ghosts

正文

Spooky Britain: how ghosts became a national obsession

灵异不列颠：英国人为何痴迷鬼故事

It was the middle of the night in April 2020, and everything was "perfectly quiet", says Mandy Dean. She was in bed, reading, when suddenly it sounded as if a heavy weight had been dropped on the bedside cabinet beside her. "You think: 'Am I actually hearing it?' Maybe I'm getting a bit stir-crazy."

曼迪·迪恩说，那是 2020 年 4 月的一个午夜，一切都“悄然无声”。她正躺在床上读书。突然，一声巨响，好像有什么重物落到了她旁边的床头柜上。“你会想：‘我真的听到了吗？也可能是我在家待太久了，变得有点神经兮兮的。”

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Anecdotally, paranormal experiences proliferated during the pandemic. Prof Christopher French, head of the anomalistic psychology research unit at Goldsmiths, University of London, is not surprised to hear reports of a rise. "There is historical evidence for increased interest in, and reported experiences of, this kind of stuff at times of uncertainty, stress and turmoil."

有趣的是，这样的超自然经历在疫情期间大量涌现。伦敦大学金史密斯学院反常心理学研究部门的负责人克里斯托弗·弗伦奇教授听到这种（超自然经历的）增加，并不惊讶。“有历史证据表明，在未知、紧张和动荡的时期，人们对这种事情的兴趣会增加，报道出来的相关经历也会有所增长。”

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There is certainly a growing fascination with the paranormal. TV shows on this theme are booming in popularity, from reality programmes following ghost hunters at work, to dramas and spooky films. Numerous Facebook groups have sprung up with people posting pictures they have taken, convinced ghostly faces can be seen in blurred images.

确实，人们对超自然现象越来越着迷。关于这一主题的电视节目风头正劲，从跟随捉鬼队工作的真人秀，到电视剧，再到恐怖电影。许多（关于这一主题的） Facebook 群组如雨后春笋般涌现，人们发布自己拍摄的照片，确信在模糊的画面中能看到幽灵的脸。

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"The last few years have been the most stressful that many people can remember," says French. Stress can interfere with sleep and "sleep deprivation can cause a greater propensity to hallucinate", he says.

弗伦奇说：“过去的几年是许多人记忆中压力最大的几年”。压力会干扰睡眠，“而睡眠不足会导致人更容易产生幻觉”。

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Dean doesn't agree her "haunting" is related to any kind of sleep disorder, although she does accept that her sleep has been disturbed. The element of doubt is there, she says, "it can't be explained no matter how many times you try to rationalise it, you have to accept that there's probably something on the other side."

但是，迪恩不认为她的“闹鬼（经历）”与任何睡眠障碍有关，尽管她承认她的睡眠确实有被扰乱。她说，让人怀疑的因素就在那里，“无论你尝试多少次，都无法合理地把这件事情解释清楚，你必须得承认也许就是有什么东西在‘另一边’”。

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主编：Luni、李李亚

品控：Pita、蘑菇

审核：Lucky

重点词汇

spooky

/ˈspuː.ki/

adj. 让人能联想到鬼的，诡异的

相关词汇：spook（n. 鬼，幽灵；v. 吓，吓唬）

搭配短语：a spook house

例句：You really spooked me.

搭配短语：too cute to spook

搭配短语：a spooky story

obsession

/əbˈseʃ.ən/

n. 着魔，痴迷

相关词汇：obsess（v. 让人着迷，过于在意）

例句：She obsesses about her weight.

搭配短语：an unhealthy obsession with being thin

perfectly

/ˈpɝː.fekt.li/

adv. （用于强调所修饰的词）十分地，完全地

例句：I've made it perfectly clear.

stir-crazy

/ˈstɝːˌkreɪ.zi/

adj. （因长期遭禁闭或禁止做某事）而感到焦躁不安

相关词汇：stir（n.（俚语）监狱）

例句：I'm going to go stir-crazy if I don't get out of this place.

anecdotally

/ˌæn.ɪkˈdoʊ.t̬əli/

adv. 趣闻地，传闻地

相关词汇：anecdote（n. 趣闻，轶事）

相关词汇：anecdotal（adj. 趣闻的，传闻的）

paranormal

/ˌper.əˈnɔːr.məl/

adj. 超自然的，神秘的，科学无法解释的

词根词缀：para-（超出，超越）

词义辨析：paranormal，supernatural

这两个词都有“超自然的”意思，但 paranormal 表示这个现象是当前科学无法解释的，说不定以后就可以了，而 supernatural 就是超出人类理解范围的，不光是现在，永远都不能被解释。

proliferate

/prəˈlɪf.ə.reɪt/

v. 激增，扩散

英文释义：increase rapidly or spread quickly

例句：Technology companies have proliferated in the past few years.

anomalistic

/əˌnɒməˈlɪstɪk/

adj. 反常的，异常的

相关词汇：anomaly（n. 反常的人或事物）

例句：A woman pilot was an anomaly.

turmoil

/ˈtɝː.mɔɪl/

n. 混乱，动荡

英文释义：a state of confusion, chaos, or disorder

例句：The whole region is in turmoil.

fascination

/ˌfæs.ənˈeɪ.ʃən/

n. 着迷，迷恋

例句：He had a lifelong fascination with art.

词义辨析：fascination，obsession

这两个词都有“着迷，迷恋”的意思，但 fascination 更偏褒义，obsession 更偏贬义。

spring up

突然出现，如雨后春笋般涌现

相关词汇：spring（v. 突然出现，涌现）

例句：Where did you spring from?

interfere

/ˌɪn.t̬ɚˈfɪr/

v. 妨碍，干扰

英文释义：to try to stop something from happening

例句：It interferes with the planes' navigational systems.

deprivation

/ˌdep.rəˈveɪ.ʃən/

n. 缺乏，匮乏

相关词汇：deprive（v. 夺走，剥夺）

搭配短语：deprive sb. of sth.

搭配短语：to deprive someone of his right

搭配短语：sb. be deprived of sth.

例句：He was deprived of his right.

搭配短语：oxygen deprivation

propensity

/prəˈpen.sə.t̬i/

n. 倾向

搭配短语：a propensity for violence

hallucinate

/həˈluː.sə.neɪt/

v. 产生幻觉

英文释义：to see or hear something that does not exist

例句：Hunger made him hallucinate.

haunt

/hɑːnt/

v. 闹鬼；烦扰，困扰

例句：This experience would haunt him for the rest of his life.

英文释义：of a ghost to appear in a place repeatedly

rationalise

/ˈræʃ.ən.əl.aɪz/

v. 合理地解释……

相关词汇：rational（adj. 合理的，理智的）

搭配短语：a rational act

搭配短语：a rational explanation

相关词汇：rationality（n. 理性）

例句：I can't rationalise my fear of heights.

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