  We present a physical explanation of Zitterbewegung-like effect near the
zero-refractive-index point in a metamaterial slab in this paper. Between the
negative and positive refractive index regions centered at the
zero-refractive-index point, the transmittance spectrum distribution of the
metamaterial slab is asymmetrical. When a symmetrical pulse propagates through
the metamaterial slab, its transmitted spectrum becomes asymmetrical due to the
asymmetry of the transmittance spectrum of the slab, leading to a transmitted
pulse with an asymmetrical temporal shape. The asymmetry manifests a kind of
temporally tailed oscillations, i.e., the Zitterbewegung-like effect. Further,
the effect of the temporal and spatial widths of pulse, and the thickness of
metamaterial slab on the tailed oscillations of the transmitted pulse has also
been discussed. Our results agree well with what the other researchers obtained
on the strength of relativistic quantum concepts; however, the viewpoint of our
analysis is classical and irrelevant to relativistic quantum mechanics.
