So far, so fast

Question 1

deal

Answer 1

This week America’s Supreme Court dealt supporters of gay marriage a great victory.
[VERB] If you deal playing cards, you give them out to the players in a game of cards.

Question 2

deal a blow to

Answer 2

[JOURNALISM] If an event deals a blow to something or someone, it causes them great difficulties or makes failure more likely.

Question 3

Unabomber

Answer 3

In September 1995 eBay was founded, the Unabomber’s manifesto was published, and a memo crossed the desk of the editor of The Economist asking him of a handful of aticle ideas were worth pursuing.

University airline bomber

Question 4

manifesto

[mænɪ’festoʊ]

Answer 4

A manifesto is a statement published by a person or group of people, especially a political party, or a government, in which they say what their aims and policies are.

Question 5

idiosyncratic

[ɪdioʊsɪŋkr’ætɪk]

Answer 5

At the time his choice seemed idiosyncratic, to say the least.
[ADJ]If you describe someone’s actions or characteristics as idiosyncratic, you mean that they are rather unusual.

Question 6

to say the least

Answer 6

used to say that you are using the least strong way of saying something
아무리 최소한으로 말해도 ( 강조하고 싶을 때)

Question 7

kerfuffle

[kəˈfʌfl]

Answer 7

In Hawaii, on the far fringe of the United States, a court had caused a kerfuffle a few years before with a decision that some people thought might lead to same-sex weddings, but the topic still seemed utterly fanciful.
[NOUN] A kerfuffle is a lot of argument, noisy activity, or fuss.

Question 8

fanciful

Answer 8

[ADJ]If you describe an idea as fanciful, you disapprove of it because you think it comes from someone’s imagination, and is therefore unrealistic or unlikely to be true.

Question 9

figurine

[fɪgjəri:n]

Answer 9

As if in confirmation, the image of two male figurines holding hands on a wedding cake generated more hostile correspondence than any cover had before, overshadowing even the paper’s call for the abolition of the British monarycy.
[NOUN] A figurine is a small ornamental model of a person.

Question 10

correspondence

[kɔ:rɪs’pɒndəns]

Answer 10

[NOUN] [also a N, oft N with n] Correspondence is the act of writing letters to someone.

Question 11

overshadow

Answer 11

[VERB] If an unpleasant event or feeling overshadows something, it makes it less happy or enjoyable.

Question 12

resounding

[rɪ’zaʊndɪŋ]

Answer 12

England and Wales approved same-sex marriage, by resounding margins, in 2013.
[ADJ] [usu ADJ n] [emphasis] You can refer to a very great success as a resounding success.

Question 13

the icing on the cake

Answer 13

something attractive, but not necessary, which is added to something already very good

Question 14

uphold

Answer 14

On October 6th America’s Supreme Court decided not to hear a number of appeals against previous rulings in various lower courts, all of which had upheld the right of gay men and lesbians to marry in the face of state rules trying to stop them.

[VERB] If you uphold something such as a law, a principle, or a decision, you support and maintain it.

Question 15

irrevocable

[ɪ’revəkəbəl]

Answer 15

The Supreme Court thus made the rulings of the lower courts permanent in five states and opened the way to similarly irrevocable marriage rights in other states.
[ADJ] [FORMAL] If a decision, action, or change is irrevocable, it cannot be changed or reversed.

Question 16

in the light of

Answer 16

In the light of this a successful challenge to gay marriage in any of the other 19 states which had already made it legal now looks next to impossible.

after considering something

Question 17

backlash

Answer 17

Massachusetts’ move ignited a national backlash as other states tumbled over one another to enact legal bans on gay marriage, often by constitutional decree, as quickly as they could.
[NOUN] A backlash against a tendency or recent development in society or politics, is a sudden, strong reaction against it.

Question 18

tumble over

Answer 18

[VERB] [mainly BRIT] If you say that someone tumbles into a situation or place, you mean that they get into it without being fully in control of themselves or knowing what they are doing.
앞다투어 하다

Question 19

streak

[st’ri:k]

Answer 19

Though it took two tries in Arizona, these prohibitions passed everywhere they were offered, reaching 30 states in all and handing the marriage-equality movement one of the most impressive losing streaks in American political history.
[NOUN] [adj N] A winning streak or a lucky streak is a continuous series of successes, for example in gambling or sport. A losing streak or an unlucky streak is a series of failures or losses.

Question 20

crow [kroʊ]

Answer 20

Marriage traditionalists crowed that the people would never accept a hare-brained idea foisted upon them by homosexual activists and their elitist friends.
[VERB] [disapproval, INFORMAL] If you say that someone is crowing about something they have achieved or are pleased about, you disapprove of them because they keep telling people proudly about it.

Question 21

hare-brained

Answer 21

[ADJ] [disapproval] You use hare-brained to describe a scheme or theory which you consider to be very foolish and which you think is unlikely to be successful or true.

Question 22

foist something/somebody/yourself on somebody

Answer 22

to force somebody to accept something that they do not want, or take care of somebody that they do not want to

Question 23

unforeseen

Answer 23

Yet today gay marriage enjoys solid majority support, a change in popular opinion unforeseen by equality supporters and opponents alike.
[ADJ] If something that has happened was unforeseen, it was not expected to happen or known about beforehand.

Question 24

pollster

[‘poʊlstər]

Answer 24

In a country where public opinion on controversial social issues usually changes slowly (not until the mid-1990s did more than half of Americans approve of interracial marriage, according to Gallup, a pollster), one is hard pressed to think of any precedent.

[NOUN] A pollster is a person or organization who asks large numbers of people questions to find out their opinions on particular subjects.

Question 25

hard pressed

Answer 25

[ADJ] If someone is hard-pressed, they are under a great deal of strain and worry, usually because they have not got enough money.

Question 26

precedent

[‘presɪdənt]

Answer 26

[NOUN] If there is a precedent for an action or event, it has happened before, and this can be regarded as an argument for doing it again.

Question 27

swing

Answer 27

Public policy has swung just as sharply.
[VERB] If a vehicle swings in a particular direction, or if the driver swings it in a particular direction, they turn suddenly in that direction.

Question 28

renounce

[rɪ’naʊns]

Answer 28

In 2012, after Mr Obama renounced his own opposition, gay marriage was approved by plebiscite in three states, and the one attempt to ban it failed.

[VERB] If you renounce a belief or a way of behaving, you decide and declare publicly that you no longer have that belief or will no longer behave in that way.

Question 29

plebiscite

[plebɪsaɪt, -sɪt]

Answer 29

[NOUN] A plebiscite is a direct vote by the people of a country or region in which they say whether they agree or disagree with a particular policy, for example whether a region should become an independent state.

Question 30

firecracker

Answer 30

After the Supreme Court ordered the federal government to recognise these marriages in 2013, a series of lower-court decisions brought gay marriage to state after state like a string of firecrackers.

[NOUN] A firecracker is a firework that makes several loud bangs when it is lit.

Question 31

in due course

Answer 31

No one doubts that, in due course, the entire country will join them.

at the right time in the future; eventually

Question 32

confluence

[‘kɒnfluəns]

Answer 32

Social change so marked and rapid can come only from a confluence of causes, but the most important was probably a change in moral judgment.

[NOUN] The confluence of two rivers is the place where they join and become one larger river.

Question 33

panoply

[‘pænəpli]

Answer 33

Moral disapproval underlay not just opposition to same-sex marriage, but also support for the whole panoply of laws and customs that have historically discriminated against gay people.

[NOUN] [FORMAL] A panoply of things is a wide range of them, especially one that is considered impressive.

Question 34

wane

wax

Answer 34

As it waned, support for same-sex marriage waxed.

[VERB] If something wanes, it becomes gradually weaker or less, often so that it eventually disappears.

[PHRASE] If something waxes and wanes, it first increases and then decreases over a period of time.

Question 35

2013년께가 되자 대략 60%의 사람들이 동성애에 대해 어떠한 반감도 가지지 않게 되었다.

Answer 35

By 2013, nearly 60% had no moral problem with same-sex relations.

Question 36

watershed

[wɔ:tərʃed]

Answer 36

Given that America, like most places, has viewed homosexuality as wicked since more or less the beginning of time, approval by a wide majority represents a watershed not just in contemporary politics but also in cultural history.

[NOUN] [usu sing, oft N in n] If something such as an event is a watershed in the history or development of something, it is very important because it represents the beginning of a new stage in it.
=turning point

Question 37

seminal

[‘semɪnəl]

Answer 37

This reversal, even more than sentiment about marriage as such, was the seminal change in public opinion.

[ADJ] Seminal is used to describe things such as books, works, events, and experiences that have a great influence in a particular field.

Question 38

nonchalance

[‘nɒnʃələns]

Answer 38

Their nonchalance is founded upon broadening acceptance of the proposition that homosexuality, like heterosexuality, is generally innate and not inherently harmful.

[ADJ] If you describe someone as nonchalant, you mean that they appear not to worry or care about things and that they seem very calm.

Question 39

가 있었던 것은 바로 이런 배경이 있었기 때문입니다.

Answer 39

It was against this background that gay activists started to fight for their rights in the 1970s,

Question 40

matrimony

[‘mætrɪmoʊni]

Answer 40

Given this, who would not want her friends and family members to enjoy the comfort and security of matrimony?

[NOUN] Matrimony is marriage.

Question 41

restorative

[rɪs’tɔ:rətɪv]

Answer 41

In the country’s mind, gay marriage has crossed a line that separates the radical from the restorative.

[NOUN] If you describe something as a restorative, you mean that it makes you feel healthier, stronger, or more cheerful after you have been feeling tired, weak, or miserable.

Question 42

이성애자들이 동성결혼을 동성애자가 동성결혼을 보는 것과 좀 더 비슷하게 보기 시작했다.

Answer 42

Over the past several years, the heterosexual public has begun to see same-sex marriage more as gay couples see it, and as the country sees marriage itself:

Question 43

evangelical

[‘i:vændʒelɪkəl]

Answer 43

To be sure, not all Americans see same-sex marriage as a pro-family proposition: three out of four white evangelical Protestants remain opposed.

[ADJ] Evangelical Christians emphasize the importance of the Bible and the need for personal belief in Christ.

Question 44

game-changer

Answer 44

In America, the emergence of a conservative narrative supporting gay marriage and families is a game-changer.

[NOUN] A visionary, innovative person who changes the way people think of a situation

Question 45

warily

[‘weərɪli]

Answer 45

Precisely the fear of being domesticated led many gay activists, at the time of The Economist’s cover, to support the idea of marriage equality warily, if at all.

[ADJ] If you are wary of something or someone, you are cautious because you do not know much about them and you believe they may be dangerous or cause problems.

Question 46

emulate

[emjʊleɪt]

Answer 46

And why would gay people want to emulate straights for whom marriage is so often a failure or disappointment?”

[VERB] If you emulate something or someone, you imitate them because you admire them a great deal.

Question 47

divisive
[dɪˈvaɪsɪv]

meeting-ground

Answer 47

And so same-sex marriage, not long ago the most divisive social topic in the country, is becoming a meeting-ground instead.

[ADJ] Something that is divisive causes unfriendliness and argument between people.

(지식이나 관심의) 공통 영역

Question 48

dichotomy

[daɪ’kɒtəmi]

Answer 48

Indeed, even the gay-straight dichotomy, so long defined by antipodal identities and oppositional politics, is being blurred.

[NOUN] If there is a dichotomy between two things, there is a very great difference or opposition between them.

Question 49

acclaim

Answer 49

This is not to say that the culture war is over, or that same-sex marriage enjoys universal acclaim.

[VERB] If someone or something is acclaimed, they are praised enthusiastically.

Question 50

orthodoxy

[‘ɔ:rθədɒksi]

Answer 50

Neither is true. Religious orthodoxies about homosexuality and marriage are slow to change (though most Catholics support same-sex marriage).

[NOUN] [also N in pl] The old, traditional beliefs of a religion, political party, or philosophy can be referred to as orthodoxy.

Question 51

tip

Answer 51

The scales have tipped, however.

[VERB] If you tip an object or part of your body or if it tips, it moves into a sloping position with one end or side higher than the other.

Question 52

jarring

Answer 52

A bit longer ago, in the late 1960s, a young American boy came to a jarring realisation.

[VERB] If something jars on you, you find it unpleasant, disturbing, or shocking.

Question 53

furtive
[‘fɜ:rtɪv]

fleeting

assignation[æsɪg’neɪʃən]

Answer 53

It pointed ahead to a life in which furtive sex and fleeting assignations might be attainable, but the enduring security and companionship of marriage would be forever out of reach.

[ADJ] [disapproval] If you describe someone’s behaviour as furtive, you disapprove of them behaving as if they want to keep something secret or hidden.

[ADJ] Fleeting is used to describe something which lasts only for a very short time.

[NOUN] An assignation is a secret meeting with someone, especially with a lover.

Question 54

a band of

Answer 54

The other was a promise that a band of men made long ago, pledging their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honour to a proposition: All men are created equal.
[NOUN] [with supp] A band of people is a group of people who have joined together because they share an interest or belief.

Question 55

tribute

[‘trɪbju:t]

Answer 55

Though they could not have imagined same-sex marriage, its advent is a tribute to the revolutionary incrementalism of their liberal idea.

[NOUN] [a N, usu N to n, N to n that] If one thing is a tribute to another, the first thing is the result of the second and shows how good it is.