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News of the Week (19/7/2015)
Social Issues

Kim Jong-un puts food under the microscope

While North Korea has long been a mysterious place to many people, Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, is notorious for its oppressive style of governance.

North Korea, which borders South Korea and the north-east of China, is one of the very few Asian countries that have a closed economy. Without mouth-watering exotic foods and breathtaking tourist attractions, tourism is never a booming business in North Korea because of the strictly limited entry into the country. However, ironically, it is such a veil of secrecy that makes people more interested in this place, despite the lack of attractions in many other countries.

Recent news about Kim Jong-un revealed that he is a callous leader intolerant of mistakes and of people against him. Two months ago, a high-ranking official was executed in public with an anti-aircraft gun just because he dozed off in a meeting and talked back to Kim Jong-un. An anti-aircraft gun – as its name implies – is an extremely cold-blooded means of execution because it can rip human bodies apart.

Although Kim Jong-un can bump off whoever he wants to, he is living in fear of his life every day. Putting what he has to eat under the microscope is deplorable, especially when he has absolute control over whom to live and whom to die. If given freedom to choose, do you want a life free of fear or a life of authority yet also fear


microscope是「顯微鏡」，理科同學一定不會感到陌生，而put something under the microscope則取其「顯微鏡」的意思，整個phrase解作「認真地檢查…」。上文指金正恩真的用顯微鏡檢查食物，以防其他人下毒，因此標題put food under the microscope除了指金正恩檢查食物外，還指出他真的是透過顯微鏡來檢查。一個標題，雙重解釋。

Glossary:
1. microscope [n.] 顯微鏡
2. notorious [adj.] 惡名昭彰的
3. oppressive [adj.] 暴虐的; 殘酷的
4. governance [n.] 統治; 管治
5. border [v.] 與…接壤
6. mouth-watering [adj.] 令人垂涎的
7. exotic [adj.] 異國風情的
8. breathtaking [adj.] 壯麗的; 令人嘆為觀止的
9. booming [adj.] 蓬勃的; 發展迅速的
10. ironically [adv.] 諷刺地
11. a veil of secrecy [ph.] 神秘的面紗
12. callous [adj.] 無情的
13. intolerant [adj.] 不能容忍的; 不容異己的
14. execute [v.] 把…處死
15. doze off [ph.] 打瞌睡
16. talk back [ph.] 頂咀
17. anti-aircraft gun [ph.] 高射炮
18. cold-blooded [adj.] 冷血的
19. rip apart [ph.] 撕碎
20. bump off [ph.] 殺; 幹掉
21. deplorable [adj.] 可悲的
22. authority [n.] 權力