report: is likely to suggest some ground for belief unless specifically qualified as false, untrue, or wild: it was common ~ that they were living together.   （wild还表示盲目瞎抓means not carefully planned; not sensible or accurate，如he made a wild guess at the answer他胡乱猜答案，如wild accusations无端指责）


rumor: applies to a report that flies about, often gains in detail as it spreads, but lacks both an evident source and clear-cut evidence of its truth: unsubstantiated ~s that spread like wildfire.   （常用口语rumor has it that，表示据传闻，如rumor has it that he will take a year off有传闻说他将休假一年，如rumor has it that the defence minister will soon resign据传闻，国防部长不久就要辞职)


gossip: applies primarily to the idle, often personal, chatter that is the chief source and means of propagating rumors or reports: wrote a ~ column for the local paper.  (chatter喋喋不休地闲谈means to talk quickly and continuously, especially about things that are not important，如they chattered away happily for a while他们高兴地闲扯了一会儿，如the children chattered to each other孩子们没完没了地闲聊着，如her constant chatter was starting to annoy me她喋喋不休开始惹人烦了)  八卦专栏或随笔专栏


hearsay: stresses the source of a rumor or report as what is heard rather than what is seen or known directly: rumored by ~ to have a personal stake in the deal; and in its application to evidence retains this implication of indirect or imperfect knowledge of the facts: based his prosecution on ~ evidence.    又如her judgments are based on hearsay rather than evidence她的判断只是基于道听途说，而非真凭实据


report报道传言: 表示有一定根据值得去相信，除非明确指出假不实无端，rumor谣言流言: 指广为流传的，但没有明显根据或来源的传言，往往在传播时被添加内容，gossip闲谈八卦: 表示关于个人的喋喋不休的闲谈，是传言谣言的主要来源和传播途径，hearsay道听途说: 强调来源于听到的而非直接看到或知道的，形容证据时表示间接、不完善


记忆方法: 1）首字母RRGH如光如火<==谣言      古文中"没有音乐只是唱歌"叫做"谣"，在民间流传的歌通常叫做谣，像民谣童谣，引申义表示"不真实、准确的话"，如"谣言"，"谣传"，"辟谣"，产生谣言的原因较多，不一定有恶意

         2）谣言的意思是广为流传的话mean common talk or an instance of it that spreads rapidly.