Chemical Weapons
매주 금요일이면 난 시내 한복판에 있는 백화점 문화센터에서 엄마들과 원어민에게 영어회화를 배운다. 배운다기보다는 함께 영어로 수다를 떠는 기분이랄까. 외국어는 듣기, 쓰기, 읽기, 말하기가 병행되어야 하는데 별 부담 없이 말하기로 그 이상 좋은 방법이 없기 때문이다. 그러나 이것저것 호기심 천국인 나는 금요일에 꼭 무슨 일이 많이 생긴다. 공을 치러 가게 된다든가 서울을 가게 된다든가. 그래서 한 달에 한 번 내지 두 번 밖에 가지 못한다. 이번에도 꽤 오랜만에 참석하는 거다. 아깝기도 하지만 그래도 난 이걸 그만두지 않는다. 비록 한 달에 한 번일지라도 계속 이어진다는 것엔 의미가 있으니까. 내일 수업을 여기에 준비한다. 할 수 있을 때 하면 된다. 너무 조급할 필요도 아쉬워할 필요도 없다. 내일 마침 갈 수 있으니까 난 수업을 준비하는 거다.
Austin, are you following developments in the Syrian Civil War?
Not extensively, but I see it on the news a lot.
yeah, me too, but I have a lot of trouble identifying who the good guys and bad guys are.
Oh, I think that everyone has that problem.
I just looked at an article on Wikipedia entitled "List of Armed Groups in the Syrian Civil War."
Oh, yeah. I've seen that article. It shows four major groups of fighters and hundreds of smaller groups.
That's right. It's impossible for the average person like me to understand this conflict.
I agree, and I don't have confidence in wishing for a particular group to be victorious.
I know exactly what you mean.
Yeah, sometimes it's just impossible to separate the good guys fro the bad guys.
When chemical warfare broke out, I didn't have to worry because I was rich enough and smart enough to buy the latest gas mask. I WAS RIGHT. Now everybody has died from toxic gases except me. What should I do now?
warfare 특정한 무기 등을 이용한 전투
toxic 유독성의
I want to move to another planet, and I still have enough money to buy a space shuttle. But I have no friends anymore. I wish I had bought gas masks for them, but it's too late! There are just some things you can't do over.
If you watch the news only sporadically, you will be aware that continues unabated in our generation: the Syrian Civil War. It is a multi-sided armed conflict combined with international interventions. The conflict began in the spring of 2011, when nationwide protests began in Syria against the rule of President Bashar alprotestors, and shortly thereafter, the dispute morphed from street protests into an armed rebellion. A United Nations report, released in December 2012, stated that the conflict included a strong religious aspect: the government's Shia forces fighting against Sunni-majority rebel groups.
sporadically 드문드문, 이따금씩, 돌발적인.
unabated 조금도 수그러들지 않는
intervention 해결책
morph 변하다. 바뀌다.
alprotestors 시위대
thereafter 그 이후, 그 후에.
Shia 시아파. 이슬람교 양대 분파 중 하나.
Sunni-majority 수니파. 이슬람교 2대 종파 중 하나.
As fighting intensified, allegations were made that chemical weapons were being used in the war. In March 2013, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established a mission to investigate 16 supposed chemical weapons attacks. In September 2013, U.N. inspectors confirmed the use of sarin gas in four cases, including in the Ghouta region of Syria, with a death toll estimated from 322 to 1,729 people. The attack was the deadliest use of chemical weapons since the Iran-Iraq War(1980-1988).
allegation 혐의
sarin 사린(화학 무기에 쓰이는 독가스의 일종)
deadly 1. 생명을 앗아가는 2. 극도로 3. 극도의; 완전한
비교급 deadlier 최상급 deadliest
Sarin is a nerve agent, estimated to be 26 times more deadly than cyanide, and even at very low concentrations, it can be fatal. The initial symptoms of sarin exposure are a runny nose, a feeling of tightness in the chest, and constriction of the pupils of the eyes. Then the victim experiences difficulty in breathing, along with nausea and loss of control of bodily functions. After that, the victim experiences twitching and jerking before becoming comatose and dying in a series of convulsions.
cyanide 시안화물, 청산가리.
concentrations 집중, 농축, 농도
constriction 압축, 수축
pupil 학생, 눈동자, 동공
nausea 메스꺼움
jerk 갑자기 홱 움직이다. 얼간이
comatose 혼수상태인
convulsion 경련, 경기, 격변
Unfortunately, the U.N. fact-finding mission sent to Syria did not blame any party in the conflict for using chemical weapons. The U.S. and the E.U. accused the Syrian government of using the chemicals. However, human rights investigator Carla del Ponte accused the rebels of using the sarin gas. Because of international pressure, the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria was commenced.
commence 시작하다.
What do you think?
1. Should international forces, such as those of the U.S., Russia, and the E.U., intervene in Syria?
2. What is the best way to end the Syrian Civil War? If you were head of the U.N., what woul you do?
3. If the perpetrators of the sarin gas attack are identified, what sort of punishment should they face?
4. Can you think of any other wars and conflicts where chemical weapons have been used?
5. do you think that any of your neighboring countries possess chemical weapons? Which countries?
6. Is your country prepared in case of a chemical weapons attack?
7. Do you have masks at home to protect you against a chemical weapons attack?
(사진: 꽃 뜰)
