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2014년 10월 3일 금요일

PE 9/18 Johannesburg: The Gold Rush

You are so dense sometimes. Harrison was a gold miner and he sparked the gold rush of 1886 in South Africa on this very spot by staking his claim.
* dense: slow to comprehend something
ex> I felt pretty dense after discovering that I had been sitting next to a movie star the entire flight.
ex> Although he may seem dense at first, he’s actually a brilliant writer and speaker.
* stake one’s claim: to assert one’s right to something
ex> When we got to the beach, we spread out our blanket, raised our umbrella and staked our claim on the best spot.

How much gold was there in this area? Did Harrison miss the boat on the riches?
* miss the boat: to fail to attend or take part in something
ex> When the half-price sale on snowboards ended, I felt like I had really missed the boat.

Well, let me put it this way: the entire nation was turned around and mining became its biggest industry. In fact, it created a whole class of super-wealthy miners referred to as “randlords,” nicknamed after this area – Witwatersrand.
* let me put it this way: a way of explaining something in a different way to someone who does not understand
ex> Let me put it this way, the only things to make it to the top of that cliff were goats and birds!

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Haley. Grab it and let’s get out of here!
* Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth: Don’t question the value of something that is given for free
ex> Sure, brown isn't really my color, but my girlfriend gave me this sweater, so I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Note> A gift horse is a horse that was a gift. When given a horse, it would be bad manners to inspect the horse’s mouth to see if it had bad teeth. Instead, you should just be grateful for the gift.

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