英语阅读学习笔记之江南style与汉江奇迹14.pdfVIP

October 12, ENGLISH LEARNING 2012 1 2 South Korea Wallows in Existential Angst The phenomenal3 success of Gangnam Style, a video by Korean rap artist Psy that has been viewed 280m times, is a quirky4 (and rather catchy) indication5 of South Korea’s rising fortunes. The dance video gently sends up the nouveau-riche 6 , plastic surgery 7 -enhanced lifestyle that has been made possible by an economic transformation so extraordinary it is known as “the miracle on the Han River”. But something curious is happening. Just as South Korea is growing more confident on the world stage – culturally, economically and diplomatically – it is going through something of an existential crisis at home. Suicides are drastically8 higher, fertility is perilously9 low and the electorate10 is flirting with the idea of jettisoning 11 traditional presidential candidates in favour of an untested IT entrepreneur. It seems an odd moment to be having a national nervous breakdown. Samsung and Hyundai have established themselves as premier consumer brands from Canberra to Cupertino. Korea’s per capita income of $30,000 is fast closing in on the EU average of $33,000. And whether it is winning $20bn nuclear contracts in Abu Dhabi, pouring money into emerging markets such as India, China and Brazil, or vying12 with Japan to be Washington’s best friend in Asia, Seoul is having a global impact as never before. 1沉湎于；打滚 2焦虑；担心 3异常的 4古怪的；离奇的；诡诈的 5指示，指出；迹象；象征 6 nouveau 新近产生的，新近到达的;nouveau-riche 暴发户 7整形外科 8激烈地大幅度的彻底地 9危机四伏地；充满危险地 10选民；选区 11掷荷；投下（jettison 的ing 形式） 12争夺（vie 的现在分词） 1 October 12, ENGLISH LEARNING 2012 That is not how it feels at home. The more that the