cheaper oil: Many winners, a few bad losers

Question 1

By the same token

heir [eər]

bolster [boʊlstər]1

Answer 1

By the same token, the 14-year rule of Vladimir Putin, heir to what remained, has been bolstered by a threefold rise in the oil price.
*같은 이유로[마찬가지로] for the same reasons
[NOUN] An heir is someone who has the right to inherit a person’s money, property, or title when that person dies.
[VERB] If someone tries to bolster their position in a situation, they try to strengthen it.

Question 2

그것은 정체되어 있는 세계 경제에 도움이 되는 것이 될 것입니다.

Answer 2

That would be a shot in the arm for a stagnating world economy.
*a shot in the arm: a thing or an action that gives somebody/something new energy, help or encouragement or provides a quick solution to a problem 도움[격려]이 되는 것

Question 3

오일 가격을 예상하는 것은 쓸데 없는 짓이다.

Answer 3

Predicting oil prices is a mug’s game.

*be a mug’s game: an activity which brings little or no benefit to you 쓸데 없는 짓.

Question 4

see off

Answer 4

Saudi Arabia’s decision to boost output to protect its market share and hurt American shale producers and see off new developments in the Arctic was also a surprise.
*[VERB] [tr, adverb] to be present at the departure of (a person making a journey) ~를 배웅[전송]하다

Question 5

Geopolitical

Answer 5

Geopolitical shocks can surprise on the upside as well as the down.
*지정학적인

Question 6

post [poʊst]

swing [swɪŋ]

Answer 6

Saudi Arabia may well decide to resume its self-appointed post as swing producer.
[NOUN] [usu with supp, oft N of/as n] [FORMAL] A post in a company or organization is a job or official position in it, usually one that involves responsibility.
[NOUN] [usu with supp] A swing in people’s opinions, attitudes, or feelings is a change in them, especially a sudden or big change.

Question 7

insurgency [ɪnsɜ:rdʒənsi] 2

Answer 7

With war stalking Iraq, Libya still fragile and Nigeria prey to insurgency , supply is vulnerable to chaotic forces.
[NOUN] [FORMAL] An insurgency is a violent attempt to oppose a country’s government carried out by citizens of that country. 반란(시도)

Question 8

malaise [mæleɪz]2

weigh down

tonic[tɒnɪk]1

Answer 8

The economic malaise weighing down on demand is not about to lift, despite the tonic of cheaper oil.
[NOUN] [FORMAL] Malaise is a state in which there is something wrong with a society or group, for which there does not seem to be a quick or easy solution.
(특정 상황・집단 내에 존재하는 설명・규명하기 힘든) 문제들[불안감]
*(쉽게 움직일 수 없을 정도로) ~을 무겁게 누르다/to press (a person) down by or as if by weight
[NOUN] [oft adj N, N for n] A tonic is anything that makes you feel stronger, more cheerful, or more enthusiastic.기운을 돋구는 것.

Question 9

ratchet [rætʃɪt] 1

Answer 9

Conservation, spurred by high prices and green regulation, is more like a ratchet than a piece of elastic.
[NOUN] [with supp] [mainly BRIT] If you describe a situation as a ratchet, you mean that it is bad and can only become worse. 래칫(한쪽 방향으로만 회전하게 되어 있는 톱니바퀴)

Question 10

put a floor under

Answer 10

Analysts claim that a third of wells lose money below $80 a barrel, so shale-oil production will adjust, helping put a floor under the price.
*…에게 지지를 보내다; …을 안정시키다

Question 11

sag

Answer 11

But the floor will sag.

[VERB] When something sags, it hangs down loosely or sinks downwards in the middle. 가운데가 축 처지다.

Question 12

손익 분기점

Answer 12

Break-even points are falling

Question 13

confound [kənfaʊnd]2

Answer 13

In past price squeezes, oilmen confounded the experts by finding unimagined savings.
[VERB] If someone or something confounds you, they make you feel surprised or confused, often by showing you that your opinions or expectations of them were wrong.

Question 14

hog [hɔ:g]

scandalous [skændələs]1

Answer 14

Fuel subsidies hog scandalous amounts of money in many developing countries.
[VERB] [INFORMAL] If you hog something, you take all of it in a greedy or impolite way.명사로는 돼지
[ADJ] [usu ADJ n] Scandalous behaviour or activity is considered immoral and shocking.

Question 15

windfall [wɪndfɔ:l]1

Answer 15

For those governments that have used the windfall revenues from higher prices to run aggressive foreign policies, by contrast, things could get uncomfortable.
[NOUN] A windfall is a sum of money that you receive unexpectedly or by luck, for example if you win a lottery.
횡재

Question 16

dwindle [dwɪndəl]1

Answer 16

Foreign-exchange reserves are dwindling, inflation is rampant and Venezuelans are enduring shortages of everyday goods such as flour and toilet paper.
[VERB] If something dwindles, it becomes smaller, weaker, or less in number.

Question 17

profligate [prɒflɪgɪt]1

extravagant [ɪkstrævəgənt]2

Answer 17

It needs oil at about $140 a barrel to balance a profligate budget padded with the extravagant spending schemes of its former president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.
[ADJ] [FORMAL] Someone who is profligate spends too much money or uses too much of something.
[ADJ] Someone who is extravagant spends more money than they can afford or uses more of something than is reasonable.

Question 18

conspire [kənspaɪər] 2

Answer 18

Some claim that Sunni Saudi Arabia is conspiring with America to use the oil price to put pressure on its Shia rival.
[VERB] If two or more people or groups conspire to do something illegal or harmful, they make a secret agreement to do it.

Question 19

bide [baɪd]

Answer 19

Compared with these two, Russia can bide its time.

[PHRASE] If you bide your time, you wait for a good opportunity before doing something.

Question 20

stifle [staɪfəl]1

Answer 20

Sanctions are stifling the economy and making it hard to borrow.
[VERB] [disapproval] If someone stifles something you consider to be a good thing, they prevent it from continuing.

Question 21

default [dɪfɔ:lt] 2

dire [daɪər]

Answer 21

Similarly, a default in Venezuela could have dire consequences not just for Venezuelans but also for the Caribbean countries that have come to depend on Bolivarian aid.
[NOUN] [COMPUTING] In computing, the default is a particular set of instructions which the computer always uses unless the person using the computer gives other instructions.
[ADJ] [usu ADJ n] [emphasis] Dire is used to emphasize how serious or terrible a situation or event is.

Question 22

turn off

Answer 22

Most oil investment takes years of planning and, after a certain point, cannot easily be turned off.
[VERB] to leave (a road, pathway, etc)

Question 23

crack [kræk]

Answer 23

The first to crack could be Venezuela, home to the anti-American “ Bolivarian revolution’” which the late Hugo Chavez tried to export around his region.
[VERB] If you crack a problem or a code, you solve it, especially after a lot of thought.

Question 24

draw on

budget [bʌdʒɪt] 1

run (something) down

Answer 24

The Kremlin can draw on money it has saved in reserve funds, though these are smaller than they were a few years ago and it had already budgeted to run them down.
[VERB] [intr, preposition] to use or exploit (a source, fund, etc)
[VERB] If you budget certain amounts of money for particular things, you decide that you can afford to spend those amounts on those things.
*o stop functioning gradually or become smaller in size or number; to make something do this

Question 25

plunge [plʌndʒ]1

xenophobic [zenəfoʊbɪk] 1 3

Answer 25

And Mr.Putin, deprived of economic legitimacy, could well plunge deeper into the xenophobic nationalism that has fuelled his campaign in Ukraine.
*급락하다, 거꾸러지다
[ADJ] [disapproval, FORMAL] If you describe someone as xenophobic, you disapprove of them because they show strong dislike or fear of people from other countries.
외국(인) 공포[혐오]증의 [을 가진].