骗人骗得更夸张，后果也更严重。

　　【distort the truth】歪曲事实

　　例句：Journalists, I think, should take responsibility to report the truth, not distort it.

　　我认为记者应该有责任报道真相，而非扭曲真相。

　　When lies succeed, they make it "more tempting to lie. Lies can stick. They can have a lingering effect, even if they are debunked. "

　　说谎成功后，“人们就更难以抗拒去继续说谎。谎言有时候挥之不去，影响很久，即使被揭穿。”

　　【debunk】揭穿真相，暴露

　　例句：Historian Michael Beschloss debunks a few myths.

　　历史学家迈克尔?贝施洛斯破除了几个不实传言。