Wiretapping is secretly listening to other people's phone calls by making a connection to their phone line. The classic picture is police or government agents in a van, or a detective in a film, quietly hearing every call a suspect makes without the suspect knowing.

Wiretapping is secretly listening to other people's phone calls by making a connection to their phone linewiretapping是指偷偷接上別人的電話線，竊聽他們的通話。The classic picture is police or government agents in a van, or a detective in a film經典的畫面是警察或政府探員在廂型車裡，或電影裡的偵探, quietly hearing every call a suspect makes without the suspect knowing在嫌犯不知情的狀況下，悄悄聽他打的每一通電話。

Today the actual wires often are not there — calls travel through phone networks and the internet — but the word has stayed and now covers secret official listening in general, including reading messages. Some of the important ideas live in the words around it: a wiretap (noun) is one particular act of listening, or the equipment used for it; to tap someone's phone is the verb; and a wiretapping warrant is the paper a judge signs to make it legal.

Today the actual wires often are not there現在實際上常常沒有真正的電線了 — calls travel through phone networks and the internet電話是透過電信網路和網際網路傳輸的 — but the word has stayed and now covers secret official listening in general但這個字留了下來，現在泛指官方的秘密監聽, including reading messages也包括讀取訊息。Some of the important ideas live in the words around it一些重要的概念藏在跟它相關的字裡: a wiretap (noun) is one particular act of listening, or the equipment used for itwiretap（名詞）指的是一次具體的監聽行為，或用來監聽的設備; to tap someone's phone is the verbtap someone's phone是動詞的說法; and a wiretapping warrant is the paper a judge signs to make it legal而wiretapping warrant則是法官簽署、使監聽合法化的文件。

Legality is really the heart of this word. Most of the time you meet wiretapping in news, court, and politics, and the question being argued is whether it was allowed. Wiretapping without a warrant is a crime in many countries, so the word usually arrives with a whiff of scandal or of serious police work.

Legality is really the heart of this word合不合法其實才是這個字的核心。Most of the time you meet wiretapping in news, court, and politics你大多會在新聞、法庭和政治場合遇到wiretapping這個字, and the question being argued is whether it was allowed而爭論的重點通常是這樣做有沒有被允許。Wiretapping without a warrant is a crime in many countries在很多國家，沒有搜索令的監聽是犯罪行為, so the word usually arrives with a whiff of scandal or of serious police work所以這個字出現時，通常帶著一絲醜聞味，或代表著嚴肅的警方行動。

It is a formal-ish, written word; a friend telling a story would more likely say they tapped his phone.

It is a formal-ish, written word這是一個偏正式、書面的字; a friend telling a story would more likely say they tapped his phone朋友聊天講故事時，比較可能會說『they tapped his phone（他們竊聽了他的電話）』。