A fat chance

Question 1

(A) fat chance

Answer 1

The way you eat, you have a fat[slim, little] chance to lose any weight.
*used when you think that there is no possibility of something happening

Question 2

rescind [rɪsɪnd]2

unwieldy [ʌnwi:ldi] 2

Answer 2

The Danish government rescinds its unwieldy fat tax.
[VERB] [FORMAL] If a government or a group of people in power rescind a law or agreement, they officially withdraw it and state that it is no longer valid.
[ADJ] If you describe a system as unwieldy, you mean that it does not work very well as a result of it being too large or badly organized.

Question 3

whoop [hu:p]

abolition [æbəlɪʃən] 1 3

saturated fat [sætʃʊreɪtɪd] 1

Answer 3

FARMERS, retailers and shoppers whooped with joy this week when the government announced the abolition of one of its most hated taxes: a tariff on saturated fats, imposed just over a year ago.
[VERB] [WRITTEN] If you whoop, you shout loudly in a very happy or excited way.
[NOUN] The abolition of something such as a system or practice is its formal ending.
[ADJ] Saturated fats 포화지방are types of fat that are found in some foods, especially meat, eggs, and things such as butter and cheese. They are believed to cause heart disease and some other illnesses if eaten too often.

Question 4

그 세금은 의심할 여지 없이 잘 의도된 것이었습니다.

Answer 4

The tax was undoubtedly well intentioned.
*undoubted [ʌndaʊtɪd] 2
ADJ] You can use undoubted to emphasize that something exists or is true.

Question 5

건강하지 못한 음식의 가격이 높을수록, 소비는 줄어들 것이며, 공중 보건은 향상될 것입니다.

Answer 5

Higher prices for unhealthy foods would reduce consumption and improve public health.
*비교급 명사로 시작하는 가정법 구문

Question 6

strain [streɪn]

Answer 6

strains on health-care budgets would be eased.

[NOUN] [oft under N, N on n] If strain is put on an organization or system, it has to do more than it is able to do.

Question 7

in practice

prove (to be) [pru:v]

cumbersome [kʌmbərsəm] 1

Answer 7

Yet in practice, the world’s first fat tax proved to be a cumbersome chore with undesirable side effects.
*in reality; in fact; in a real or normal situation
[VERB] If something proves to be true or to have a particular quality, it becomes clear after a period of time that it is true or has that quality.
[ADJ] Something that is cumbersome is large and heavy and therefore difficult to carry, wear, or handle.

Question 8

fare [feər]

Answer 8

The tax’s advocates wanted to hit things like potato crisps and hot dogs, but it was applied also to high-end fare like speciality cheeses.
[NOUN] [WRITTEN] The fare at a restaurant or cafe is the type of food that is served there.

Question 9

excess

nanny state

Answer 9

Critics saw the tax as the worst excesses of the nanny state.
[NOUN] [with supp, usu a N of n] An excess of something is a larger amount than is needed, allowed, or usual.
[NOUN] [disapproval, mainly BRIT] If you refer to the government as the nanny state, you disapprove of it because you think it tries to protect its citizens too much and makes them rely on the state too much.

Question 10

fret [fret]

Answer 10

Bakers fretted over the fat content of cupcakes.

[VERB] If you fret about something, you worry about it.

Question 11

jaunt [dʒɔ:nt]

stock up on

national pastime

Answer 11

Family jaunts to Germany or Sweden to stock up on beer, fizzy drinks, butter and sugary delights became a national pastime.
[NOUN] A jaunt is a short journey which you go on for pleasure or excitement.
*to buy or get a lot of something so that you can use it later
*국가적 취미, 전국이 소일거리로 즐기는 것.

Question 12

국세청에 의한 보고는 2012년의 이러한 trip의 가치를 18억 달라라고 추산하였습니다. (이는) 전년도에 비해 10퍼센트 상승한 것입니다.

Answer 12

A report by the tax ministry put the 2012 value of these trips at DKr10.5 billion ($1.8 billion), a 10% rise on the previous year.

• put ~ at ~: 누가 ~을 추산하기에는 ~하더라.
• on~에 두고 봤을 때

Question 13

bugbear [bʌgbeər] 1

Answer 13

Another bugbear was how the tax was applied to meat.

[NOUN] Something or someone that is your bugbear worries or upsets you.

Question 14

carcass [kɑ:rkəs] 1

lean [li:n]

sirloin [sɜ:rlɔɪn]1

Answer 14

It was imposed per carcass not per cut, which meant higher prices for lean sirloin steak as well as for fatty burgers.
[NOUN] A carcass is the body of a dead animal.
[ADJ] If meat is lean, it does not have very much fat.
[NOUN] A sirloin is a piece of beef which is cut from the bottom and side parts of a cow’s back.

Question 15

모두가 그 지방에 대한 세금이 사라지는 것을 보는 것에 행복해하지는 않습니다.

Answer 15

Not everybody is happy to see the fat tax go.

*go 사라지다

Question 16

덴마크 의학 협회는 정치인들을 공중 보건보다 경제를 더 우선시한다는 것에 대해 비난했다.

Answer 16

The Danish medical association accused politicians of putting the economy before public health.
*put A before B: A를 B 앞에 두다(우선시하다/중요시하다)

Question 17

blunt [blʌnt]

gauge [geɪdʒ]

Answer 17

And even though some doctors acknowledged that the tax was a blunt instrument, they insisted that one year was too short a time to be able to gauge its impact.
[ADJ] [ADJ n] A blunt object has a rounded or flat end rather than a sharp one.
[VERB] If you gauge the speed or strength of something, or if you gauge an amount, you measure or calculate it, often by using a device of some kind.

Question 18

skew [skju:]

hoard [hɔ:rd]

Answer 18

But these data, said skeptics said, were skewed by hoarding in the run-up to the legislation as well as by cross-border shopping in its wake.
[VERB] If something is skewed, it is changed or affected to some extent by a new or unusual factor, and so is not correct or normal.
[VERB] If you hoard things such as food or money, you save or store them, often in secret, because they are valuable or important to you.

Question 19

그러나 비관론자들이 말하기를 이러한 데이터는 입법되기 전의 기간동안에 저장되었던 것과 더불어 그것의 여파로 일어난 국경 넘어의 쇼핑에 의해 왜곡되었다고 합니다.

Answer 19

But these data, said skeptics said, were skewed by hoarding in the run-up to the legislation as well as by cross-border shopping in its wake.

• in the run-up/lead to: ~ 전의 기간동안
• in its wake ~의 여파로=in the wake of: coming after and resulting from somebody/something; behind somebody/something

Question 20

대통령 선거가 있기 전 몇 달동안, 엄청난 폭력사건들이 발생했었다.

Answer 20

In the months leading up to the presidential election, a lot of violations have been spotted.
*in the lead up to~전 기간동안