词汇典故:洗脑:不像你想的那么干净

Brainwash: Not as Clean as You Think 词汇典故:洗脑:不像你想的那么干净

Hello and welcome to another Words and Their Stories.

Today we are talking about expressions to describe people who are not in their right minds. People who are not in their right minds are not thinking in a normal, healthy way.

You might say they are brainwashed.

Word experts say the word “brainwash” came into American English in the 1950s after the Korean War. According to reports, 24 American soldiers held in a Chinese prison-of-war camp chose to stay in China after the ceasefire.

At that time, people in the American media and public could not understand why these young men did not want to return to the United States. So, they used the English translation of a Chinese word to describe what they believed had happened.

The Chinese word is xǐ nǎo (洗腦). Xǐ (洗) means "wash” and nǎo (腦) means "brain.”

The American public claimed the Chinese brainwashed the soldiers into preferring China over the United States. They said Chinese officials used force and fear to make the soldiers believe that China was good and the U.S. was bad.

Now, that is a dark story on several levels. But don’t worry. You can use the word “brainwash” without starting an international incident. In fact, few people even know the origin of the word. Today, “brainwash” is used in both informal and formal situations.

For example, let’s say your friend takes a college course with a very charismatic professor. He uses his good looks, powerful personality and persuasive² arguments to convince the class of mostly women that he knows best and is always right.

Your friend becomes obsessed³ with him. She begins to repeat his words all the time and has changed her opinions to go along with his. You could say, she i s brainwashed.

There are many types of brainwashing.

To gaslight someone is also a type of brainwashing.

A gaslight is a light powered by gas. They were common before electricity was wired into people homes and neighborhoods.

So, why is gaslight a type of brainwashing?

This expression comes from the film “Gaslight” starring the actress Ingrid Bergman. Bergman marries a man who wants to convince her that she is crazy. He does this by dimming the gaslights in their London home. And then he pretends he doesn’t notice.

The husband also plays other tricks on his wife that make her doubt her memory and her sanity⁴.

To gaslight someone is a form of psychological abuse. It is when false information is given to a person in the hopes of making them doubt their own memory or perception⁵ of an event. It can even be used, as in the movie, to make a person think they are going insane⁶.

“Gaslighting” is most common in very close relationships.

For example, let’s say your best friend is dating a really bad guy. You don’t like him or trust him. In fact, you have caught him lying to your friend several times. Once on her birthday, he claimed he was home sick in bed. However, you saw him that later that night in a restaurant with another woman!

You tell your friend and she confronts⁸ him about the lie. He uses clever excuses to explain himself. He says he was never out and accuses your friend of being jealous.

Your friend leaves the conversation feeling bad about herself for accusing her boyfriend and mad at you for making her doubt him. You could say to her, “You are so foolishly in love with this guy, that you can’t see that he is gaslighting you! Wake up!!

You can also say to someone who you think is trying to play mind games with, “Look, don’t try to gaslight me. I am on to you!!”

But we usually the term when talking about other people. If you are a victim of brainwashing or gaslighting you probably won’t know it.

That is, after all, the whole point.

Words in This Story

charismatic – adj. having great charm⁹ or appeal : filled with charisma¹

personality – n. the set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc., that makes a person different from other people

persuasive – adj. able to cause people to do or believe something : able to persuade people

sanity – n. the condition of having a healthy mind : the condition of being sane⁷

jealous – adj. feeling anger because of the belief that a loved one might be unfaithful

doubt – v. to be uncertain about (something) : to believe that (something) may not be true or is unlikely

mind games – n. actions that are meant to confuse or upset someone in order to get an advantage <I couldn't handle the head games that came with the job anymore.> <She's known for playing mind games with her opponents.>

1 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

2 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

3 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

4 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

5 perception   

n.感知，感觉，觉察(力)；认识，观念，看法

参考例句：

• What's your perception of the matter?你对此事有什么看法？
• He was a man of keen perception.他是一个感觉敏锐的人。

6 insane   

adj.蠢极的，荒唐的，精神错乱的，疯狂的

参考例句：

• Insane people are sometimes dangerous.精神病人有时非常危险。
• The letter made her insane with jealousy.那封信使她妒忌得发疯。

7 sane   

adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的

参考例句：

• He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
• He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。

8 confronts   

面对( confront的第三人称单数 )； 使面对； 使对质； 处理

参考例句：

• My house confronts his. 我的家与他的家对门。
• Extraction of humic substances from sediments is often the first task that confronts the investigator. 从沉积物中萃取腐植物是研究工作者遇到的第一个问题。

9 charm   

vt.使着迷，使陶醉；n.招人喜欢之处，魅力

参考例句：

• With all imperfections the short play has a real charm.尽管有不少缺欠，这出小戏仍颇具魅力。
• He could resist her charm no longer.他再也抗拒不住她的魅力。