英语课程计划-International Panic Day

Are you a panic? Do you panic easily? Are you ever in a blind panic? Do you suffer from panic attacks? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, then there is a special day for you. June 18 is International Panic Day. It is a day when it is OK to be worried and concerned and run around panic-stricken. No one really knows where this day originated¹, but it seems a good idea to have a day when we can all freak out. Or maybe it’s a day when we tell others not to panic. “Don’t panic. Do NOT hit the panic button. Do not hit panic stations. The world is not about to end!” I’m sure this will calm down your panicking and panicky friends. It is strange that all previous International Panic Days have gone so smoothly².

So what is panic, exactly? It is a sudden, uncontrollable fear or anxiety that makes us lose our ability to think normally³. Panic takes over our mind and makes us behave in a frightened way. We typically panic in dangerous situations such as earthquakes or at the sound of gunfire. Panic can spread very quickly. We see this where there are large crowds of people and something happens to create panic. Soon there is a stampede, which can be fatal⁴. People also panic if they think they are going to lose money. We read all the time about ‘financial’, ‘stock market’ and ‘economic’ panic. We see people in a panic every day, rushing to meet a deadline or trying to find a lost document on a messy desk. What’s the best way to act in a panic situation?

1 originated   

v.起源于，来自，产生( originate的过去式和过去分词 )；创造；创始；开创

参考例句：

• The disease is thought to have originated in the tropics. 这种疾病据说起源于热带地区。
• The art of portrait miniatures was originated in England. 微型画像艺术创始于英国。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

3 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

4 fatal   

adj.致命的，灾难性的；重大的，决定性的

参考例句：

• The enemy got a fatal blow in the battle.敌人在战斗中受到致命的打击。
• I made the fatal mistake of letting her talk.我让她讲话是犯了严重的错误。