Social_Issues_September_18_2008

--------------------------------------- Today's Headlines --------------------------------------- ① Benchmark stock indexes in the United States, Europe and Asia tumbled on Monday on the news of Lehman's filing for bankruptcy and the takeover of the giant brokerage Merrill Lynch. *tumble: 폭락하다 =plunge, nosedive, crash, plummet *file for bankruptcy: 파산 신청을 하다 *takeover: (기업의)인수 참고-M&A: 인수합병, merger and acquisition ② North Korean leader Kim Jeong-il, who had reportedly suffered a stroke, remained out of the public eye during the Chuseok holiday, one of the largest traditional holidays for Koreans. ③ In China, 2 babies have died after drinking contaminated milk powder. A total of 1,253 infants have fallen ill due to the tainted milk powder, including 53 in serious condition, China's health ministry said yesterday. ④ A massive search-and-rescue effort was credited with saving nearly 2,000 people stranded by Hurricane Ike's fury. However, millions of people still remained in the dark without power or water supplies. *be credited with: ~의 공로를 인정받다 *be stranded by: ~로 발이 묶이다, 꼼짝 못하게 되다   ---------------------------------------- Today's News Articles ---------------------------------------- #1. Lehman files for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch to be sold in major Wall Street shift In a day that will go down in history for Wall Street, two of its storied institutions, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, suffered defeats in the ongoing financial crisis that has continued for the last year. Merrill Lynch, which was worth over $100 billion during last year, agreed to sell itself to Bank of America for $50 billion dollars to keep the crisis from spiraling further. Lehman Brothers announced that it would seek bankruptcy protection after failing to find a buyer, in what has been called the biggest investment bank failure in 18 years. 10 major banks have agreed to chip in and create an emergency fund for dealing with the Lehman Brother’s fallout. It remains to be seen how the market will react to the events of last weekend. However, it appears possible that insurance giant A.I.G. may have a brush with disaster from its credit crisis losses. *go down in history 역사에 길이 남다 -to be regarded as very important when looked back upon in the future *storied 저명한, 유서 깊은 -Celebrated or famous in history or story *chip in 추렴하다, 비용 등을 나누어서 내다 -to contribute to a common fund *remains to be seen 두고 볼 일이다, 좀 더 지켜보아야한다 -an outcome of a certain situation is still unknown *brush with disaster  재앙에 바짝 다가간 -come very close to having a disaster #2. Latest Chinese contamination scare affects baby formula After two babies have been left dead and nearly 600 ill from the tainted infant formula scare in China, Chinese officials are fanning out to milk-producing areas in order to get to the bottom of the scandal. Traces of the industrial chemical melamine- used for making plastics and glues- were found in the contaminated baby formula, which has caused infants to suffer from kidney stones. It has been suggested that the chemical may have been added to milk so it would appear to have more protein. The New Zealand partner to the Chinese company that produces the formula says that they did everything they could to recall the product, but they could not go public because of Chinese government procedures. The CEO of the New Zealand partner said, 'Our hearts go out to the parents and the infants who were affected.' *fan out 부채처럼 넓게 퍼지다-> (주로 사물/사람을 찾기 위해) 사방으로 흩어지다 -spread out widely (like a handheld fan), usually to find something/someone *get to the bottom of something -를 철저히 조사하다, 진상을 규명하다 -investigate something thoroughly to find what caused it *go public 대중에게 공개하다 -bring a problem/scandal that has been secret or covered up to public attention *your heart goes out to someone 위로의 말을 전하다 =express one's condolences -commonly used expression‎ to show sympathy