(单词翻译:单击)
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Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.
Have you ever felt pure fear, a fear that makes you act in a way you normally would not?
That is panic. Panic is a great fear that makes otherwise normal people do abnormal things.
To hit the panic button means to panic suddenly. Another common expression is widespread panic. It describes an event that causes panic among large numbers of people. For example, "The spread of disease caused widespread panic throughout Europe during The Middle Ages."
The origin of the word panic comes from the Greek word "panikos." According to Greek myth, Pan was the god of flocks and shepherds. Greek legend says that Pan was half human and half goat. He lived in the woods and in the fields. His angry voice was so scary that it caused panic to anyone who was unlucky enough to be nearby.
According to one Greek myth, Pan fell in love with a beautiful nymph. A nymph is a spirit that takes the shape of young woman and lives in the mountains, forests, meadows and water. Pan tried to capture her, but she ran away. The nymph hid in a river taking the form of a reed, a thick, hollow grass that lives in the water.
The wind made a song as it blew across the hollow reeds.
Pan did not know which reed was the nymph. So, he took a handful and joined them together side-by-side and carried it with him to hear the music it played.
Today, we call this instrument a pan flute.
Of course, this is just the Greek story. Pan flutes also have a long history in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Just like the pan flute, panic can be found everywhere.
Mental health experts treat people with panic disorders. The American Psychological Association defines a panic attack as "a sudden surge of overwhelming, or extreme, fear that comes without warning and without any obvious reason."
The word panic also describes economic or financial disasters.
The most infamous financial panic in the U.S. was the stock market crash of 1929. Some people on Wall Street where stocks were traded were so panicked that they jumped from their office windows.
Panic is also a great literary tool.
Jack London was an American writer who wrote "The Sea Wolf." He left school at age 14 to become a seaman. Published in 1904, "The Sea Wolf" has a panicked ship-wreck scene that is partly based on Mr. London's experience as a sailor in the Pacific Ocean.
Two ships crash together in the ocean. Women passengers scream with panic as the ship goes down into the freezing ocean waves. As one man finds himself adrift alone in the sea, another type of panic takes hold of him.
"I was alone. I could hear no calls or cries--only the sound of the waves, made weirdly hollow and reverberant by the fog. A panic in a crowd, which partakes of a sort of community of interest, is not so terrible as a panic when one is by oneself; and such a panic I now suffered. ... I confess that a madness seized me, that I shrieked aloud as the women had shrieked, and beat the water with my numb hands."
Panic is a powerful tool in myth or literature but not so much in real life. So, next time you feel extreme fear taking hold of you, causing you to lose all reason, remember to remain calm. And don't panic.
I'm Anna Matteo.
词汇解释
1.abnormal adj. 反常的，不规则的；变态的
The abnormal bleeding is your body's own red flag of danger.
非正常的出血是你的身体发出的危险信号。
2.reed n. [作物] 芦苇；簧片；牧笛；不可依靠的人 vt. 用芦苇盖；用芦苇装饰
The river banks were overgrown with reed.
河岸长满了芦苇。
3.adrift adj. 漂泊的；漂浮着的 adv. 随波逐流地；漂浮着
They were spotted after three hours adrift in a dinghy.
3小时后他们被发现坐在一艘小艇里在漂着。
4.reverberant adj. 回响的；反射的；起回声的
For a second, the room is the reverberant sound of cry.
一时间，正个房间里都回响着她的哭声。
内容解析
1.As one man finds himself adrift alone in the sea, another type of panic takes hold of him.
take hold of握住，抓住，控制住
He stifled his temptation to take hold of Ivy and shake her.
他压抑住想要抓住艾薇摇晃她的冲动。
His sturdy mother quickly stepped forward to take hold of his hand.
他那好强的母亲忙不迭地走上前去，一把拽住了他的手。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故。
你是否感受过纯粹的恐惧，那种让你做出与往常行为不同的恐惧？
这就是恐慌，恐慌是一种巨大的恐惧，让平时正常的人做不正常的事情。
To hit the panic button意思是突然惊慌失措，另一个常用的表达是widespread panic，表示引发大批人恐慌的事件，比如，“中世纪疾病的蔓延导致欧洲大面积恐慌。”
panic一词来自希腊词汇panikos，根据希腊神话，潘是羊群和牧羊人之神，希腊神话中称潘是半人半羊的神，他生活在森林和田野里，他愤怒的声音令人害怕，所有不幸在他附近的人都会感到恐慌。
根据希腊神话，潘神爱上一位美丽的仙女，仙女长着年轻女孩的外表，居住在山间、森林、草地和水中。潘神希望征服她，但她跑掉了。这位仙女藏在河边，变成一枝芦苇，芦苇是一种长在水里中空的厚草。
风吹过中空的芦苇奏起了一首歌。
潘神不知道哪个芦苇是仙女，他就摘了一把芦苇，把它们并在一起并携带者，听着芦苇响起的歌曲。
今天我们称这种乐器为排箫。
当然，这只是希腊神话，排箫在欧洲、亚洲、非洲和美洲都有着悠久的历史。
就像排箫一样，恐慌也到处可见。
心理健康专家治疗恐慌症患者，美国心理协会定义恐慌症是“一种巨大或极端的恐惧突然涌起，没有任何警示也没有任何明显原因。”
恐慌一词还描述经济或财政危机。
美国最臭名昭著的金融大恐慌是1929年的股市暴跌，股市交易场所华尔街上的人非常恐慌，有的人甚至从办公室窗户跳下来。
恐慌也是一种伟大的文学手段。
杰克·伦敦是创作《海狼》的美国作家，他14岁辍学做了海员。这本书1904年出版，书里描写了惊慌的沉船场面，部分上基于他在太平洋做海员时的经历。
两只船在海里相撞，在船沉入冰冷的海水之时，女乘客们恐慌地尖叫。一名男子发现自己孤单地漂浮在海中，另一种恐慌笼罩了他。
“我独自一人，听不到任何呼叫或喊声，只有海浪的声音，雾气带来古怪的回响。在一群有着共同利益的人群中，恐慌不像一个人时那么可怕，我现在就面临这样的恐慌...我承认自己疯了，我像那个尖叫的妇女那样尖叫，用麻木的双手拍打着海水。”
恐慌在神话和文学中是一种强大的手段，但现实中并非如此，所以，当下次你感到非常害怕并失去理智时，记着保持冷静，不要恐慌。
我是安娜·马特奥。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
