一句話提醒了李雪蓮。原來懲罰一個人，有比殺了他更好的辦法。把人殺了，事情還是稀里糊涂；鬧他個天翻地覆，鬧他個妻離子散，卻能把顛倒的事情再顛倒過來。（劉震云《我不是潘金蓮》）

That was an eye opener. So there actually are even better ways to punish someone, Xuelian realized. Murder only complicates matters. Tormenting him till he doesn’t know which side is up and his family is splintered could take a matter that had been turned upside down and flip it right side up.

不理解，請教點評

My comments:

Have you ever used a can opener, to open a can of pork or beans?

Yeah, like the can opener helps open a can for you, an eye opener is something that opens your eyes, meaning it lets you see things for the first time.

Opening your eyes implies a surprise element there because when we see something new, we tend to look at them with open (wide and big) eyes. With familiar objects, on the other hand, we tend to look at them without particular attention, if we don’t totally overlook them.

Anyways, an eye opener usually refers to an event that helps you to see things for the first time or see old things in a new light.

Take going abroad, for example. That is an eye opening experience for most people because not only does it broaden your horizon literally, seeing exotic people and scenery for the first time, but also culturally, helping you to think again about your own culture, your particular and sometimes peculiar way of life.

See?

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Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（張欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.