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Today's Headline News
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①The Education Ministry yesterday disclosed its plans to free
schools from state control and to hand over much of its
supervisory role to local education authorities.
②President Lee Myung-bak set off for the United States yesterday to add
a new spin to his conventional pitch for business and investment.
* set off(출발하다, depart)
* add a new spin(팽이 힘이 없어서 서서히 돌기 시작할 때 다시 쳐서 돌게 하는 것 처럼 가속도를 붙이다라는 뜻으로 쓰임;boost up)
* conventional pitch: (이명박 정부의 기존 정책(경영정책/투자정책))
--> pitch: speech와 같은 뜻임
③Energy traders rewrote the record books again Tuesday, pushing
oil futures past $114 a barrel as gasoline and diesel prices struck new highs of their own at the pump.
④Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines have agreed to merge
and create a mega-airline that they say will improve international
access for travelers and offset skyrocketing fuel costs.
* offset(cancel out,즉 상쇄하다라는 뜻)
* skyrocketing(급등하는, offset skyrocketing fuel costs
--> 치솟는 유가를 상쇄하다 )
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Today's News Article
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CUBANS EAGER FOR CELL PHONES
Cubans stood in line for hours to have their first taste of a mobile phone on Monday, as another of the country’s societal restrictions was lifted by the new leader, Raul Castro. Up until now, cell phone use has only been in the hands of Government officials, or those Cubans with the right connections – specifically those knowing a foreigner who would sign up to a service for them. Now, in theory, anyone can sign up, though one factor keeps it a pie-in-the-sky for many: cost. With the sign-up alone costing 9 months of an average person’s salary, all but the richest Cubans look to remain in the telecommunications dark ages. Still, this and a series of other changes in the last few months have seen Cuba slowly playing catch-up with the rest of the Americas, which has many Cubans optimistic about their futures.
*get[have] one's first taste of
~을 처음으로 경험하다
The very first time someone encounters or experiences something
*the right(a good) connections
좋은 청구멍( 청(請)을 넣어 부탁할 만한 자리나 길을 속되게 이르는 말).
To know people who can help you get or achieve something that others cannot.
* pie-in-the-sky
유토피아적인;그림의 떡 같은; 허구, 공수표, 망상, 헛된 기대
An unattainable dream, a fantasy; a desirable but unobtainable object
* the dark ages
미지,미개발 단계
A metaphor for being extremely old-fashioned or behind the times
* play catch-up
스포츠 경기 등에서 점수 차이를 극복하려고 필사적으로 싸우다 뒤지지 않도록 ‘고군분투하다’라는 뜻인데, 여기서는 ‘쿠바 주변 국가에 뒤진 것(불리한 것)을 극복하려고 분투하다‘ 라는 뜻으로 쓰였습니다.
To attempt to be as advanced as someone else
‘THE LITTLE PRINCE’ AUTHOR’S MYSTERY SOLVED
A German man has confessed he was probably responsible for shooting down the plane of French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery, 64 years after his disappearance on a reconnaissance mission during World War II. Saint–Exupery wrote several books, but his name lives on for his most famous work ‘The Little Prince.’ The author’s disappearance has always been shrouded in mystery, but the former German pilot simply said he saw a French plane flying low off the coast of France and shot it down. The solving of so great a mystery only ever comes once in a blue moon, but author’s who have been researching the disappearance for years are convinced. In an ironic twist, the 88-year-old German loves ‘The Little Prince’, and is filled with remorse over the author's death.
* (someone’s) name lives on
죽어서 이름을 남기다--> 호랑이는 가죽을 남기고 사람은 이름을 남긴다
A person is remembered after their death for what they have done
* shrouded in mystery
사건이 미궁에 빠지다, 비밀에 휩싸이다
An event that has strange, unexplained facts tied to it
--> 여기서 shroud는 수의를 뜻함, 미스터리를 수의로 덮다라는 비유로 즉, (The author’s disappearance) 작가의 행방불명 사건은 미궁에 빠졌다라는 뜻.
* once in a blue moon
극히 드물게, 좀처럼 ~하지 않는
An event that happens very rarely
--> 동의어로 rarely;seldom;at rare intervals
* in an ironic twist
아이러니컬하게도
A highly unusual and unexpected occurrence that reflects directly on what it is related to
* filled with remorse over (something)
양심의 가책을 느끼다, 죄책감에 시달리다
To feel great guilt and regret about having done something
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Today's Closing Tip
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You are off the hook - 위기를 모면했다/ 궁지를 벗어났다