Welcome to ENGLISH WITH YOO! 안녕하세요 English with Yoo!의 Jennifer Yoo입니다.
오늘의 표현은 Hard to swallow 입니다.
Today we are going to learn a fun expression - hard to swallow. Before we find out what that means, let’s listen to today’s conversation. Listen carefully. 그럼 오늘의 대화를 들어보면서 ‘hard to swallow’가 무슨 뜻인지 알아 보겠습니다. 잘 들어보세요.
![[English with Yoo] Hard to swallow](https://gdb.voanews.com/2ADF84C9-734E-4FC7-AC2B-B6757FA2AA92_w250_r1.jpg "[English with Yoo] Hard to swallow")
Hard to swallow
Alice: Have you seen Thomas? I have a meeting with him but he’s not in his office.
Jason: He’s not here yet.
Alice: He’s late to work again?
Jason: Well, he called in saying that he got a flat tire on his way to work.
Alice: His excuse for coming in late to work is a bit hard to swallow, don’t you think?
Jason: It is a bit hard to swallow.
오늘 본문은Alice와 Jason의 대화인데요. 회사 동료인 Thomas는 지각을 많이 하나 봅니다. Alice가 “Have you seen Thomas? I have a meeting with him but he’s not in his office. 혹시 토마스 봤니? 오늘 나랑 회의가 있는데 아직 사무실에 없네.”라고 묻자, Jason이 “He’s not here yet. 아직 출근 안 했어.”라고 답합니다. 그러자 Alice가 “He’s late to work again? 또 지각이야?”라고 다시 묻는데요. Jason이 “Well, he called in saying that he got a flat tire on his way to work.글쎄, 출근하는 길에 차 바뀌가 펑크났다고 연락이 왔어.”라고 이유를 설명합니다. 그런데 Thomas는 지각이 잦아서 신용이 나빠졌나 봅니다. Alice가 “His excuse for coming in late to work is a bit hard to swallow, don’t you think? 그의 지각 이유는 좀 믿기 어렵다. 그렇지 않아?”라고 묻는데요. Jason도 “Yeah. It is a bit hard to swallow. 응, 받아들이기 힘들어.”라고 맞장구를 칩니다.
Now keep today’s expression, ‘hard to swallow’ in mind and let’s hear the conversation again. 그럼 다시 한번 대화를 들어볼까요?
Hard to swallow
Alice: Have you seen Thomas? I have a meeting with him but he’s not in his office.
Jason: He’s not here yet.
Alice: He’s late to work again?
Jason: Well, he called in saying that he got a flat tire on his way to work.
Alice: His excuse for coming in late to work is a bit hard to swallow, don’t you think?
Jason: It is a bit hard to swallow.
Today’s expression is hard to swallow. If something is hard to swallow, it’s difficult to accept or believe. Hard to swallow를 직역하면 ‘무엇을 삼키기 힘들다.’ 즉 ‘받아들이기 어렵다’ 또는 ‘믿기 어렵다’라는 의미입니다. 오늘 본문에서 Alice가 Jason에게 혹시 Thomas를 봤냐고 묻자, Jason은 Thomas가 회사 오는 길에 차 바뀌가 펑크 나서 늦게 도착한다고 알려줬습니다. 그러자 Alice는 Thomas의 이유를 변명으로 받아들이고 믿기 힘들다고 했죠. “His excuse for coming in late to work is a bit hard to swallow, don’t you think?”라고요. 이렇게 어떤 상황 또는 남의 말에 의심이 가고, 그대로 받아들이기 어려울 때 쓰는 표현이 바로 ‘hard to swallow’입니다.
그럼 예문을 통해 오늘 표현을 좀 더 자세히 알아보겠습니다. “Really? Jessica got into Harvard? That’s hard to swallow.”는 “정말? Jessica가 하버드에 들어갔다고? 믿기 어려운데.”라는 뜻입니다. Here is another example. “Janet, your story is hard to swallow, but I am beginning to believe it now.”, 이 문장에도 오늘 배운 표현이 들어있는데요. “자넷, 너의 이야기는 받아들이기 힘들지만, 그래도 이제는 믿기 시작했어.”로 해석할 수 있습니다. ‘Hard to swallow’ 이 표현 잘 기억하시고요. 마지막으로 오늘의 대화를 다시 한 번 들어보겠습니다. Now that you know what today’s expression means, let’s listen to the conversation for the last time.
Hard to swallow
Alice: Have you seen Thomas? I have a meeting with him but he’s not in his office.
Jason: He’s not here yet.
Alice: He’s late to work again?
Jason: Well, he called in saying that he got a flat tire on his way to work.
Alice: His excuse for coming in late to work is a bit hard to swallow, don’t you think?
Jason: It is a bit hard to swallow.
Let’s review what we have learned today. If something is hard to swallow, it’s difficult to accept or believe. HARD TO SWALLOW. Now try using this expression on your own. 지금까지 ENGLISH WITH YOO에 Jennifer Yoo입니다. Until next time, bye bye!