영어생활백서 15. 아깝게 놓치다 Shannon L. Taughe (TESOL) 교수
손에 닿을 듯 했던 무언가를 바로 코앞에서 놓쳐버린 경험이 있나요? 그런 경험은 누구에게나 일어날 수 있습니다. 이번 2010 밴쿠버올림픽의 쇼트트랙 여자 3000m 경기처럼요. 그런 일이 일어나면 굉장한 실망감을 느끼게 마련입니다. 그렇지만 만약 그런 좌절의 순간이 온다 하더라도 우리는 매 순간 최선을 다 해야 합니다. 영어 속담 중에는 이런 말이 있습니다. “달을 향해 나아가라, 달에 닿지 못하더라도 어느 별에 도달하리라.”
※ “한이 맺히다”에 관한 몇 가지 표현들
I was so close. : I almost achieved it.
So close and yet, so far. : I almost achieved it, but not quite.
Close, but no cigar. : Comes from carnivals when cigars used to be prizes?to those you failed, the carnival worker would say “Close, but no cigar”, which is still a common expression today.
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. : In both of these, you can benefit from being close to the target, but in many other things in life, being close doesn’t matter.
*Horseshoes, Hand grenades는 정확히 표적을 맞추지 못하더라도 점수를 딸 수 있는 게임입니다.
A: You look terrible. What’s the matter?
B: I’ve been training for this Olympic skating race for months. I’ve been eating raw eggs for breakfast, wake up at 5 am to go running and then working out at the gym.
A: Wow! Sounds great! You must be very healthy!
B: Yeah, I feel great, except for one thing?my leg.
A: Oh no! What happened?
B: I was doing my warm-ups on the morning of the big race, when I tripped and fell. BAM! I broke my leg and can’t skate for months. I was sooooo close!
A: Don’t worry I’m sure you’ll make a comeback. Remember, the strong fall down, but the weak stay down.
B: Yeah, I guess you’re right. Once I get this cast off, it’s back to training for me! See you in Sochi in 2014!
* 일러스트 : 문새별 기자