“shed light on”则是一个比喻性的表达，源于“打光看清楚”的物理动作，引申为“解释、阐明、揭示真相”。它常用于正式的语境，尤其在学术和写作中，用于说明原因、方法或揭示事物的本质。文章举例说明了其在培养批判性思维和解释年轻人熬夜现象中的应用，并提供了实用的写作句型，如“...can shed light on the reasons why...”和“...may shed light on how to...”等，强调了其在提供洞见和解决方案方面的作用。
You just have to know that I am so racked with guilt.可你要知道我一直在内疚中煎熬着。
rack 本来是“折磨架”“拷问台”，一种中世纪的刑具（对，字面意思真的很刑）。所以 be racked with 引申为“被某种情绪折磨”。可以同 suffer from, be consumed with 替换，后者我们在《经济学人精读丨老外眼中的中国酒文化？》一文中讲过。她刚研究生毕业，简历里写满了“985”“交换生”“大厂实习”，朋友圈也都是“梦想在远方”。 他是她大学四年的“备胎”——个人能力平平无奇，但家庭给力，工作稳定、房车俱全。 那天他鼓起勇气表白，她笑着说：“世界那么大，我想去逛逛，爱情先放放。” 可几周后，她在通勤地铁上挤到脚抽筋，边刷短视频边想着：当初是不是脑子进水了？可以说：
She was racked with doubt every time she squeezed into the subway at 8 a.m., wondering if trading love for ambition had really been worth it.每次早上八点挤进地铁，她就被怀疑折磨：为了理想放弃爱情，真的值得吗？
Every time I restarted my vocabulary book and saw “abandon” on page one, I was racked with guilt for abandoning it so many times before.每次我重新开始背单词书，在第一页看到“abandon”时，都会因为之前无数次半途而废而被内疚感折磨得不行。
I told my boss I was working overtime, but actually I was watching Empresses in the Palace in 1.5x speed. Now I’m racked with guilt… but not enough to stop.我跟老板说我在加班，其实在1.5倍速刷《甄嬛传》。现在我内疚得不行……但还没内疚到不刷剧。
Many young people used to be racked with regret after buying overpriced goods just to impress others.很多年轻人过去为了讨好他人而购买高价商品，事后却为自己的冲动懊悔不已。
02 shed light on
If you find anything in your sister's belongings that might shed light on her death, letters or a date book, please...call me immediately.如果你找到任何与你妹妹的死有关的遗物，信件或者日记，请立即打电话给我。
Psychological studies may shed light on why many young people choose to stay up late, even when they feel exhausted — often a form of “revenge bedtime procrastination,” driven by a desire to reclaim a sense of control or emotional satisfaction after a stressful or unfulfilling day.心理研究可能揭示，为何许多年轻人即便疲惫不堪，仍选择熬夜——这往往是一种“报复性熬夜”，源于在压力或缺乏满足感的一天后，希望重新掌控生活或寻求情绪补偿。
