the Salem witch trials
/ðə ˌseɪləm ˈwɪtʃ traɪəlz/
/ðə ˌseɪləm ˈwɪtʃ traɪəlz/
[plural]- a series of trials in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, of people accused of being witches (= women thought to have evil magic powers). They began after a group of young girls started behaving in a strange way and saying that they were 'possessed' (= controlled by an evil spirit). People in the town were quick to accuse each other, and the trials ended with 20 people being executed, on very little evidence. Arthur Miller used the trials as the basis for his play The Crucible (1953).
1692 年，马萨诸塞州塞勒姆对被指控为女巫（= 被认为具有邪恶魔力的女性）的人进行了一系列审判。他们开始于一群年轻女孩开始表现出奇怪的行为并说她们被“附身”（=被邪灵控制）。镇上的人们很快互相指责，审判以 20 人在证据很少的情况下被处决而告终。阿瑟·米勒 (Arthur Miller) 将这些审判作为他的戏剧《坩埚》(1953) 的基础。