Morning Special (2018. Jul. 26. Thu.)

▶Touch! Global Headlines

HEADLINE 1

Following the partial collapse of a dam in Laos, President Moon Jae-in ordered strong support measures such as the immediate dispatch of an emergency relief team.

 

HEADLINE 2

South and North Korea exchanged the results of their weekslong search for war-torn families ahead of their upcoming reunion event.

- war-torn 전쟁으로

HEADLINE 3

China's vice foreign minister and top nuclear envoy Kong Xuanyou went to N. Korea to discuss measures related to the regime’s denuclearization.

 

HEADLINE 4

All three major U.S. airlines have taken out the word “Taiwan” from their websites.

 

HEADLINE 5

At least 30 people have died in a suicide attack at a polling station in Pakistan as the country holds its general election.

 

HEADLINE 6

Starting 2020, Korean passports won’t display resident registration numbers.

 

▶News Focus 1

Childbirths in Korea continued to fall for 30 consecutive months through May. According to Statistics Korea, the number of newborn babies for the month of May came in at 27,900. That's 7.9 percent less than a year ago. It's also the lowest May figure since the government agency began compiling birth rate related data in 1981. The continuous fall in the birth rate has fueled concerns of a demographic cliff, which refers to a sudden drop in the heads of households that ultimately results in a consumption cliff. The Korean population is forecast to begin falling in 2028. The low birth rate has been attributed to delayed marriages and the falling number of women who are of childbearing age.

- consecutive 연이은

- demographic cliff 인구절벽

 

▶News Focus 2

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, nearly 750,000 animals were reportedly killed by the heat on Tuesday alone. In total, about 2.17 million animals have died due to the recent heat wave, which is a figure 20 percent higher than the same period last year. An estimated 11.9 billion won in damages have been inflicted upon local farmers. A ministry official expects to see more damage to the livestock industry unless there is an unexpected variable in the weather.

- inflict 해를 가하다

- livestock 가축

 

▶News Focus 3

In an effort to curtail traffic accidents between fire trucks and other automobiles, fire authorities say they will increase the volume of fire engine sirens by 30 percent and attach reflective tape to the front, sides and rear of fire trucks. The qualification standard of sirens will be increased from the current 110 decibel (dB) measured 1 meter ahead to 124 dB 1.5 meters ahead. The new standard will be applied to fire engines that are to be newly produced. A total of 1,374 people have been killed in 2,344 collisions between fire engines and ordinary cars on the road over the past five years. According to a survey by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2015, reflective tape helps reduce the number of traffic accidents by 21 percent at night and 16 percent in the daytime.

- curtail 축소시키다 

- automobiles 자동차

- reflective 빛/열을 반사하는

- qualification / applied

- collision 충돌