Dutch Release COVID Anger by Smashing Things and Shouting

Some Dutch citizens have found new ways to release their anger about the continuing COVID-19 pandemic – by shouting and smashing² things.

Twin brothers Steven and Brian Krijger showed a reporter from Reuters how enjoyable it can be to crush cars at a vehicle wreckage³ center in the town of Vijfhuizen, near Amsterdam. One used a sledgehammer and the other a crowbar to destroy a Peugeot 106 car.

The exercise is part of a Dutch program called "CarSmash." It aims to give people living under new anti-virus restrictions⁴ ways to release their anger and frustrations⁶. The feelings have built up during a pandemic that is now entering its third year.

Dutch bars, restaurants and most stores have been closed since mid-December when the new measures took effect. The restrictions are set to remain in place until at least January 14. The government is seeking to contain record numbers of coronavirus cases.

"There is nothing to do these days," Brian told Reuters. "We can't work because, we own a bar and we are closed. So, we thought we'd let some of that frustration⁵ go and smash¹ a car."

Merlijn Boshuizen runs the CarSmash program. He said people taking part are first asked to spray-paint "what's present in their lives" onto their chosen vehicle.

Then, when they start wrecking⁷ a car, they are asked to close their eyes and feel their feet on the ground. Boshuizen says the goal is for the person to "feel the power, every vein⁸ in your body, feel what you are doing, and in that way to try to get it out of your life."

Nearby, in the Hague, voice trainer Julie Scott operates "Screech⁹ at the Beach." It is a program with similar aims as CarSmash. Scott told Reuters she developed the idea while looking for "something physical and something to release some of the tension" that has been building up in people.

On a recent day, Julie joined Rozemarijn Kardijk on a windy beach near the shore. Kardijk jumped up and down shouting until she ran out of breath while trying not to laugh.

"You can just - Whaa! Let yourself go," Kardijk said. She is a business secretary hoping to learn to speak with more confidence in her professional life.

"You don't have to think about other things, it's the wideness of the beach and the sea ..." Kardijk said. "Your voice goes over the sea and it doesn't return to you. It's a sense of freedom."

Words in This Story

sledgehammer – n. a large, heavy hammer with a long handle used for breaking rocks or other heavy material

crowbar – n. a heavy iron bar with a bent¹⁰ end that is used to lift heavy objects of force things open

frustration – n. the feeling of being annoyed or upset because things are not happening the way you want them to

bar – n. an establishment that sells drinks and sometimes food

screech – v. to make an unpleasant, loud, high noise

confidence – n. a feeling of being sure that something will happen or that something is true

1 smash   

v.粉碎，打碎；n.轰动的演出，巨大的成功

参考例句：

• We heard the smash of plates breaking in the kitchen.我们听到厨房里盘子破碎的声音。
• The gifted author wrote one smash after another.这个天才作家创作了一篇又一篇轰动一时的作品。

2 smashing   

adj.极好的；粉碎的；惨重的；活泼的adv.极好地v.打碎；捣毁；重击；撞毁（车辆）

参考例句：

• We had a smashing time. 我们过得非常愉快。
• While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table. smashing half your best crockery and cutting himself in the process. 你接电话时小孩把桌布扯了下来，把你最好的陶器打碎了一半，同时他还把自己磕破了。 来自《用法词典》

3 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

6 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

7 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句

8 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

9 screech   

n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音

参考例句：

• He heard a screech of brakes and then fell down. 他听到汽车刹车发出的尖锐的声音,然后就摔倒了。
• The screech of jet planes violated the peace of the afternoon. 喷射机的尖啸声侵犯了下午的平静。

10 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。