EBS Morning Special 5월 14일 일요일: Aladdin

1. NEW YORK TIMES

 

 

Ecuador Strikes a Landmark Deal to Save Nature, and Some Cash

Catrin Einhorn

c.2023 The New York Times Company

 

 

Ecuador announced a record-setting deal Tuesday designed to reduce its debt burden and free up hundreds of millions of dollars to fund marine conservation around the Galápagos Islands, an archipelago of unique biodiversity that’s famous for inspiring Darwin’s theory of evolution.

 

[Expressions]

▶record-setting deal : 기록적인 거래, 역사적인 거래

▶free up : ~을 해방하다, 풀어주다, 해소하다

 

 

 

The arrangement, known as a debt-for-nature deal, is a bit like refinancing a mortgage, only for government bonds.

 

Gustavo Manrique Miranda, the Ecuadorian foreign minister, called it a historic agreement that takes into account the value of nature. He said Ecuador was as wealthy as any of the richest countries in the world, “but our currency is the biodiversity.”

 

[Expressions]

▶debt-for-nature deal : 자연-부채 교환 거래

▶take into account : ~을 고려하다, 참작하다.

▶biodiversity : 생물 다양성

 

 

When countries need cash, they often sell bonds, which they repay over time with interest. But Ecuador is struggling with debt and political turmoil. Its bonds have lost so much value on the market that some investors, presumably fearing deeper losses, were willing to sell $1.6 billion worth to the bank Credit Suisse at an average of 40 cents on the dollar.

 

[Expressions]

▶repay over time : 이후 시간이 지남에 따라 상환하다

▶fearing deeper losses : 더 큰 손실을 두려워하여..

 

 

The bank then converted them into a $656 million Galápagos Marine Bond, which it used to finance a loan that will help Ecuador fund conservation. That makes the deal the biggest debt-for-nature swap in history.

 

The bank’s investors get “really enthusiastic” for opportunities that come with a positive impact on nature and society, said Ramzi Issa, who managed the transaction at Credit Suisse.

 

[Expressions]

▶convert A into B: A를 B로 바꾸다. 

▶make A B: A를 B로 만들다. 

   - cf. make a deal : 거래를 성사시키다. 

▶debt-for-nature swap : 자연보호채무상계제도 (빚을 갚는 대신 채무금액만큼 자국의 자연보호에 투자하는 제도)

 

 

Climate change isn’t the only environmental calamity. Scientists estimate that 1 million plants and animals are at risk of extinction as humans plow and pave over land, overfish the seas and overheat the planet.

 

As ecosystems break down, so does nature’s ability to provide the water and food humans, and the rest of life on Earth, rely on.

 

[Expressions]

▶calamity [kəˈlæməti] 
[명사] 재앙, 재난 (=disaster)

▶plow and pave : 경작하고 도로를 포장하다.

▶break down :고장 나다, 실패하다, 무너지다

 

 

In December, nations agreed to take measures to stop biodiversity loss. But that action requires money. And the world’s most biodiverse countries tend to be in the Global South, still suffering from legacies of colonialism and often reeling from debt.

 

“Countries in heavy debt or at risk of debt default do not have the means to prioritize environmental protection, and may be unattractive to investors due to poor credit ratings,” said Alice Hughes, a professor of conservation biology at Hong Kong University who has studied debt-for-nature deals. Such swaps “provide the means to overcome these issues.”

 

[Expressions]

 

▶legacy [ˈleɡəsi]  
1. [명사] (죽은 사람이 남긴) 유산 (=inheritance)
2. [명사] (과거의) 유산

▶reel from ~ : ~으로 크게 동요하다, 휘청거리다.

▶prioritize : 우선적으로 처리하다. 

 

 

 

 

 

반응형

 

 

 

 

2. TALES &FABLES: Aladdin

 

# Disney Aladdin

 

 

Once upon a time in a land far far away from where we are now there lived a boy and his mother. They did not live well. The mother took any part time job that came her way and the boy would run errands for the local merchants. He was clever, he was fast and he was honest. His name was Aladdin.
Aladdin dreamed of one day saving his mother from her life of toil, but back in those days of old if you were stuck at the bottom of the heap it was practically impossible to find a way to climb to the top. But Aladdin knew for sure that one day his chance would come.

And came it did, one gloomy Tuesday morning when a stranger in a cloak stopped Aladdin in the street and bid him follow. Intrigued by what might happen and perhaps a little too naive when it came to the dangers of the world, the boy followed.

[Expressions]
- run errands : 심부름 가다
- life of toil : 평생에 걸친 노역

-heap [hiːp]  
1. [명사] (아무렇게나 쌓아 놓은) 더미[무더기] (→scrap heap, slag heap)
- intrigued : 아주 흥미로워 [궁금해] 하는

  
The stranger took him to the mouth of a cave just outside the city and there he pulled his cloak from off his head and told Aladdin that he was his long lost uncle. I feel duty bound to point out that he wasn’t, he was in fact a rather cunning and cruel sorcerer from even further afield, but Aladdin knew no better and believed his every word.

“My boy, I have journeyed far and wide to be reunited with you, for I have a task I need you to complete. Take this ring for protection and venture into the cave. But beware for many dangers lie within. You will find yourself walking through three halls of treasure. Touch nothing or else you will perish. Beyond the halls is a garden of fine fruit trees and at the end of the garden is a pedestal upon which stands a lamp. Bring that lamp to me.”

Aladdin found all of this quite strange, but he trusted his “uncle’s” words and did as he was told. And indeed, there were three halls of treasure within the cave and a garden and a lamp, which Aladdin picked up and took with him. As he got closer to the mouth of the cave, his uncle shouted for him to throw the lamp out to him.
How strange… thought Aladdin and for the first time he started to doubt the stranger’s words and told him he could have the lamp once he was safely out the cave himself. At this his uncle screamed in rage and with a wave of his hands magicked a large stone to roll in front go the cave’s entrance, trapping Aladdin inside.

- duty bound : 의무가 있는
- cruel : 잔혹한, 잔인한
- venture into : ~을 감행하다
- perish : 죽다, 비명횡사하다
- screamed in rage : 화를 내며 비명을 지르다
- far afield : 멀리 떨어져


You see, the sorcerer knew of the lamp, but could not fetch it himself, it had to be given to him by another. Aladdin was his chosen victim, but the plan had failed and the sorcerer was lampless and Aladdin was trapped.
Two long days and nights Aladdin was stuck in that cave. He was fortunate that the fruit trees in the garden offered sustenance, but he lost hope of ever seeing daylight again. That was until he accidentally rubbed the ring the sorcerer had given him. In an instant an enormous genie appeared in front of him and offered his service.
Aladdin could not believe his eyes, but nonetheless asked the genie for help:
“Please take me home, kind sir.” And the genie obeyed. In an instant he was transported to his mother’s house along with the lamp and a few of the fruits from the garden - which transformed into precious stones.

His mother was glad to see him returned and hugged him tight. Thanking him for the pretty lamp he had brought her. She took a cloth and started to polish it, but as soon as she rubbed the lamp a different genie appeared. This one even larger and quite frightening in his appearance, but he was soft spoken and polite. 

[Expressions]
- fetch : 가지고 [데리고/불러] 오다
- sustenance : (음식·물 등) 생명을 건강하게 유지시켜 주는 것
- offered his service : 그의 능력을 내놓다 [제공하다]
- couldn’t believe his eyes : 자신의 눈을 믿을 수 없었다
- precious stones : 보석용 원석

 
“Master, I have slept for many years, but now you have awoken me and I am pleased to offer you my service.” And so he did. He magicked up gold coins and jewels, fine clothes and meats, and anything Aladdin and his mother so desired. And they lived quite happily from that day on.

But riches are nothing compared to love and Aladdin was lacking in that department. At least he was until the day he caught a glimpse of the Sultan’s daughter. It was love at first sight for both Aladdin and the princess.
Fortunately, Aladdin, with his new wealth, was quickly accepted into the royal court and the Sultan blessed his marriage to his daughter. The wedding was held, the bride and groom were united and the genie of the lamp magicked up a grand palace for them to live in.

All was well for a year or two until the sorcerer got wind of Aladdin’s fate. Enraged that the boy had escaped the cave and used the lamp, he decided to have his revenge. He came to the palace one day when Aladdin was out riding. The sorcerer dressed himself in rags and cried out “new lamps for old” when he saw the princess on the balcony looking at him.
The princess had no clue about the lamp. For Aladdin had kept the genie hidden from her. She thought this old lamp that stood on their bedside table looked quite shabby and decided that a new lamp to decorate their chamber would please her husband. She took the lamp down to the front gate and exchanged it for a shiny new one.
  
[Expressions]
- magicked up : 마법을 발휘했다(동사로 쓰임)
- lacking in that department : 어떤 면에서 성공하지 못하고 있다
- got wind of : ~의 소식을 들었다
- shabby : 다 낡은 [해진], 허름한
  

As soon as the sorcerer got his hands on the lamp he laughed with glee, rubbed it with all his might and when the genie appeared, he ordered him to take the palace and the princess back to his homeland. The genie, startled at the coming of a new master, had no choice but to obey.
Aladdin returned from his ride to find an absence in place of a palace and an ache in his heart. He knew immediately that the sorcerer must be behind this wicked plot, but what could he do if the genie of the lamp was gone?

And then it struck him! The ring! He still wore the ring that saved him all those years ago. He had forgotten all about the lesser genie. He rubbed the ring and ordered the genie to bring his palace back.
“Alas, my master. I cannot undo the magic of a greater genie. That is beyond my powers.”
Aladdin thought and then he spoke: “Then take me to wherever that palace may be. You can do that, can’t you?”

The genie could. And in an instant Aladdin was taken to the palace in the sorcerer’s homeland. It was dark when he arrived and Aladdin hid himself as best he could as he devised a plan. He could not undo the magic of the genie of the lamp until he had it in his possession, but he was sure the sorcerer would be protecting the lamp with all his cunning (indeed, it was locked up in the palace’s vault and only the sorcerer had the key).

 
[Expressions]
- laughed with glee : 환희에 차서 웃었다
- absence : 없음, 빈자리
- beyond my powers : 내 힘으로는 감당할 수 없는
- devised a plan : 계획을 세우다

 

Unless…
A flash of inspiration and Aladdin knew just what to do. He had the genie of the ring create a lamp exactly like the magic one. Then bid the genie reform himself to look exactly like the genie of the lamp when the time came. He then stepped into the courtyard and called out to the sorcerer.
“Uncle of mine, you seem to have mislaid your new found lamp. Why is it here and not with you?”

The sorcerer, seeing Aladdin with the lamp and seemingly the genie of the lamp with him, was outraged:
“How? How can this be? I put that lamp under lock and key in the vault and yet here you are… Impossible!”
“The vault?” Aladdin replied, “Genie of the ring, take me there this instant!”
And before the sorcerer knew what had happened, Aladdin was magicked into the vault and took possession of the lamp that was rightfully his.

After that it was a simple affair of magicking the palace back to where it used to be and instead of the lamp being under lock and key, it was the sorcerer’s turn.

 

A new home for him in the Sultan’s dungeon.
As for Aladdin and the princess? He told her everything and felt foolish for not having confessed all about the genie sooner. But she forgave him and loved him even more for coming to her rescue.
As for the genies? One day, Aladdin decided he had been given so much by them that he wanted to give them something back if he could. When he asked what they wanted the two genies spoke in unison - freedom. And Aladdin being a fair master, obeyed.
And all was well and everyone, except the sorcerer, lived happily ever after.

 
[Expressions]
- flash of inspiration : 불현듯 떠오르는 [번득이는] 영감
- mislaid : 제자리에 두지 않다(그래서 찾지를 못하다)
- rightfully his : 정당하게 그의
- confess : 자백하다, 고백하다
- give them something back : 그들의 지원에 뭔가 보답하다