A woman is telling her friend a secret. The average woman cannot keep a secret for longer than 47 hours, a new study suggests.

The average woman cannot keep a secret for longer than 47 hours, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that women are overcome by a burning desire to share gossip as soon as they hear it.

They will typically spill the beans to at least one other person in 47 hours and 15 minutes.

Depending on who the gossip is about, their boyfriend, husband, best friend or mother are most likely to be the initial recipients¹ of the information.

The study of 3,000 women aged² between 18 and 65 also found that four out of ten admitted they were unable to keep a secret – no matter how personal or confidential³ the news was.

It also found that alcohol usually gives us a helping⁵ hand to blurt⁶ out secrets – with more than half admitting a glass or two of wine could prompt them to dish the dirt.

Michael Cox, UK Director of Wines of Chile, which commissioned the research to mark Chile's National Day on Friday, said: "It's official – women can't keep secrets.

"We were really keen to find out with this survey how many secrets people are told. What we didn't bank on was how quickly these are passed on by those we confide⁴ in.

"No matter how precious the piece of information, it's often out in the public domain⁷ within 48 hours.

The study found the nation's ladies hear three nuggets of gossip a week, but end up passing it on to at least one other person.

Six in 10 end up telling someone completely uninvolved so the person the secret belongs to won't know.

Three in 10 admitted having the urge to reveal someone's secret. Nearly half (45 per cent) disclose secrets just for the weight to be lifted from their shoulders.

However, two thirds end up feeling guilty after passing on secrets.

Three quarters say they are capable of keeping quiet about a secret, and 83 per cent consider themselves 100 per cent trustworthy within each group of friends.

Yet, four in ten admit to gossiping to a close friend from another friendship group.

More than four in ten think it is acceptable to share a friend's secret with someone who does not know them, with over 40 per cent saying their husband is their ultimate confidant.

Intimate issues, true cost of purchases and affairs emerged top of the secret-keeping list, with girls most likely to share a secret chatting face-to-face, on the phone or via a text message.

Fortunately for some though, over a quarter (27 per cent) said they forgot what they were told the following day.

一项最新调查表明，普通女性保守秘密的时间不超过47个小时。

研究人员发现，女性一旦听到什么八卦新闻，就难以克制与别人分享的欲望。

一般来说，她们会在47小时零15分钟内向至少一人泄密。

女性最有可能首先将秘密告诉给男友、丈夫、最好的朋友或者母亲，而这通常取决于八卦的内容与谁有关。

在三千名年龄在18岁至65岁之间的受访女性中，十分之四的人承认无论她们得知的新闻多么私密或机密，自己都无法守口如瓶。

调查还发现，饮酒会让人更加口无遮拦，一半以上的受访者承认一两杯酒下肚，她们就管不住自己的嘴巴了。

委托开展该调查的智利红酒组织的英国区负责人迈克尔•考克斯说：“女人不善于保守秘密，这是个可靠的说法。”这项调查旨在纪念上周五的智利国庆日。

“我们十分希望能通过这项调查了解有多少秘密被泄露出去，而我们原本并没指望知道那些我们所信赖的朋友会多快将秘密传播出去。”

“不管那个秘密有多重要，它通常会在48小时内就大白天下。”

调查发现，英国的女性每周会听到三条八卦新闻，而最终她们会将其泄露给至少一人。

十分之六的受访者会将秘密告诉给与秘密完全无关的人，这样当事人不会知情。

十分之三的受访者承认自己有泄密的欲望，近半数（45%）的人称泄密只是为了减轻自己的压力。

然而，三分之二的受访者在泄密后会有负罪感。

四分之三的受访者称自己能够守住秘密，83%的人认为自己在每个朋友圈中都可以百分百地值得信赖。

但有十分之四的受访者承认，自己曾向另一个朋友圈中的密友八卦过。

超过十分之四的受访者认为，与不认识当事人的人分享某个朋友秘密可以接受，其中超过40%的人称丈夫是她们的最终倾诉对象。

隐私话题、货品的真实价格以及花边新闻高居保密排行榜之首。女性最可能在见面聊天、打电话或发短信时与他人分享秘密。

不过幸运的是，超过四分之一（27%）的人在第二天就把听来的八卦给忘了。

Vocabulary:

spill the beans: to disclose a secret, either accidentally or imprudently, thereby ruining a surprise or plan（说漏嘴）

give a helping hand: 助一臂之力

dish the dirt: to spread gossip; to gossip（散布流言蜚语）

bank on: to count on; depend on（指望，依赖）

nugget: anything of great value, significance, or the like（有用的想法或事实，有价值的小东西）