짝사랑하다 (fall/be in unrequited love with sb)

짝사랑하다 (fall/be in unrequited love with sb) [자신에 부과한 (self-imposed) 공부에 헌신 (devotion to studies) 하느라 한 여학생에 대한 연정에 따라 행동할 (act on ~) 용기를 내지 (muster courage to-inf.) 못하고 짝사랑만 했다]  

조마조마했다 (“holding my breath”)

In Canada, unlike admissions into undergraduate schools, gaining admission to graduate schools is normally hard. Citing her situation in which she had been under pressure from a graduate school to decide whether to accept or decline its offer to admit her into it (she had until today to do so), my younger daughter had requested the process of her application to her Canadian dream graduate school be expedited.

몸에 밴 (built-in) 영어 열정 (ardor)

몸에 밴 (built-in) 영어 열정 (ardor) 때문에 기득권층 (vested interests)으로부터 거부당해 한국을 떠난 동생의 혼이 담긴 (one’s soul is manifest) 책의 내용이 마땅히 받아야 (warrant) 할 만큼 많은 독자의 주목을 받도록 평범한 (mediocre) 수준 이상으로 인쇄돼야 한다

More concerned with letting my forthcoming book—entitled ‘A Life Devoted to English: Examples of How Useful English Expressions of High Caliber Are Used in the Authentic/Real World’— reach as many readers as possible than with earning money from it, I had long pressured the publisher to keep the price of one copy under 20 dollars (20,000 won). Under the pressure, at a point, the publisher was flirting with the idea of printing my book on a shoestring. For my brother who has been in the trenches of printing for more than four decades, the idea was as much as to say that the book would be mediocrely printed; and concomitantly raised the fear that my book would end up failing to draw as much attention from potential readers as its contents deserve.

원천봉쇄 (block ~ from ~ at source)

원천봉쇄 (block ~ from ~ at source)[교만 (arrogance)이 스며들지 (seep into ~) 못하게 원천봉쇄]; 추수감사절 (Thanksgiving Day) 명절 분위가에 젖어있다 (wear an air of celebration); 어떠한 상황에서나 (whatever happens/under any circumstances) 감사한다; ; 기득권층 (vested interests)

부끄러워 어찌할 바를 모르다 (be at a loss for doing anything but being shy)

부끄러워 어찌할 바를 모르다 (be at a loss for doing anything but being shy); 상황을 역전시키 (turn the tables on ~)려고 그 여학생한테 남자친구가 없으니까 그 답이 맞다고 했다; 중요하다 (count); ~을 별로 탐탁하게 여기지 않다 (have little use for ~); 좋은 관계 (good rapport with ~)

막막하다 (at my wits’ end)

막막하다 (at my wits’ end) [나는 알맹이보다는 전적으로 겉모양을 중요시 여기는 (exclusively prize ~ over ~) 사람들과 이야기해야 할 때면 어떻게 말을 해야 할지 막막하다]; ~에 현혹되지 말고 ~을 보다 (see beyond ~ and into ~); 두꺼운 책 (tome)

Belatedly, today, I read a review that a reader of my book has posted on Kyobo website. While saying that my book is a weighty tome with the less than fancy look of the layout, the reader views it as excusable in light of the book’s two main purposes of giving detailed feedback on students’ English essays (which are extraordinary in quantities and the variety of topics) and providing useful English expressions. The reader recommends that others see beyond it and into the valuable contents of my book. In the eyes of the reader, the way my book looks reflects my personality described in the appendix section “A Life Devoted to English”: pursuing substance over appearance. Indeed, I am at my wits’ end when I have to talk with those exclusively prizing appearance over substance.

본전뽑다 (get the most bang for the buck)

본전뽑다 (get the most bang for the buck) [돈에 대해서 구두쇠이지만 (stingy of money), 일단 썼다하면 (once), 무엇이든 본전을 뽑는다]; 민감 (attuned to ~); [헌 공으로 구멍을 때워 (put old ball-turned patches on ~) 수명연장 (push the limits of their usefulness)]; 최대피해 겪다 (take the brunt of ~)

Although unstinting of time for those needing my help, I am usually stingy of money for other than books and groceries. However, once I spend money, I get the most bang for the buck. For example, I do exercise every day at YMCA. To locker-room acquaintances, who come to YMCA less than 7 days a week, I jokingly say “you’re under using your YMCA membership card.” Willingly not attuned to a fashion of the times, I wear clothes and sports shoes until they are thread-bare and hole-ridden respectively. I push the limits of hole-ridden sports shoes’ usefulness by putting old tennis ball-turned patches on them. Sometimes I feel like coming out of my shell of this extreme stinginess and buying fancy clothes for my wife and my two daughters, who have taken the brunt of the hardship ​ induced by my long study life.

과거자랑 (rest on one’s laurels)

과거자랑 (rest on one’s laurels) [과거업적자랑만 하고 현재 일 열심히 안하고, 남보다 우월하다고 (superior to ~) 남들은 들러리 서게 (play second fiddle to ~) 운명되었다고 시대착오적 (anachronistic) 사고방식으로 산다 (operate under the notion of ~)]; 겸손 (humility); 교만 (arrogance)

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Today in his NYT column, Mr. Nicholas Kristof suggests that hiking brings home to hikers the view of humans as “not lords of the universe but components of it.” I like the view because it is effective at generating and nurturing humility in me. If I operated under the notion of myself as the lord of the universe, I would be so arrogant as not to come to terms with the inevitable last moment of my life. I would be so anachronistic as to think of myself as superior to other people; to be so deep into a sense of entitlement as to think of other people as doomed to play second fiddle to me. In what would predispose myself to self-destruction, I would be concerned with resting on my laurels, having no use for intellectual humility, i.e., humbly practicing life-long learning and learning from others. 

입장 [여사님의 입장에서 생각해보니, 저도 눈물이 글썽글썽해집니다 (put myself in your shoes) (tears well up in my eyes)];

입장 [여사님의 입장에서 생각해보니, 저도 눈물이 글썽글썽해집니다 (put myself in your shoes) (tears well up in my eyes)]; 종횡무진 누비다 (criss-cross); 선거구 (riding); 머슴 (serf); 수척한 모습 (an infirm build); 쾌유빕니다 (wish you well)

Dear Mrs. Kim,

Criss-crossing his riding on a run-down bicycle and communicating in person with grass-roots, your husband evoked myself in my mind. As a teacher, I bounce from one discussion group of students to another and observantly take notes of their difficulties in preparation for collaborative dialogue where I cater to their needs. 

가족에게 힘든 상황이다 (be hard on his family)

구사일생 [차가 빨간신호 무시하고 운행해서 보행자가 하마터면 죽을 뻔 했다 (close call)]; 갈팡질팡 (in a strait between ~ and ~); 정상참작 (extenuating circumstances); 파면하다 (fire); 가족에게 힘든 상황이다 (be hard on his family)

While listening to a news item, I was in a strait between supporting a harsh punishment for the sake of public safety and opposing it for the sake of the accused’s family. Today Toronto’s early morning news was dominated by the report that a streetcar ran on red light so that a pedestrian had a close call. With investigations having yet to be done, for now, I don’t know if there was any extenuating circumstance behind the driver’s action. Under the Toronto Transit Commission rules, the driver’s action could lead him to be fired. While making sense to me in the light of enhancing awareness about public safety, the possibility of his being fired saddened me. Knowing full well the hardships of joblessness, I had no difficulty imagining how hard his unemployment would be on his family and himself. ⓒ Chinhyon Kim –