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Today's News Headlines
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① After meeting with former US President Bill Clinton yesterday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il granted a special pardon to two US journalists convicted of entering the country illegally.
=> 북한 김정일 국방위원장이 빌 클린턴 미국 전 대통령과 어제 회담을 갖고 북학에 억류중인 미국여기자 두 명에 대한 특사를 지시 했다고 조선 중앙통신이 전했습니다.
* convict: 선고하다, 유리 판결을 내리다 (someone of something)
n. convict: 죄수
② Korean swimming veteran Cho Oh-ryun, a four-time Asian Games medalist, died of a heart attack yesterday.
=> ‘아시아의 물개‘로 통하던 조오련씨가 어제 심장마비로 타계했습니다. 고인은 선수시절 한국 신기록을 50 차례나 세운 바 있습니다.
③ Yesterday a Chinese 25-ton vessel was captured for illegally fishing in South Korea's exclusive economic zone.
=> 인천해양경찰서는 어제 서해 배타적 경제수역(EEZ)을 침범해 불법 조업한 혐의로 중국 산둥(山東)성 선적 유자망 어선(25t급) 1척을 나포했다고 밝혔습니다.
④ Iran is swearing in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today for a second term, but the political crisis caused by the disputed June presidential election continues to pose a grave challenge.
=> 이란의 마흐무드 아흐마디네자드 대통령이 오늘 정식으로 취임합니다. 하지만 계속되는 반정부 세력과의 갈등으로 집권2기가 순탄치 않을 것으로 보입니다.
*pose a grave challenge: 험난한 과제를 던지다
*pose: (문제를) 제출하다, 제기하다
*grave: 중대한, 심각한
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Today's News Articles
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#1. Three Die from the Plague in North?Western China
Chinese authorities were busy exterminating rats and fleas on Tuesday after three people died from pneumonic plague in a town called Ziketan in Qinghai province in the north-west of the country. Police sealed off the town by setting up checkpoints in a 17-mile radius while the town was disinfected. Hearing of the roadblocks and the third death from the disease, it seems many headed for the hills on foot. “A lot of people ran off last night when they heard that another person died of this plague. They are mostly from other provinces,” said a food seller who gave only his surname - Han. Containment is at the top of the list for the Chinese government, as pneumonic plague is highly contagious and can kill in as little as 24 hours if left untreated. Pneumonic plague is caused by the same bacteria that causes bubonic plague, otherwise known as “the Black Death.”
* Seal off
- to block (an entrance, area, etc.) completely so as to prevent escape or entrance: The police sealed off the area after the bomb threat was received.
-밀봉하다, 출입을 금하다, 포위하다
* Head for the hills
- flee; take to one's heels; cut and run, escape
-달아나다, 도망치다;(위험·추적자 등에서) 벗어나다, 피난하다
* At the top of the list
- If something is at the top of the list, it is of highest priority,
most important, most urgent, or the next in one's line of attention.
-가장 중요한, 급선무의, 우선권 있는
#2. Controversial “Cash for Clunkers” Program in Trouble
The controversial “cash for clunkers” program, in which the US government will provide $4,500 dollars in cold hard cash to anyone who volunteers to trade in their gas-guzzler for a more fuel-efficient car, is coming under heavy pressure from Republicans in Washington. The funding for the program looks like it could dry up after it burned through its first $1 billion in just one week. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell summed up the feelings of a steadily growing number of people who are unhappy with uncontrolled government spending, saying, “We were told this program would last for several months. As it turned out, it ran out of money in a week, prompting the House to rush a $2 billion extension before anybody even had time to figure out what happened with the first billion.
* Clunker
- an old, worn-out vehicle or machine, something worthless or inferior.
-낡은 기계[자동차] 2. 쓸모없는 것
* Gas-guzzler
- a usually large automobile that gets relatively poor mileage
-<구어> 연료 소비가 많은 대형차 , 연비가 높은 차
* Dry up
- to cease to exist; evaporate.
-바싹 말리다[마르다], 물기를 닦다 (2) 고갈되다
(3) <구어> 말을 그치다, 말이 그치다: (4)[연극 따위에서] 대사를 잊다
* Burn through
- use something up at an exorbitant rate
-무언가를 엄청난 범위까지 사용해 버리다.
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Today's Closing Tip
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I mean business.
- 농담 아냐 진심이야..