EBS Morning Special 4월 18일 화요일: I need some me time.

 
 

1. Moring Headlines

 

1. The number of new jobs for people aged 60 or older reached a record high last year, while also recording the largest increase ever for the age group since related data was first compiled in 1963.

2. The National Pension Service has recovered from most of last year's lowest-recorded return rate, according to pundits, on the back of this year's boom in the domestic and foreign stock markets.

3. Some of America's most influential voices on intelligence are saying there are simply too many people with access to classified information, and that in the wake of the recent documents leak, the US military and intelligence community need to scale back how much they share classified material.

4. German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke has publicly protested Japan’s statement welcoming the G7’s support regarding Tokyo’s plan to discharge contaminated water from Fukushima, saying she cannot welcome the release plan despite respecting Japan’s ongoing efforts.

5. Chinese authorities have ordered a circus in central China’s Henan Province to suspend operations after a video of two lions escaping through an unlocked door during a performance emerged online.

[Expression]
▶compile : [동사] (여러 출처에서 자료를 따와) 엮다, 편집[편찬]하다
▶pundits : 전문가, 권위자) experts
▶on the back of : (업적·성공)의 결과로
▶scale back : 축소하다

 
 
 

2. NEW YORK TIMES

1. Germany Quits Nuclear Power, Ending a Decadeslong Struggle



It began as a movement of pacifists chaining themselves to fences outside nuclear power plants. Five decades later, the effort to close German nuclear power plants will end with echoes of the Cold War era in which it began, as Russia’s war in Ukraine is a reminder of both the risks and promise of nuclear energy. Germany’s three remaining reactors have been shut down — ending nuclear power generation in Europe’s largest economy. But it comes as the continent grapples with questions over whether it can secure enough energy to drive its economies and keep homes warm while also reaching ambitious climate targets.



2. Nightmare Scenario for Sudan as Explosions Rock Capital


Sudan’s nightmare scenario is coming to pass. Fighter jets screamed over Khartoum, the capital, on Sunday, firing rockets into a city of millions. Artillery barrages slammed into the military headquarters. Civilian planes were bombed at the city’s airport, where terrified passengers cowered on the floors. The country has been walking a tightrope for four years now, clinging desperately to the dream of the 2019 popular revolution, when protesters toppled a brutal dictator and inspired hopes of democracy. But two power-hungry generals still dominate Sudan. And when their relationship disintegrated into violence this weekend, it set off a breathless descent that appeared the realization of many people’s worst fears.



3. Who Owns a Song Created by AI?


Artificial intelligence tools that generate text, images and music are moving art into new territory — and that’s raising tricky questions for the business of creativity. For many artists, generative AI is a double threat. These systems can produce copycats of human works that dilute the market, and they use artists’ production, without their permission, as training data. Some see that as stealing intellectual property. Lawmakers have begun to contemplate new rules around authorship and ownership in connection with creative machines, and the stakes are huge for both the businesses that depend on creative work and the investors who poured billions into new AI tools.


[Expression]
▶grapple with : ~을 해결하려고 노력하다. ~과 씨름하다. (=struggle)
I am grapple with fixing my problems.
▶come to pass : 발생하다, 일어나다. (=happen)
▶cower on the floors : 바닥에 몸을 숙이고 웅크리다. (cf. coward 겁쟁이)
▶walk a tightrope : 긴장 상태에 놓이다, 줄타기하다, 아슬아슬한 상황에 처하다.
▶copycat : 모방하는 사람, 흉내쟁이
▶dilute : 희석되다.
▶contemplate(= think of, consider)

 
 
 

3. 무모한 영작

 

I need some me/alone time.

 
 

# 스페인 익스트림 산악인의 500일 동굴생활 모습(출처: 로이터연합뉴스)

 
익스트림 산악인이었으니 가능했던 걸까?
파리가 알을까고 온몸을 덮은 것 외에는 오로지 자신만의 500일을 세상과 단절되어 동굴생활을 하고 나왔다는 산악인 여성.
60권의 책을 읽고, 그림을 그리고, 뜨개질을 하고...

약속된 500일을 채우고 환한 모습으로 세상에 나온 그녀는 오히려 500일을 더 있을 수 있다고 인터뷰했다.  비록 샤워는 한 번도 못했지만...
 
 

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"한국에서 정말 딱 한 주만 혼자이고 싶다."라는 말을 입에 달고 살았던 나에게,  아이들이 모두 학교 가고 오롯이 내가 하고 싶은 것에 집중하고 몰두할 수 있는 이 시간이 너무 고맙습니다.

비록 동굴은 아니지만, 이 비엔나의 동굴적 삶에서 마음의 평화를 찾습니다.