VOA慢速英语2015 别慌!

Don't Panic! 别慌!

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 flute².

Of course, this is just the Greek story. Pan flutes³ 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 disorders⁴. 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 infamous⁵ 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.

Jack⁶ London was an American writer who wrote “The Sea Wolf.” He left school at age 14 to become a seaman⁷. 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 weirdly⁸ hollow and reverberant⁹ 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 shrieked¹⁰ aloud as the women had shrieked, and beat the water with my numb¹ 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.

1 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

2 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

3 flutes   

长笛( flute的名词复数 )； 细长香槟杯（形似长笛）

参考例句：

• The melody is then taken up by the flutes. 接着由长笛奏主旋律。
• These flutes have 6open holes and a lovely bright sound. 笛子有6个吹气孔，奏出的声音响亮清脆。

4 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

6 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

7 seaman   

n.海员，水手，水兵

参考例句：

• That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。

8 weirdly   

古怪地

参考例句：

• Another special characteristic of Kweilin is its weirdly-shaped mountain grottoes. 桂林的另一特点是其形态怪异的岩洞。
• The country was weirdly transformed. 地势古怪地变了样。

9 reverberant   

a.起回声的

参考例句：

• 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。
• To strike so as to produce a loud, reverberant noise. 发出打击声敲击使发出砰砰响亮声。

10 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城