一句话提醒了李雪莲。原来惩罚一个人，有比杀了他更好的办法。把人杀了，事情还是稀里糊涂；闹他个天翻地覆，闹他个妻离子散，却能把颠倒的事情再颠倒过来。（刘震云《我不是潘金莲》）

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，请教点评

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

本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（张欣） 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.