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美国国家公共电台 NPR ZOMBIES

时间:2019-11-04 02:22来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

PATRICK SYLVAIN: The fear is to become a zombie.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SYLVAIN: The moment a family member is dead, they will drive a stake into the person's heart or into the person's head so that their children and so forth1 will not be turned into a zombie. And so the people are taking precautions out of their own understanding that perhaps a dead person is not fully2 dead.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SYLVAIN: The zombie is real. Right? That zombie is real.

(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)

ANDERSON COOPER: As you already know, the zombie apocalypse is upon us. The flesh eaters appear to be everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED FOX NEWS HOST: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted a guide called Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: Economic Modeling Specialists International ranked cities on their ability to defend against a zombie attack - stockpiling food, containing zombies, finding a cure. You may think that this is all fun and games, but these guys mean serious business. Their motto is - if you can survive a zombie apocalypse, you can survive anything 'cause you never know what can happen.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: There's going to be a zombie apocalypse. It's just when.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

RUND ABDELFATAH, HOST:

You're listening to THROUGHLINE from NPR...

RAMTIN ARABLOUEI, HOST:

Where we go back in time...

ABDELFATAH: To understand the present.

Hey. I'm Rund Abdelfatah.

ARABLOUEI: I'm Ramtin Arablouei. And on this episode - zombies.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

ABDELFATAH: Zombies are a global phenomenon. They're in the news, as you just heard, and appear in the countless3 number of books, movies, video games and TV shows that make up the zombie genre4.

ARABLOUEI: A genre that's going strong - at least 10 zombie movies have come out in 2019 alone. Some people are so zombie-obsessed that they dress up like zombies and roam the streets - and not just on Halloween. And then there are those people who are prepping for a zombie apocalypse. You heard a description at the top about the Department of Zombie Defense5, which was started by former law enforcement officials to teach survival tactics in case of an apocalyptic6 scenario7, zombie or otherwise.

ABDELFATAH: Our collective fascination8 with zombies started almost a century ago, which made us wonder - who invented the zombie, and why are we still so drawn9 to these flesh-eating monsters? THROUGHLINE producer Laine Kaplan-Levenson tells this story.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SYLVAIN: The music, right, is almost like in a circus. Right?

LAINE KAPLAN-LEVENSON, BYLINE10: (Laughter).

This is what it sounded like when I first got connected to Patrick Sylvain. He was talking to me from an NPR station in Boston.

SYLVAIN: (Laughter) This - that's the WGBH zombie music.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Turns out, we were just crossing wires with their hold music. Still, it was a creepy way to begin our conversation.

SYLVAIN: I'm a lecturer at Brown University, and my work is actually on zombies.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Patrick writes about the origin of the zombie as well as the contemporary obsession11. His fascination goes back to his childhood growing up in Port-au-Prince.

SYLVAIN: There was a farmer. And in order to protect his field - because he used to grow corn - and he would put indigo12 crosses on his corn in the same way that you might have scarecrow, for example. And so he used to tell us that in his field, he has a zombie. And as young boys, we will dare each other - you know, why don't you go into the field? And we will say, no, I do not want to be caught (laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: In Haiti, zombies aren't just scarecrows in the fields, and they're not just scary, flesh-eating monsters that only exist in movies.

SYLVAIN: I grew up in fear of becoming a zombie.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: When Patrick was a kid, that fear hit especially close to home.

SYLVAIN: So I was about 12 or 13. And my sister Mildred (ph), who was a soccer player - football player - and she was a star in Haiti. And one of her teammate give her food in which, a few hours later, she collapsed14, and she was sick. And she was convulsing, and she went into what looks like a coma15.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: A nearby Voodoo priest told Patrick's family not to take her to the hospital.

SYLVAIN: Because that was not a natural seizure16 - that was not a natural collapse13.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Patrick's family believed that one of Mildred's teammates poisoned her out of jealousy17, which put her in a coma - a zombie-like state.

SYLVAIN: We don't know exactly what happened to my sister. Was she really poisoned out of jealousy, or was it her own illness? We don't know. But what I remember vividly18 is the way in which she was rushed out of the house, the way she was carried; she was convulsing. And she was, you know, fine the day before. And the narration19 was that it's because it was jealousy. They wanted to steal her soul.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: The Voodoo priest gave Mildred specific foods and remedies to try and coax20 her out of her coma.

SYLVAIN: She was bathed with so many different leaves. I remember, you know, her head was covered, you know, with certain leaves, which I did not know what they were. After four days of treatment, Mildred returned to consciousness. She did not become a zombie. The system was restored.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Patrick says being poisoned and entering into a zombie-like state...

SYLVAIN: Is a very prevalent fear in Haiti because of - the zombie is real. Right? It's not abstract. It's real.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: To understand how the zombie came to be associated with a death-like state, a body without a soul, we need to go back to the original zombie in Haitian culture. After the break, how the myth of the living dead was born out of being enslaved.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

PEPIN: Hi. This is Pepin (ph) from Gouldsboro, Maine, and you're listening to THROUGHLINE from NPR.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Before Haiti was called Haiti, it was a French colony called Saint-Domingue. And in the 18th century, Saint-Domingue was one of the most profitable colonies in the world.

SYLVAIN: Between 1697 to, let's say, the 1780s, France became a superpower. So the rate of import of slaves was extremely fast within a short period of time, and sugar production surpassed all other production throughout the world.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: The colony produced about 40% of all the sugar and 60% of all the coffee consumed in Europe.

SYLVAIN: So Haiti was called the Pearl of the Antilles because of what Haiti provided - or Saint-Domingue provided the French. So the rate of accumulation of wealth, we can also equate22 that to the rate of death.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Life on the plantation23 was so brutal24 for the enslaved Africans that many didn't live past their teenage years. They were literally25 worked to death. And that backbreaking, endless labor26 they faced day in and day out hardly felt like living.

SYLVAIN: It was a place where the slaves were broken - right? - to make docile28 and servile. This person becomes, in a sense, a machine of production. And so a slave who is broken becomes an automaton29. From dawn until sunset, all I'm going to do is work and work and work and work. And therefore, the loss of the will, symbolically30 speaking, this person becomes a zombie.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: The word zombie seems to trace back to numerous Central and West African languages.

SYLVAIN: We could think of the word mvumbi (ph), which is a cataleptic individual. You have nsumbi (ph), which means devil. You have zumbi (ph), which is kind of fetish and Nzambi is also a deity31 - a deity of death.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Some languages interpret the word as corpse32. And in others, like the Congo language, zombie directly translates to the spirit of a dead person. Many of these original interpretations33 allude34 to a soul that's been dispossessed of its own body but somehow remains35 trapped within it.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: By the 18th century, Africans had been forced into slavery all over the Caribbean, including and especially Saint-Domingue. Between 1783 and 1791, enslaved Africans in Saint-Domingue made up a third of the entire Atlantic slave trade.

SYLVAIN: The slave is the perfect zombie.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: In a way, their word for the living dead became the same word for being enslaved.

SYLVAIN: The loss of will, the loss of home, cannot speak, has no say - it is a person what was made to be dead-like but used still within the plantation system to become a slave.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: This is one type of Haitian zombie - the broken slave, someone whose soul has been stripped from them due to the unfathomable cruelty of the colonial slave economy. But there is another type of zombie in Haiti that gets at the belief in a returned soul - the revolutionary slave.

SYLVAIN: These are people who refuse to submit themselves to the harshness of slavery, and they resisted by various means. And one of the means was really to poison their masters.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: These individual acts of resistance against the French planters eventually grew into one of the largest and most successful slave rebellions in the history of the Americas - the Haitian Revolution.

SYLVAIN: You had this active resistance in which the colonialists, the French, were being killed.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: The zombie is this unbelievably fearful thing on both ends - right? - because if you're an enslaved person, the zombie is your biggest fear because you don't want that to be your fate. And then on the other end, if you're the planter, the zombie is your biggest fear because that's the revolutionary.

SYLVAIN: Exactly.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: The Haitian Revolution began in 1791 and raged on for 13 years. It's during the middle of this war that the word zombie was written about, perhaps for the first time, by a French writer named Moreau de Saint-Mery. And he refers to zombie as the slave's belief in a returned soul, and that's published in 1797.

This is Elizabeth McAlister.

ELIZABETH MCALISTER: And I'm a professor of religion and African American studies at Wesleyan University.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: In 1884, seven years after that documented reference, the Haitian people ultimately defeated their colonizers. They trashed the colonial name Saint-Domingue and called their newly freed nation Haiti, which means land of high mountains in the island's indigenous36 language. Haiti is the first independent country to be founded by former slaves.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: The Haitian Revolution ended French colonial rule. But...

MCALISTER: The idea of slavery is still very much alive.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: In an effort to boost the economy, Haitian President Jean-Pierre Boyer passed the Rural Code, which denied farmers the right to leave their own land and enforced production quotas37. And then, in the 1820s, France demanded reparations for their losses due to the revolution. France refused to recognize Haiti's independence until it paid them 150 million francs, the modern equivalent of $21 billion.

SYLVAIN: It's injustice38.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Just 20 years after their independence, Haitians were still, in effect, endlessly working the plantations39 for the French.

MCALISTER: And I think that the figure of the zombie is a reminder40 that slavery happened to people, that they freed themselves from it, that it still happens in a kind of an afterlife and in echoes in social practices.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Haiti had to hand over its profits to France, not only because there were military ships waiting to attack if they didn't but it was the only way they'd be allowed to participate in global trade. This made it impossible to create a stable economy. And by the early 20th century, Haiti was still in a state of social and political turmoil41.

SYLVAIN: The U.S. claimed they wanted to stabilize42 Haiti. Of course we've heard this term before. Right?

MCALISTER: It's the same old story. You know? It turns out that it's really about political economy. It's really about Americans gaining interest in business opportunities in Haiti.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: At the time, other Western countries had influence in Haiti. Germany, for instance, dominated trade on the island.

SYLVAIN: And with World War I, the U.S. claimed that the Germans in Haiti were agents of Germany, that they were using Haiti as an excuse to invade the United States.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: And so in 1915, President Woodrow Wilson ordered the U.S. Marines to invade Haiti.

MCALISTER: The Marines occupy Haiti between 1915 and 1934.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: They instituted a formal system of unpaid43 labor, which forced Haitians to build new roads. This imposed yet another form of slavery and zombification.

MCALISTER: And along with this occupation comes a kind of a vanguard of journalists and travel writers.

SYLVAIN: And they had never encountered autonomous44, independent black men who resisted white rule. And so how do you then demonize these people who resisted? Call them cannibal. Then the black man, the black body becomes a consumer of flesh.

MCALISTER: And there's this one guy named William Seabrook.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: William Seabrook was a World War I vet-turned-New York Times reporter and was notorious for his excessive drinking, womanizing and sensationalist travel writing. He had a desire for what he perceived as the occult and developed a particular interest in Haitian Voodoo.

MCALISTER: Seabrook finds his way to somebody who tells him about the phenomenon in Haiti where someone is punished by having their soul extracted and by being made to work in the cane45 fields. And he writes a whole chapter about this dead man working in the cane fields, and he describes a dead body which is made to walk and act and move as if it were alive.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Seabrook said that's how all this was described to him by Haitians he met. He said he himself didn't believe in zombies. Nonetheless, he wrote about it with high drama.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2, BYLINE: (Reading) The zombie, they say, is a soulless human corpse, still dead but taken from the grave and endowed by sorcery with a mechanical semblance46 of life. People who have the power to do this go to a fresh grave, dig up the body before it has had time to rot, galvanize it into movement and then make of it a servant or slave, occasionally for the commission of some crime, more often simply as a drudge47 around the habitation or the farm, setting it dull, heavy tasks and beating it like a dumb beast if it slackens.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Seabrook also wrote embellished48 descriptions of religious ceremonies.

SYLVAIN: And so you have this kind of trope. Haitians become nothing else but an orgy-driven people, death-driven people. That's all they do is play the drum and, you know, have orgies, suck each other's blood. And they kill each other, turning each other into zombies. Oh, my God. This is so juicy. But yet - oh, my God - these people are so uncivilized; these people are barbaric.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: In 1929, Seabrook published "The Magic Island."

SYLVAIN: It became a best-seller.

MCALISTER: And it's widely read in the United States.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Giving Americans a new nightmare - the living dead.

SYLVAIN: So it wasn't until after the U.S. occupation in which the zombie is made into this walking monster. Having this kind of portrayal49, the U.S. occupation is then given proper rationality - OK? - that we deserve to be there because we are saving these black people from their own savagery50 and we are civilizing51 them.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: So the production of that narrative52 is defending...

SYLVAIN: Is defending.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: ...U.S. actions.

SYLVAIN: Exactly. Exactly.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: The U.S. occupation of Haiti brought the zombie onto American soil. When we come back, zombies go to Hollywood.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

CAROLINE KILBOURNE: I'm Caroline Kilbourne (ph) in North Bethesda, Md., and you're listening to THROUGHLINE from NPR.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: By the early 1930s, Hollywood was in its golden age. Movie studios were king, and so was horror. Some of the most iconic monsters were terrifying audiences on the big screen. You had "Frankenstein"...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FRANKENSTEIN")

COLIN CLIVE: (As Henry Frankenstein) It's alive. It's alive. It's alive. It's alive.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: ..."Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde"...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE")

FREDRIC MARCH: (As Mr. Hyde) If you could see me now, what do you think? (Laughter).

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: ...And...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DRACULA")

BELA LUGOSI: (As Dracula) I am Dracula.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Then, just one year after these three blockbusters, Bela Lugosi - Dracula himself - stars in "White Zombie."

(SOUNDBITE OF "WHITE ZOMBIE" TRAILER)

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR #1: From Haiti, land of the Voodoo, comes the most infamous53 cult21 of all, the sinister54 power behind the "White Zombie."

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SYLVAIN: You have a white couple. Again, you know, you cannot have a honeymoon55 without going to paradise. Right? (Laughter). You have to go to a place that is exotic. Right? So you have this, you know, white couple going to Haiti. And the first thing they encounter upon their arrival is a group of males walking away from a plantation without any kind of life force - walking as if they are, like, robots.

(SOUNDBITE OF "WHITE ZOMBIE" TRAILER)

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR #1: This soul-killer56 takes men from their graves to be his slaves.

SYLVAIN: The innocent white couple have never seen anything like that. And the coachman had to tell them, you know, be careful; these are zombies. And the moment they heard this word, they're like, well, zombies - what?

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WHITE ZOMBIE")

JOHN HARRON: (As Neil Parker) Zombies?

LUGOSI: (As Murder Legendre) Yes. They are my servants.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: A wealthy plantation owner falls in love with the woman, Madeline, and wants her for himself. He turns to a Voodoo priest named Murder - seriously - who tells him that to get Madeline, she has to be turned into a zombie. So they poison her, bring her back to life, and chaos57 ensues. But naturally, all ends well for the white couple. The evil Voodoo priest is killed, Madeline's zombie spell is broken, and she and her husband live happily ever after.

SYLVAIN: That became the sensation in Hollywood in the 1930s.

KILBOURNE: And this becomes a genre of American films made out of Hollywood that are set in the Caribbean and that speak to Americans' fears of racialized others rising up in protest. And the whole space - the Caribbean space in which these are shot is sort of this primitive58, creepy, superstitious59, borderline diabolical60 space.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: "White Zombie" inspired many more of these exploitative horror films. "Maniac62" came out in 1934. "Revolt Of The Zombies," a type of loose sequel to "White Zombie," came out in 1936. "King Of The Zombies" came out in 1941.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "KING OF THE ZOMBIES")

MANTAN MORELAND: (As Jeff) (Unintelligible) Big black ones with frozen faces - with eyes that look at you and they don't see nothing.

JOHN ARCHER63: (As Bill) What's he talking about?

MORELAND: (As Jeff) Oh, zombies. Mr. Bill, let's get out of here. Why, this place is a walking cemetery64.

ARCHER: (As Bill) Wait a minute.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: And "I Walked With A Zombie" came out in 1943.

(SOUNDBITE OF "I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE" TRAILER)

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR #2: And out of their West Indian island comes a tale of terror and Voodoo, of witchcraft65 and zombies and all the weird66 black magic that the white man seldom sees.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters, singing in foreign language).

MCALISTER: These early Hollywood representations of zombies really are a great example of what the late and great Toni Morrison called American Africanism, which was her word to talk about, like, the ways that African peoples have come to signify and be misread by Eurocentric and American intellectuals. So it's, like, white Americans' projections67 onto black people.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: This first iteration of the American zombie narrative goes strong for a solid decade. And then, after World War II, as the U.S. entered into the Cold War era, the zombie trope slowly starts to morph away from the Caribbean, away from the backwards68 Voodoo practitioner69 and straight for the mad scientist.

MCALISTER: From the 1940s to the 1960s, Hollywood produced a slew70 of what got called trash films. And they featured mutated or hybrid71 monsters. And in these trash films, a lot of them were mutants because they had been subject to radioactivity.

SYLVAIN: Then the zombie becomes a ghoul - right? - that is, this person who was dead, with flesh kind of dripping and worms coming out the eye socket72 and so forth. That became the desirable theme.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: This is the zombie era of experiments gone wrong. You've got sci-fi films like "Teenage Zombies"...

(SOUNDBITE OF "TEENAGE ZOMBIES" TRAILER)

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR #3: Never before has man been transformed into such hideous73 proportions. Never have teenage girls been subjected to the terrifying ordeal74 in the fantastic room of torture.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: ...And "The Last Man On Earth," which is based on the novel "I Am Legend."

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: And then, out of nowhere, a newbie filmmaker came onto the scene and changed everything. George Romero was a few years out of college when he and some buddies75 wrote and directed their first feature length film.

(SOUNDBITE OF "NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD" TRAILER)

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR #4: "Night Of The Living Dead" - the dead who live on living flesh.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KELLY BAKER76: So his first movie, which set the tone for how we understand zombies now, was "Night Of The Living Dead" in 1968.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: This is Kelly Baker.

BAKER: I have a Ph.D. in religious studies, and I've written a short book on zombies and zombie apocalypses in American culture.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: "Night Of The Living Dead" took a new approach to the zombie narrative.

MCALISTER: There's a zombie outbreak. There's some contagious77 disease. And a little band of survivors78 who don't know each other hole up in a farmhouse79 in the middle of rural America. It's really brilliantly shot in this one little space that's one little farmhouse. And it's so creepy because it's this bucolic80, you know, farmhouse. And there's a cemetery nearby, and it's just Americana. And yet, the world of America is in the process of total collapse.

BAKER: And later what we find out in this is that space radiation is causing corpses81 to rise. And then they target humans.

MCALISTER: They all are freaking out, and there's zombies coming at them. And you see, you know, this - the drama of a band of survivors trying to figure out - who's the leader? What do we do? Whom do we follow?

And so the hero of that film is the black American student named Ben. Clearly, Ben has the best plan and is most capable. And yet, the white guy doesn't want to take orders from Ben.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: And most of the zombies are white.

BAKER: Which is again, you know, different from some of those earlier incarnations. It is very much this kind of inversion82 of that - right? - so that we move from Haitian zombies, black bodies who are zombies into a lead character who is human and complicated and contradictory83 and is trying to survive the zombies.

(SOUNDBITE OF SCREAM)

BAKER: It pretty much is - when society falls apart, what happens? And Romero's answer is humans are terrible. (Laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BAKER: It's a film that you can't watch without thinking about black-and-white race relations. It's unavoidable because of the way that Ben comes into conflict with other white characters, because of the way the film ends. And I want to ruin it for people that haven't seen it, but it does not go well for Ben. So it is a very different take and, I would argue, a very kind of radical84 political take.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: The funny thing is the word zombie is actually never uttered in Romero's first movie - not once.

BAKER: He calls them things instead of zombies.

MCALISTER: You know, the public decided85 that this is what these figures were. And so the public called them zombies, and the name stuck.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Ten years after his first film, Romero returned to his zombie apocalypse roots with "Dawn Of The Dead."

BAKER: I might even argue that "Dawn Of The Dead" might be his best one. I think there are people who would fight me about that. But you know, this is a great film, too. Right? It actually starts with a racist86 cop just shooting black and brown people.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DAWN OF THE DEAD")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Look out (ph).

(SOUNDBITE OF AMMUNITION87 FIRING, CRASHES)

BAKER: So we're picking up those themes from the earlier movie about race. But also, it's a movie that becomes about consumerism.

MCALISTER: The survivors have to shelter in a shopping mall, and so Romero is really critiquing the hyper consumption that America is beginning to put itself into and the banality88 of consumption, the banality of the mall.

BAKER: Maybe the mall is a problem and capitalism89 is a problem.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DAWN OF THE DEAD")

GAYLEN ROSS: (As Fran) They're still here.

DAVID EMGE: (As Steve) They're after us. They know we're still in here.

KEN27 FOREE: (As Peter) They're after the place. They don't know why. They just remember - remember that they want to be in here.

ROSS: (As Fran) What the hell are they?

FOREE: (As Peter) They're us. That's all.

MCALISTER: One of the survivors, whose name is Peter, you know, he says something like...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DAWN OF THE DEAD")

FOREE: (As Peter) When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.

MCALISTER: So the idea is that the zombies are inhabitants of hell, which is somehow backed up and overflowed90 into the malls (laughter).

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Peter says this as he and his fellow survivors are watching the zombies pressed up against the locked sliding doors outside of the mall, trying to claw their way in.

BAKER: I do love - right? - that you just have zombies kind of wandering around at the mall in the ways that I'm sure that lots of us spend some time just kind of aimlessly wandering around the mall - right? - that all of us capitalism is around us. And that - we might not even be engaging or something, but there's something about that space that draws us in - that these zombies come back to the places that comfort them. And the place that comforts them, of course, is the place they would shop.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Romero continues to poke91 holes in the status quo with his third film in the series, "Day Of The Dead."

MCALISTER: It's set in this underground military bunker and so Romero is critiquing the over militarization of the country. And he's critiquing kind of military blind following of orders and military becoming out of control and out of civilian92 hands. Romero's brilliant because he's an anti-establishment filmmaker. Right? And so these films are all parables93 about the corruption94 in America, about consumerism, about racism95 - which then become cult classics.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: When we come back, how a cult series turned into a nationwide obsession and what that means about us.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

HENRY: Hi. My name's Henry (ph), and I like zombies because I just like all scary things. And I like them even more after I watched "Thriller96."

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: "Thriller." Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MICHAEL JACKSON SONG, "THRILLER")

VINCENT PRICE: The foulest97 stenches in the air, the funk of 40,000 years...

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: You can't talk about zombies in the '80s without talking about Michael Jackson's "Thriller." In the music video, Jackson and his date walk through the dark streets as bodies rise from graves and tombs - until Jackson leads the undead in one of the most groundbreaking and iconic dance numbers of all time.

(SOUNDBITE OF MICHAEL JACKSON SONG, "THRILLER")

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Around the same time, Dunkin' Donuts came out with what might be its most iconic commercial.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MICHAEL VALE: (As Fred the Baker) Time to make the doughnuts - the doughnuts.

SYLVAIN: Time to make the doughnuts (laughter). Right?

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Patrick Sylvain loves this commercial.

SYLVAIN: The baker automatically gets up, sort of arms raised. And the first thing that he says is, time to make the doughnuts.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

VALE: (As Fred the Baker) Time to make the doughnuts. Time to make the doughnuts.

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR #5: Great doughnut-makers aren't born; they're made.

VALE: (As Fred the Baker) I made the doughnuts.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: By the way, there are more than five variations of this commercial made over the course of the '80s, so Patrick is not alone in his love for the doughnut zombie.

But once we hit the '90s, all things zombie took a plunge98.

BAKER: Part of why we don't have zombies quite in that time period is that there are other monsters that are more popular. Right? Like, there are other concerns here that folks have.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Mainly, serial99 killers100.

BAKER: Like, I feel like all the films are about some kind of serial killer. Right?

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: So then what brings zombies back in vogue101 and when?

BAKER: After 2001 until, like, 2012, there are over 200 zombie films made. So there's something that happens in 2001 - right? - that really motivates this - Sept. 11.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BAKER: That very much captured the American psyche102 in that moment. Terrorism is something that can happen on the ground where you are. It's not something that happens really far away. There is this deep concern about what other people might do to us. Right?

So when you look at zombies and this threat that they pose, you can't reason with them. Right? You can't reason with a zombie and convince them not to attack you. You can't predict what they're going to do. You can't prevent it. That really works with the lingering nervousness over something like terrorism.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: And with that, the zombie trope took another turn.

BAKER: After 2001, it's definitely a shift to where the concern is we're frightened of other people.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BAKER: There is an axis103 of evil out there that wants to do us harm. And so it's very much that the threat comes from outside, not from within.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: And it was during this time that the president of the United States told us to go to the mall.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH: We cannot let the terrorists achieve the objective of frightening our nation to the point where we don't - where we don't conduct business, where people don't shop. That's - that's their intention.

SYLVAIN: Go shopping (laughter) - right? - you know, because they did not want what happened in 9/11 to disrupt the economy. Right? Then go shopping, you know? It's not like, well, go and read books (laughter) - you know, go visit your neighbors - but it's go shopping.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: 9/11 set off a whole new level of zombie mania61. This craze got so big that there was room for zombie parodies104, with movies like "Shaun Of The Dead" and, I kid you not, "Poultrygeist: Night Of The Chicken Dead."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "'POULTRYGEIST'")

CALIMARI SAFARI105: (Singing) 'Cause this is Poultrygeist, where the blood keeps spilling. This is Poultrygeist, where there's lots of killing106. You'll be eaten alive by zombie chickens tonight.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: It's also a time when people started prepping for a zombie apocalypse. So why, almost a hundred years after the first zombie movie, are we all still so hungry for these flesh-eating monsters?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: I love zombies 'cause I just love how it brings out people - like, people in this really basic primitive form where you see people end up becoming just as evil as the monsters around them and...

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Just last week, we asked THROUGHLINE listeners why you love zombies so much, and you delivered.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: It's all about how human nature comes forth in an environment where social rules collapse and pandemics, which humans have an innate107 fear of. We're terrified of sicknesses.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: It's a character style that doesn't seem to be going away any time soon, and I think that's because it's so malleable108. You can kind of make it into a lot of different things.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: The invincibility109 of zombies seems to be that they can take on any desired meaning. They can shapeshift into almost anything we want them to.

BAKER: So it can be about consumerism with this all-consuming monster. It can be about bioterrorism and corporations who are negligent110. It can be about epidemics111 and how they can ravage112 us in some sort of way.

MCALISTER: But the zombie also is, you know, the hordes113 of brown people at the border. The zombie is a cipher114. The zombie, by definition, has no consciousness. The zombie is this empty category into which you can load meaning.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Elizabeth says there's one consistent theme that keeps zombies relevant. It's always there, looming115 in the background or sometimes right up in your face and speaks to one of our most fundamental fears.

MCALISTER: Which is that we are all going to die and that everyone who's ever lived dies. So the zombie figure forces the living to face the condition of death, and - which is what religion is there to help humanity do, but the United States is becoming more and more secular116. This is a kind of a secular way to contend with, think about, imagine, dress up like and confront the human condition of dying.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Something that may be on our minds more than usual these days.

MCALISTER: Certainly now more than ever, humans are facing the realities of climate change and of the degradation117 of the ecosystem118, and the idea of apocalypse is on the minds of humanity.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: At the same time, because zombies are now everywhere, they've kind of casually119 integrated themselves into our everyday existence. People have zombie-themed weddings, go on zombie-themed cruises. The CDC has a gag zombie preparedness page on its Web site. And then, of course, there are the people who are just living their best zombie lives.

MCALISTER: One time, I was walking down the street in Manhattan, and I saw this woman dressed up as a zombie bride, and, of course, being me, I decided I would follow her. And she went into Macy's, and she was walking around Macy's. And, like, she's this beautiful young woman all dressed up in a real wedding gown, and she's made herself up like a bride except that there's blood everywhere.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: And you were just like, hi. I happen to be a zombie scholar.

MCALISTER: Exactly.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Can we talk?

MCALISTER: Hi. I'm a zombie scholar. Can I follow you wherever you're going? She's like, sure. I'm going to Macy's. Come along.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Everyone that I interviewed for this story is clearly fascinated with zombies, but to be honest, they're also a little fatigued120 by the oversaturation and disheartened by a lack of substance - something Kelly says zombies have gradually been losing post-Romero.

BAKER: George Romero has radical political commentary. It's very much about Americans. It's very much about the racial state in America. It's about the consumerist state. It's about thinking about what we're doing, the systems that we're inhabiting, how they're oppressive. When zombies are everywhere, maybe they've lost some of their radical power. Where they might have been subversive121, now they're just mainstream122. I mean, if Disney can have a movie about zombies in which a zombie and a cheerleader who is human fall in love...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOMEDAY")

MILO MANHEIM: (Singing) I know it might be crazy, but did you hear the story?

MEG DONNELLY: (Singing) I think I heard it vaguely123.

MANHEIM: (Singing) A girl and a zombie...

BAKER: I really feel like we've reached a point where the radical commentary is gone (laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOMEDAY")

MANHEIM AND DONNELLY: (Singing) Oh, what could go so wrong with a girl and a zombie?

MANHEIM: (Singing) You're from the perfect paradise.

KAPLAN-LEVENSON: Patrick worries that Haiti and the original meaning of the zombie is getting lost in all of this. The American zombie, that brain-eating ghoul, has been exported all over the world. But he wonders how many people know that this horror figure is rooted in his country's history.

SYLVAIN: Once we've had this globalized figure of the zombie, then the question becomes, who owns it? Does it really belong to Haiti? No. The zombie, again, is a wonderful trope, but we must not forget where it came from, its essence. To lose the genesis of the zombie within trans-Atlantic slavery, that would be a problem.

(SOUNDBITE OF DROP ELECTRIC'S "SANTO DOMINGO")

ABDELFATAH: That's it for this week's show. I'm Rund Abdelfatah.

ARABLOUEI: I'm Ramtin Arablouei, and you've been listening to THROUGHLINE from NPR.

ABDELFATAH: This episode was produced by me.

ARABLOUEI: And me and...

ABDELFATAH: Laine Kaplan-Levenson.

ARABLOUEI: Jamie York.

ABDELFATAH: Lu Olkowski.

ARABLOUEI: Lawrence Wu.

ABDELFATAH: Jordana Hochman.

ARABLOUEI: And Njeri Eaton.

ABDELFATAH: Fact-checking for this episode was done by Kevin Volkl.

ARABLOUEI: Thanks also to Anya Grundmann.

ABDELFATAH: And we want to give a special shout out Ramtin's bandmates in Drop Electric.

ANYA MIZANI: Anya Mizani.

NAVID MARVI: Navid Marvi.

ABDELFATAH: Thank you for the amazing music you help make every week.

ARABLOUEI: If you liked something you heard or you have an idea for an episode, please write us at [email protected] or hit us up on Twitter @ThroughlineNPR.

ABDELFATAH: Thanks for listening.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
2 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
3 countless 7vqz9L     
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的
参考例句:
  • In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
  • I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。
4 genre ygPxi     
n.(文学、艺术等的)类型,体裁,风格
参考例句:
  • My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
  • Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看, 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。
5 defense AxbxB     
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
参考例句:
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
6 apocalyptic dVJzK     
adj.预示灾祸的,启示的
参考例句:
  • The air is chill and stagnant,the language apocalyptic.空气寒冷而污浊,语言则是《启示录》式的。
  • Parts of the ocean there look just absolutely apocalyptic.海洋的很多区域看上去完全像是世界末日。
7 scenario lZoxm     
n.剧本,脚本;概要
参考例句:
  • But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
  • This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。
8 fascination FlHxO     
n.令人着迷的事物,魅力,迷恋
参考例句:
  • He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
  • His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。
9 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
10 byline sSXyQ     
n.署名;v.署名
参考例句:
  • His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
  • We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。
11 obsession eIdxt     
n.困扰,无法摆脱的思想(或情感)
参考例句:
  • I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
  • She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。
12 indigo 78FxQ     
n.靛青,靛蓝
参考例句:
  • The sky was indigo blue,and a great many stars were shining.天空一片深蓝,闪烁着点点繁星。
  • He slipped into an indigo tank.他滑落到蓝靛桶中。
13 collapse aWvyE     
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷
参考例句:
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
14 collapsed cwWzSG     
adj.倒塌的
参考例句:
  • Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
  • The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
15 coma vqxzR     
n.昏迷,昏迷状态
参考例句:
  • The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
  • She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。
16 seizure FsSyO     
n.没收;占有;抵押
参考例句:
  • The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
  • The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。
17 jealousy WaRz6     
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌
参考例句:
  • Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
  • I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。
18 vividly tebzrE     
adv.清楚地,鲜明地,生动地
参考例句:
  • The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
  • The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。
19 narration tFvxS     
n.讲述,叙述;故事;记叙体
参考例句:
  • The richness of his novel comes from his narration of it.他小说的丰富多采得益于他的叙述。
  • Narration should become a basic approach to preschool education.叙事应是幼儿教育的基本途径。
20 coax Fqmz5     
v.哄诱,劝诱,用诱哄得到,诱取
参考例句:
  • I had to coax the information out of him.我得用好话套出他掌握的情况。
  • He tried to coax the secret from me.他试图哄骗我说出秘方。
21 cult 3nPzm     
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。
22 equate NolxH     
v.同等看待,使相等
参考例句:
  • You can't equate passing examination and being intelligent.你不能把考试及格看成是聪明。
  • You cannot equate his poems with his plays.你不可以把他的诗歌和他的剧本相提并论。
23 plantation oOWxz     
n.种植园,大农场
参考例句:
  • His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
  • The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。
24 brutal bSFyb     
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的
参考例句:
  • She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
  • They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼,骨子里却是野蛮残忍。
25 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
参考例句:
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
26 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
27 ken k3WxV     
n.视野,知识领域
参考例句:
  • Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
  • Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.
28 docile s8lyp     
adj.驯服的,易控制的,容易教的
参考例句:
  • Circus monkeys are trained to be very docile and obedient.马戏团的猴子训练得服服贴贴的。
  • He is a docile and well-behaved child.他是个温顺且彬彬有礼的孩子。
29 automaton CPayw     
n.自动机器,机器人
参考例句:
  • This is a fully functional automaton.这是一个有全自动功能的机器人。
  • I get sick of being thought of as a political automaton.我讨厌被看作政治机器。
30 symbolically LrFwT     
ad.象征地,象征性地
参考例句:
  • By wearing the ring on the third finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. 将婚戒戴在左手的第三只手指上,意味着夫妻双方象征性地宣告他们的爱情天长地久,他们定能白头偕老。
  • Symbolically, he coughed to clear his throat. 周经理象征地咳一声无谓的嗽,清清嗓子。
31 deity UmRzp     
n.神,神性;被奉若神明的人(或物)
参考例句:
  • Many animals were seen as the manifestation of a deity.许多动物被看作神的化身。
  • The deity was hidden in the deepest recesses of the temple.神藏在庙宇壁龛的最深处。
32 corpse JYiz4     
n.尸体,死尸
参考例句:
  • What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
  • The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。
33 interpretations a61815f6fe8955c9d235d4082e30896b     
n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 );表演;演绎;理解
参考例句:
  • This passage is open to a variety of interpretations. 这篇文章可以有各种不同的解释。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The involved and abstruse passage makes several interpretations possible. 这段艰涩的文字可以作出好几种解释。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
34 allude vfdyW     
v.提及,暗指
参考例句:
  • Many passages in Scripture allude to this concept.圣经中有许多经文间接地提到这样的概念。
  • She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles.她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。
35 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
36 indigenous YbBzt     
adj.土产的,土生土长的,本地的
参考例句:
  • Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
  • Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。
37 quotas 56efa1d6a3d7b4abe55e080dda812715     
(正式限定的)定量( quota的名词复数 ); 定额; 指标; 摊派
参考例句:
  • In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
  • Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。
38 injustice O45yL     
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利
参考例句:
  • They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
  • All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。
39 plantations ee6ea2c72cc24bed200cd75cf6fbf861     
n.种植园,大农场( plantation的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园,使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
  • Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后,那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句
40 reminder WkzzTb     
n.提醒物,纪念品;暗示,提示
参考例句:
  • I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
  • It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知,她才付应该交的房租。
41 turmoil CKJzj     
n.骚乱,混乱,动乱
参考例句:
  • His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
  • The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。
42 stabilize PvuwZ     
vt.(使)稳定,使稳固,使稳定平衡;vi.稳定
参考例句:
  • They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
  • His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。
43 unpaid fjEwu     
adj.未付款的,无报酬的
参考例句:
  • Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
  • He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。
44 autonomous DPyyv     
adj.自治的;独立的
参考例句:
  • They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
  • This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。
45 cane RsNzT     
n.手杖,细长的茎,藤条;v.以杖击,以藤编制的
参考例句:
  • This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
  • English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。
46 semblance Szcwt     
n.外貌,外表
参考例句:
  • Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
  • Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。
47 drudge rk8z2     
n.劳碌的人;v.做苦工,操劳
参考例句:
  • I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作!
  • I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷,倒运,走投无路的苦力,只会拖累你。
48 embellished b284f4aedffe7939154f339dba2d2073     
v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 );装饰;修饰;润色
参考例句:
  • The door of the old church was embellished with decorations. 老教堂的门是用雕饰美化的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The stern was embellished with carvings in red and blue. 船尾饰有红色和蓝色的雕刻图案。 来自辞典例句
49 portrayal IPlxy     
n.饰演;描画
参考例句:
  • His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
  • The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。
50 savagery pCozS     
n.野性
参考例句:
  • The police were shocked by the savagery of the attacks.警察对这些惨无人道的袭击感到震惊。
  • They threw away their advantage by their savagery to the black population.他们因为野蛮对待黑人居民而丧失了自己的有利地位。
51 civilizing a08daa8c350d162874b215fbe6fe5f68     
v.使文明,使开化( civilize的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The girls in a class tend to have a civilizing influence on the boys. 班上的女生往往能让男生文雅起来。
  • It exerts a civilizing influence on mankind. 这产生了教化人类的影响。 来自辞典例句
52 narrative CFmxS     
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的
参考例句:
  • He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
  • Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。
53 infamous K7ax3     
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。
54 sinister 6ETz6     
adj.不吉利的,凶恶的,左边的
参考例句:
  • There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
  • Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值,而且包藏祸心。
55 honeymoon ucnxc     
n.蜜月(假期);vi.度蜜月
参考例句:
  • While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
  • The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。
56 killer rpLziK     
n.杀人者,杀人犯,杀手,屠杀者
参考例句:
  • Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
  • The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。
57 chaos 7bZyz     
n.混乱,无秩序
参考例句:
  • After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后,城市一片混乱。
  • The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。
58 primitive vSwz0     
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物
参考例句:
  • It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
  • His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。
59 superstitious BHEzf     
adj.迷信的
参考例句:
  • They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
  • These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。
60 diabolical iPCzt     
adj.恶魔似的,凶暴的
参考例句:
  • This maneuver of his is a diabolical conspiracy.他这一手是一个居心叵测的大阴谋。
  • One speaker today called the plan diabolical and sinister.今天一名发言人称该计划阴险恶毒。
61 mania 9BWxu     
n.疯狂;躁狂症,狂热,癖好
参考例句:
  • Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
  • Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。
62 maniac QBexu     
n.精神癫狂的人;疯子
参考例句:
  • Be careful!That man is driving like a maniac!注意!那个人开车像个疯子一样!
  • You were acting like a maniac,and you threatened her with a bomb!你像一个疯子,你用炸弹恐吓她!
63 archer KVxzP     
n.射手,弓箭手
参考例句:
  • The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
  • The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。
64 cemetery ur9z7     
n.坟墓,墓地,坟场
参考例句:
  • He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
  • His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。
65 witchcraft pe7zD7     
n.魔法,巫术
参考例句:
  • The woman practising witchcraft claimed that she could conjure up the spirits of the dead.那个女巫说她能用魔法召唤亡灵。
  • All these things that you call witchcraft are capable of a natural explanation.被你们统统叫做巫术的那些东西都可以得到合情合理的解释。
66 weird bghw8     
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的
参考例句:
  • From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来,他好像有点怪。
  • His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。
67 projections 7275a1e8ba6325ecfc03ebb61a4b9192     
预测( projection的名词复数 ); 投影; 投掷; 突起物
参考例句:
  • Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
  • The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。
68 backwards BP9ya     
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地
参考例句:
  • He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
  • All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。
69 practitioner 11Rzh     
n.实践者,从事者;(医生或律师等)开业者
参考例句:
  • He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
  • She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。
70 slew 8TMz0     
v.(使)旋转;n.大量,许多
参考例句:
  • He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧,抵住了。
  • They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。
71 hybrid pcBzu     
n.(动,植)杂种,混合物
参考例句:
  • That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
  • The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。
72 socket jw9wm     
n.窝,穴,孔,插座,插口
参考例句:
  • He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
  • The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。
73 hideous 65KyC     
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的
参考例句:
  • The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
  • They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗,是丑陋的畜牲。
74 ordeal B4Pzs     
n.苦难经历,(尤指对品格、耐力的)严峻考验
参考例句:
  • She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
  • Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。
75 buddies ea4cd9ed8ce2973de7d893f64efe0596     
n.密友( buddy的名词复数 );同伴;弟兄;(用于称呼男子,常带怒气)家伙v.(如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般)交往( buddy的第三人称单数 );做朋友;亲近(…);伴护艾滋病人
参考例句:
  • We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
  • The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
76 baker wyTz62     
n.面包师
参考例句:
  • The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
  • The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。
77 contagious TZ0yl     
adj.传染性的,有感染力的
参考例句:
  • It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
  • He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。
78 survivors 02ddbdca4c6dba0b46d9d823ed2b4b62     
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
  • survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者
79 farmhouse kt1zIk     
n.农场住宅(尤指主要住房)
参考例句:
  • We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
  • We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。
80 bucolic 5SKy7     
adj.乡村的;牧羊的
参考例句:
  • It is a bucolic refuge in the midst of a great bustling city.它是处在繁华的大城市之中的世外桃源。
  • She turns into a sweet country girl surrounded by family,chickens and a bucolic landscape.她变成了被家人、鸡与乡村景象所围绕的甜美乡村姑娘。
81 corpses 2e7a6f2b001045a825912208632941b2     
n.死尸,尸体( corpse的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云,同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
82 inversion pRWzr     
n.反向,倒转,倒置
参考例句:
  • But sometimes there is an unusual weather condition called a temperature inversion.但有时会有一种被称作“温度逆增”的不平常的天气状态。
  • And finally,we made a discussion on the problems in the cooperative inversion.最后,对联合反演中存在的问题进行了讨论。
83 contradictory VpazV     
adj.反驳的,反对的,抗辩的;n.正反对,矛盾对立
参考例句:
  • The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
  • What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。
84 radical hA8zu     
n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的
参考例句:
  • The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
  • She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。
85 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
86 racist GSRxZ     
n.种族主义者,种族主义分子
参考例句:
  • a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
  • His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。
87 ammunition GwVzz     
n.军火,弹药
参考例句:
  • A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
  • They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。
88 banality AP4yD     
n.陈腐;平庸;陈词滥调
参考例句:
  • Neil's ability to utter banalities never ceased to amaze me.每次我都很惊讶,尼尔怎么能讲出这么索然无味的东西。
  • He couldn't believe the banality of the question.他无法相信那问题竟如此陈腐。
89 capitalism er4zy     
n.资本主义
参考例句:
  • The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
  • Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。
90 overflowed 4cc5ae8d4154672c8a8539b5a1f1842f     
溢出的
参考例句:
  • Plates overflowed with party food. 聚会上的食物碟满盘盈。
  • A great throng packed out the theater and overflowed into the corridors. 一大群人坐满剧院并且还有人涌到了走廊上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
91 poke 5SFz9     
n.刺,戳,袋;vt.拨开,刺,戳;vi.戳,刺,捅,搜索,伸出,行动散慢
参考例句:
  • We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
  • Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。
92 civilian uqbzl     
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
参考例句:
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
93 parables 8a4747d042698d9be03fa0681abfa84c     
n.(圣经中的)寓言故事( parable的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Jesus taught in parables. 耶酥以比喻讲道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • In the New Testament are the parables and miracles. 《新约》则由寓言利奇闻趣事构成。 来自辞典例句
94 corruption TzCxn     
n.腐败,堕落,贪污
参考例句:
  • The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
  • The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。
95 racism pSIxZ     
n.民族主义;种族歧视(意识)
参考例句:
  • He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
  • Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。
96 thriller RIhzU     
n.惊险片,恐怖片
参考例句:
  • He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
  • I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时,总带一本惊险小说看。
97 foulest 9b81e510adc108dc234d94a9b24de8db     
adj.恶劣的( foul的最高级 );邪恶的;难闻的;下流的
参考例句:
  • Most of the foremen abused the workmen in the foulest languages. 大多数的工头用极其污秽的语言辱骂工人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Of all men the drunkard is the foulest. 男人中最讨人厌的是酒鬼。 来自辞典例句
98 plunge 228zO     
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲
参考例句:
  • Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
  • That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。
99 serial 0zuw2     
n.连本影片,连本电视节目;adj.连续的
参考例句:
  • A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
  • Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗?
100 killers c1a8ff788475e2c3424ec8d3f91dd856     
凶手( killer的名词复数 ); 消灭…者; 致命物; 极难的事
参考例句:
  • He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
  • They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。
101 Vogue 6hMwC     
n.时髦,时尚;adj.流行的
参考例句:
  • Flowery carpets became the vogue.花卉地毯变成了时髦货。
  • Short hair came back into vogue about ten years ago.大约十年前短发又开始流行起来了。
102 psyche Ytpyd     
n.精神;灵魂
参考例句:
  • His exploration of the myth brings insight into the American psyche.他对这个神话的探讨揭示了美国人的心理。
  • She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche.她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
103 axis sdXyz     
n.轴,轴线,中心线;坐标轴,基准线
参考例句:
  • The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
  • The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。
104 parodies 5e0773b80b9f7484cf4a75cdbe6e2dbe     
n.拙劣的模仿( parody的名词复数 );恶搞;滑稽的模仿诗文;表面上模仿得笨拙但充满了机智用来嘲弄别人作品的作品v.滑稽地模仿,拙劣地模仿( parody的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Later, however, they delight in parodies of nursery rhymes. 可要不了多久,他们便乐于对它进行窜改。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
  • Most parodies are little more than literary teases. 大多数讽刺的模仿诗文只能算上是文学上的揶揄。 来自辞典例句
105 safari TCnz5     
n.远征旅行(探险、考察);探险队,狩猎队
参考例句:
  • When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.我们远行狩猎时,喜欢露天生火做饭。
  • They went on safari searching for the rare black rhinoceros.他们进行探险旅行,搜寻那稀有的黑犀牛。
106 killing kpBziQ     
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。
107 innate xbxzC     
adj.天生的,固有的,天赋的
参考例句:
  • You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
  • Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。
108 malleable Qwdyo     
adj.(金属)可锻的;有延展性的;(性格)可训练的
参考例句:
  • Silver is the most malleable of all metals.银是延展性最好的金属。
  • Scientists are finding that the adult human brain is far more malleable than they once thought.科学家发现成人大脑的可塑性远超过他们之前认识到的。
109 invincibility invincibility     
n.无敌,绝对不败
参考例句:
  • The myth of his and Nazi invincibility had been completely destroyed. 过去他本人之神奇传说,以及纳粹之不败言论,至此乃完全破灭。 来自辞典例句
  • Our image of invincibility evaporated. 我们战无不胜的形象化为泡影了。 来自辞典例句
110 negligent hjdyJ     
adj.疏忽的;玩忽的;粗心大意的
参考例句:
  • The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
  • If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽,就应支付赔偿。
111 epidemics 4taziV     
n.流行病
参考例句:
  • Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间,又会引入歧途。
  • The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。
112 ravage iAYz9     
vt.使...荒废,破坏...;n.破坏,掠夺,荒废
参考例句:
  • Just in time to watch a plague ravage his village.恰好目睹了瘟疫毁灭了他的村庄。
  • For two decades the country has been ravaged by civil war and foreign intervention.20年来,这个国家一直被内战外侵所蹂躏。
113 hordes 8694e53bd6abdd0ad8c42fc6ee70f06f     
n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 );部落
参考例句:
  • There are always hordes of tourists here in the summer. 夏天这里总有成群结队的游客。
  • Hordes of journalists jostled for position outside the conference hall. 大群记者在会堂外争抢位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
114 cipher dVuy9     
n.零;无影响力的人;密码
参考例句:
  • All important plans were sent to the police in cipher.所有重要计划均以密码送往警方。
  • He's a mere cipher in the company.他在公司里是个无足轻重的小人物。
115 looming 1060bc05c0969cf209c57545a22ee156     
n.上现蜃景(光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼)v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近
参考例句:
  • The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看,在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
116 secular GZmxM     
n.牧师,凡人;adj.世俗的,现世的,不朽的
参考例句:
  • We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
  • Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。
117 degradation QxKxL     
n.降级;低落;退化;陵削;降解;衰变
参考例句:
  • There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
  • Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。
118 ecosystem Wq4xz     
n.生态系统
参考例句:
  • This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
  • We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。
119 casually UwBzvw     
adv.漠不关心地,无动于衷地,不负责任地
参考例句:
  • She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
  • I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。
120 fatigued fatigued     
adj. 疲乏的
参考例句:
  • The exercises fatigued her. 操练使她感到很疲乏。
  • The President smiled, with fatigued tolerance for a minor person's naivety. 总统笑了笑,疲惫地表现出对一个下级人员的天真想法的宽容。
121 subversive IHbzr     
adj.颠覆性的,破坏性的;n.破坏份子,危险份子
参考例句:
  • She was seen as a potentially subversive within the party.她被看成党内潜在的颠覆分子。
  • The police is investigating subversive group in the student organization.警方正调查学生组织中的搞颠覆阴谋的集团。
122 mainstream AoCzh9     
n.(思想或行为的)主流;adj.主流的
参考例句:
  • Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
  • Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。
123 vaguely BfuzOy     
adv.含糊地,暖昧地
参考例句:
  • He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
  • He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面,对一切都视而不见。
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