진행자: 최정윤, Paul Kerry

1. Amid prolonged pandemic, small businesses teeter over piling debt

요약: 코로나바이러스 장기화 사태와 거리두기 강화 등의 영향으로 전체 취업자 중 자영업자 비중이 39년 만에 최저 수준까지 떨어졌다.

[1] Facing tougher social distancing measures over a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, South Korea’s small-enterprise owners are struggling to make ends meet, resorting to laying off employees or borrowing money from banks, data showed Thursday. 

*make ends meet: 겨우 먹고 살아가다, 수입과 지출의 균형을 맞추다
*resort to: ~에 의지하다, 기대다
*lay off: ~를 해고하다, / 명) (불경기로 인한) 강제,일시 해고

[2] The country had 5.58 million self-employed people registered as of June, accounting for 20.2 percent of the total 27.6 million employed workers in the same month, the smallest proportion in nearly 39 years, according to data compiled by the Korea Small Business Institute and Statistics Korea.

*account for sth: 1.~을 해명하다 (~의 이유가 되다) 2.설명하다 3.(부분, 비율을) 차지하다
*compile: (여러 자료를) 엮다, 편집하다

[3] The figures indicate that a large number of small merchants have laid off their staff to reduce operating expenses to counter a sharp decline in overall sales amid protracted social distancing rules, according to officials.

*indicate: 1.나타내다 2. 내비치다, 시사하다
*counter: 1.반박, 논박하다 2.대응하다(=counteract)
*protracted: 오래 끌다, 연장하다 / -ed: 오래 끈, 계속된

 [4] It is notable that businesses run by self-employed people were not affected by the recent recovery momentum in the job market, which means management conditions faced by the nation’s self-employed people haven’t improved much,” said Roh Min-sun, a senior researcher at the KSBI.

*notable: 주목할 만한, 눈에 띄는, 중요한

기사 원문: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210805000827&np=2&mp=1

2. Social distancing rules questioned amid surge in cases

요약: 제일 강력한 사회적 거리두기 4단계가 한 달 간 계속됐음에도 불구하고 신규 확진자 수가 줄지 않는 것을 두고 거리두기의 효용성에 의문이 제기되고 있다.

[1] Despite having its most restrictive social distancing measures in place for nearly a month, South Korea is still scrambling to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

*restrictive: 제한하는
*scramble: 재빨리 움직이다, 앞다투다
*curb: 억제하다, 제한하다

[2] “The fourth wave led by the delta variant, unlike the past waves, is characterized by faster spread and stronger infectivity,” Ministry of Health and Welfare spokesperson Son Young-rae said Sunday. “In addition, the combination of vacation season and fatigue from prolonged (social distancing measures) is making it take longer to control the virus.”

*fatigue: 피로
*prolonged: 오래 계속되는, 장기적인

[3] Because the country has yet to contain this stubborn fourth wave, on Friday the government announced that it would extend the Level 4 social distancing measures for two more weeks through Aug. 22 in the Greater Seoul area. The rest of the country will be put under Level 3 measures for the same period.

*contain: 1. ~가 들어있다 2. (감정을) 억누르다, 참다 3.방지하다, 억제하다
*extend: 1. 더 길게/크게/넓게 만들다 2.연장하다 3. 확대하다, 확장하다

[4] But as the virus continues to spread across the country, questions have been raised about the effectiveness of the restrictions. “It appears that (the measures) have slowed down the surge in the capital area and are turning it into a very gradual decline.”

*restrictions: 제한, 규제
*surge: 급증

기사 원문: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210808000205&np=1&mp=1