新闻事件的常见表达

 

Hello and welcome to another Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.

Each week we tell the story of words and expressions used in American English.

Today, we talk about two phrases that were ripped from the headlines, meaning they both came into the language from news events that were covered extensively in the press.

The first is Stockholm syndrome¹. Stockholm is, of course, a big city in Sweden. Syndrome is a condition.

Stockholm syndrome is a type of brainwashing, a psychological condition. It describes a situation where a person held captive develops positive feelings toward their captors.

This expression comes from a failed bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden. In August of 1973 bank robbers held four employees captive in the bank for six days.

In time, the captives developed a strong connection with their captors. One captive allegedly said she was afraid the police would try to rescue them and endanger the captors.

You may hear the phrase Stockholm syndrome in news reports where kidnapped people refuse to leave their captors after living in captivity² for a long time. Fearing for their lives, these people have learned how to survive the best way they can. Connecting with their captors is their coping mechanism³.

We also use Stockholm syndrome to describe people who stay in unhealthy and sometimes even abusive relationships.

A famous example of Stockholm syndrome here in the U.S. relates to a wealthy heiress named Patty Hearst. In 1974 a group called the Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped Hearst, the 19-year-old grand-daughter of a wealthy newspaper owner.

Several weeks after her kidnapping, Hearst helped her captors rob a bank in California. Then she ran from authorities. Finally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation⁴ arrested Hearst, and lawyers charged her with armed bank robbery.

Hearst said she was a victim of brainwashing. She claimed she was abused by her captors and afraid for her life. Many professionals said she suffered from Stockholm syndrome. The court, however, did not agree. She was sentenced to 35 years in jail, but she only served two.

With help, people who are brainwashed can unlearn this coping mechanism. However, recovery is much more difficult for those who have drunk the Kool-Aid.

Let’s say someone believes in something with all their heart and soul. That something can be a social cause, a political movement or the person in charge. If they are so wrapped up in the cause, movement or person – to the point where they are unable to think for themselves – we say they have drunk the Kool-Aid.

But what is Kool-Aid and how does drinking it relate to brainwashing?

Kool-Aid is a flavored, sweet drink that was once very popular with American children. However, to drink the Kool-Aid is to accept the beliefs of another person or organization completely.

This expression comes from a very dark, disturbing event that happened in 1978.

An American named Jim Jones was operating a utopian community in Guyana, South America called Jonestown. But according to former members and eyewitnesses⁶, Jonestown was not a utopia. It was a cult⁵ and a prison. Members were not allowed to leave nor were they fed properly. And Jones claimed the role of father figure over everyone.

Former members of the cult who managed to escape asked the U.S. government to get involved. So, U.S. Congressman⁷ Leo Ryan and several journalists went to Guyana to investigate. At the airport as the group was preparing to leave, a cult member shot at the group. On the runway, he killed Ryan, several journalists and a fleeing cult member.

Before the U.S. government could act, Jim Jones asked his followers⁸ to kill themselves by drinking a sweet, flavored beverage⁹. The drink contained poison. More than 900 of his followers drank it -- some willingly, some forced.

The massacre¹⁰ led to the expression “don’t drink the Kool-Aid.”

As an historical note, the beverage that contained the poison was not actually Kool-Aid but another similar brand called Flavor-Aid. This detail, however, does not change the expression. Nor does its terrible origin stop people from using it.

In fact, in 2012 editors at Forbes included “drink the Kool-Aid” in that magazine’s List of Most Annoying Business Jargon¹¹.

Despite the dark origins of both “drink the Kool-aid” and “Stockholm syndrome,” they are both used today in serious and non-serious situations.

Words in This Story

captive -– adj. captured and kept in a prison, cage, etc.

captor – n. someone who has captured a person and is keeping that person as a prisoner

captivity – n. the state of being kept in a place (such as a prison or a cage) and not being able to leave or be free : the state or condition of being captive

coping mechanism – n. Psychology¹² : an adaptation to environmental stress that is based on conscious or unconscious choice and that enhances control over behavior or gives psychological comfort.

heiress – n. a girl or woman who inherits a large amount of money

wrapped up – adj. If someone is wrapped up in a particular person or thing, they spend nearly all their time thinking about them, so that they forget about other things that may be important.

utopian – adj. impossibly ideal : utopia – n. an imaginary place in which the government, laws, and social conditions are perfect

cult – n. a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous

father figure – n. an older man who is respected and admired like a father

massacre – n. the act or an instance of killing¹³ a number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity¹⁴ or cruelty

jargon – n. the language used for a particular activity or by a particular group of people

1 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

2 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

3 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

6 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

7 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

8 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

9 beverage   

n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料

参考例句：

• The beverage is often colored with caramel.这种饮料常用焦糖染色。
• Beer is a beverage of the remotest time.啤酒是一种最古老的饮料。

10 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

11 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

12 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 atrocity   

n.残暴，暴行

参考例句：

• These people are guilty of acts of great atrocity.这些人犯有令人发指的暴行。
• I am shocked by the atrocity of this man's crimes.这个人行凶手段残忍狠毒使我震惊。