뉴스&스피킹(영자신문)
하루 10분이면 영어에 대한 두려움을 극복하고 누구나 유창하게 영어를 구사하실 수 있습니다.
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12.18 - Tuesday
12.19 - Wednesday
12.20 - Thursday
12.21 - Friday
12.22 
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What Did People Search for in 2023? Google, the most popular internet search engine, releases its “Year in Search 2023” this week.
Around the world, Google says the “war in Israel and Gaza” was the top search for news. The ongoing war topped searches for “Titanic submarine,” which imploded in June, and February’s “Turkey earthquake,” which killed at least 50,000 in Turkey and Syria.
Damar Hamlin was Google’s top trending person on search this year. He is an American football player who collapsed as his heart stopped suddenly during a game in January. People also searched for Travis Kelce. In case you have not heard, Kelce is another American football player who is dating singer Taylor Swift.
Among those who passed away, people want to know about Matthew Perry, a well-known actor in the American television show Friends. Singers Tina Turner of the United States and Sinéad O'Connor from Ireland rounded out the top three.
In the world of movies, Barbie and Oppenheimer were not only the top Hollywood money-makers but also the top searches for the year. The two films topped Jawan, an Indian movie seen by millions on the streaming service Netflix.
Yoasobi’s "アイドル (Idol)” was the most searched song on Google this year. The Japanese musical group is made up of producer Ayase and singer Ikura. Inter Miami CF, the new home of Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi, led Google’s sports teams search. And Bibimbap, a Korean meal of rice, vegetables, egg and protein, was the top search for a recipe.
Google says information on the top search results came from January 1 through November 27 of this year. Search results are presented worldwide as well as individually for nearly 50 countries.
In India, the top news search was for Chandrayaan-3, the spacecraft that touched down on the moon in August. The successful landing made India only the fourth country to land on the moon.
Typhoon Kanun and Jeon Cheongjo were the top news searches in South Korea. And Ashura and Güllaç, national dishes often made during religious celebrations, were the top recipes in Turkey.
To mark the search engine’s 25th birthday, Google also released top search data “of all time” across several areas. Since 2004 (when the company’s search data first became available worldwide), the most-Googled Grammy winner of all time has been Beyoncé. Portuguese soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-searched athlete, and the most-searched movie or television program is Harry Potter.
I’m Gena Bennett.View -
Japan’s Ohtani Gets $700 Million, Biggest Team Sports Deal Everyone expected Japan’s Shohei Ohtani to receive the biggest deal in baseball history. Over the weekend, the two-time Most Valuable Player award-winner received the biggest deal in team sports history.
On Saturday, the Japanese star announced that he had agreed to a 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers valued at $700 million.
Olympics.com says the amount is higher than the $679 million for France’s Kylian Mbappe with Paris Saint-Germain in 2022, $674 million for Lionel Messi with Barcelona in 2017, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s $500 million agreement with Al Nassr.
The total is also higher than the largest American football contract of $450 million given to Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. It far exceeds the baseball deals of $426.5 million given to Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and the $360 million given to Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.
Under the contract, Ohtani’s average yearly salary of $70 million is well above the previous high of about $43 million that pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander struck with the New York Mets. His average yearly salary is also higher than the combined salary of all players with the Baltimore Orioles or the Oakland A’s this year.
Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, called it “a unique, historic contract for a unique, historic player.” Another sports agent, Leigh Steinberg said, “He’s rocketed into a stratosphere all his own.”
Is he worth it?
Ohtani started in Major League Baseball with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018. He is the sport’s best two-way player. He is one of the best hitters and also one of the best pitchers in baseball. He is the only player in baseball history to appear as both a pitcher and a hitter in the All-Star games in 2021 and 2023. He was unanimously named the Most Valuable Player twice in 2021 and 2023.
But the $700 million deal was more than most baseball fans imagined. And many wonder why the Dodgers made that kind of investment in one player.
Mike Lewis teaches marketing and sports business at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He said, “Baseball has sometimes struggled to gain national attention, but he’s the kind of guy who attracts millions…and not just from the U.S.”
Lewis compared the Dodgers’ signing of Ohtani to Inter Miami’s signing of Lionel Messi in Major League Soccer. Interest in American soccer, especially on social media, greatly increased around the U.S. and the world. As of Sunday morning, the Dodgers’ Instagram account had 3.2 million followers. Ohtani on his own has 6.3 million.
No baseball player has received more interest internationally than Ohtani, especially in his native Japan. Japanese companies paid for top advertising spaces in Anaheim when Ohtani was playing with the Angels. His Angels uniform is the best-selling one among baseball players in 2023. Ohtani’s uniform is expected to sell well, and many more Dodgers’ tickets are expected to be sold, too.
When Ohtani was negotiating with different baseball teams for a new contract, fans were following his movements and posting information online. The interest was similar to the level around popular singer Taylor Swift.
Steinberg, the sports agent, believes every baseball team interested in Ohtani has already estimated how much money he would bring to the team. If the Dodgers were willing to pay $700 million to sign him, then Steinberg believes they made a good decision.
“He’s handsome and he’s a huge box office draw,” Steinberg told the Associated Press. “There are very few players who can match that. He has appeal to all.”
I’m Mario Ritter, Jr.View -
Mobile App Helps People Seeking Money from Strangers Do you still leave home with money in your pocket?
Now that many stores have gone “cashless” and most people do not have money in their pocket, those who once depended on handouts from strangers often end the day empty-handed.
Many people without homes or jobs say they are not able to get much money from strangers anymore.
John Littlejohn is 62 years old and lives in Washington, D.C. He said he has been homeless for 13 years. In recent years, he said, people would tell him they left home without any money.
“I would be out here for six or seven hours and wouldn’t get more than $12 to $15,” he said.
People can use apps on their mobile phones to pay for most things, so they do not leave home with bills or coins. For a while, those without homes and charities that depended on spare change suffered.
But they are using technology, too.
Littlejohn sells copies of a newspaper called Street Sense. It is published by a nonprofit organization that says it helps homeless people. Now people who want to buy the newspaper can use an app. The money goes directly to the seller. Littlejohn is able to pay for an apartment with the money he gets from selling Street Sense and also other jobs he does.
Some people who stand outside public places such as subway stations and ask for money are called panhandlers. Sylvester Harris is one of them. He talked to a reporter near a subway station close to a large sports center in Washington, D.C. He said people often look like they want to give him money, but they do not have coins or bills.
“Everybody just has (credit cards) or their phones now,” he said.
Homeless people often do not have bank accounts, credit cards or real identification that would permit them to use a mobile phone app to get money.
The cashless society also used to be a problem for a charity organization called the Salvation Army. The group is known for sending people to stand in busy places with a big red cooking pot, known as a kettle. People walk past the kettle and drop a dollar or a few coins inside.
However, as more people started using their phones and credit cards to make payments, the Salvation Army was receiving less money.
Now, the organization permits people to make donations by tapping their phones on the red kettle.
Michelle Wolf is with the Salvation Army in Washington. She said the technology is only available in a few places around the city, but it already has brought in more money.
Most people give $5 and often people give $20, she said.
The head of Street Sense said he started to see a problem about 10 years ago. Those who sold his newspapers said people did not have money to buy them.
“We were losing sales,” said Brian Canmore. “Times were changing, and we had to change with them.”
He heard that a similar newspaper in Vancouver, Canada created a payment app. Now the newspaper in Washington uses the same technology.
Thomas Ratliff also works for Street Sense. He is in charge of the 100 sellers around Washington. He said a big problem started in 2020 when many workers stayed home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said people who came to Washington for work were the main buyers of the newspaper. Many of those people are still not coming into the city. Now the sellers take the subway to busier areas outside of Washington, D.C. in Maryland and Virginia to sell the papers.
Ratliff noted that some payment apps that do not require a bank account -- Venmo and Cash App – still require a steady mobile phone number. But the sellers often change their number and then they have trouble getting paid.
There is a way for homeless people without jobs to get money in the cashless society. They can use the Samaritan app. It permits people to give money to someone just by scanning a special code – a QR code – with their phone. People who scan the code can read a story about the person and donate money that is meant to be used for buying food or clothing.
Jon Kumar started the Samaritan app. Charities pay him to use his technology for their work. He said it is hard to walk past a person when you know their story. His app, he said, “personalizes the person in need.”
The people who use the app to ask for money must meet with a case manager to claim their money. The manager can also help the person with services, such as directing them to counseling or drug rehabilitation.
None of the apps or new technology will solve every problem for homeless people. Many people do not have the ability to sell newspapers, for example. Others are too old to work so they depend on asking people for money. Not everyone has a mobile phone.
Kumar said some people are “not a great fit” for this kind of intervention. He said some people need more support than a phone app can offer.
I’m Dan Friedell.View -
Jury Rules Google App Store Operates as Monopoly An American jury has found that Google’s app store operates as an illegal monopoly.
The decision came in a lawsuit brought by video game company Epic Games. The jury reached the decision this week in California after a four-week trial.
Epic had argued Google uses business methods that block competition against its Google Play Store. That is where users can download apps for smartphones and other devices using the Android operating system (OS). Google owns the Android OS. Epic uses Google Play and other app stores to sell its popular game Fortnite and others.
Experts predict that if the ruling stands, it could cost Google billions of dollars in business. It could also change the way all app stores do business in the future. Google condemned the court’s decision and said it will appeal the ruling.
Android holds by far the largest share of the mobile OS market worldwide. Online data researcher Statista estimated in October that Android had a market share of 70.5 percent. The next closest competitor, Apple, held a market share of 28.8 percent.
Other companies, such as Apple, also operate app stores. Epic brought a similar lawsuit against Apple in 2021. In it, Epic argued Apple used methods in its app store that created a monopoly that blocked competition. A federal judge ruled mostly in Apple’s favor in that case. Epic has appealed that ruling.
One of the biggest issues in both cases was whether Google and Apple have the right to require developers to use the app store’s payment systems. Such systems can take up to 30 percent of a sale in commissions from app developers.
In the case of Epic vs. Apple, the judge mostly sided with Apple. But the judge did find that Apple had used some unfair business methods which violated California law. The judge ordered Apple to permit developers across the United States to add their own links to process payments within iPhone apps.
Reuters news agency reported that Google’s appeal will take place in the same court in San Francisco that decided Epic’s case against Apple. Epic’s appeal of the Apple decision is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The jury in the Epic vs. Google legal case debated for about three hours before giving its decision on Monday. It decided that Google’s control of its Play Store amounted to an illegal monopoly. The monopoly covered both Google’s app selling system and its payment processing method within the app, the jury found. Epic did not ask the court for financial damages.
Epic chief Tim Sweeney praised the court’s decision on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Victory over Google!” Sweeney wrote. In a company statement, Epic called the verdict “a win for all app developers and consumers around the world.”
Google’s vice president of government affairs and public policy, Wilson White, confirmed the company’s plan to appeal the ruling. In a statement, he said, "We will continue to defend the Android business model and remain deeply committed to our users, partners, and the broader Android ecosystem."
White added his opinion that the Google Play Store currently offers “more choice and openness” than any other major mobile provider.
Depending on how the court’s ruling is enforced, Google could lose billions of dollars yearly in commissions on sales through the Play Store. But the company's main source of earnings, online advertising, would not be directly affected by the court’s decision.
The case now goes back to the judge in the trial, U.S. District Judge James Donato. He will hear arguments on both sides about how Google should change its business operations to improve fair competition. The judge has suggested this process could begin in the second week of January.
During those hearings, Google will be able to argue against the changes proposed by Epic. In addition, any orders established by the judge at the end could be appealed. These processes, technology experts say, could result in the case extending for many months, or possibly years.
I’m Bryan Lynn.View -
When Does a Problem 'Snowball'? And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
If you live in a part of the world that is experiencing winter right now, it might be snowing.
But even if you do not live in a snowy climate, try to image cold, snowy weather. Imagine having a snowball fight with your friends. A snowball is, of course, a ball of snow. But not all snow makes good snowballs. If the snow is too light and dry, it will not hold together. It is powdery. Wetter snow makes for great snowballs. You can pack it into a tight ball, which is great for throwing.
A snowball might hurt a bit, but it would not cause a lot of damage. But imagine that snowball rolling down a hill. As it rolls, it picks up more and more snow. It gets bigger and bigger until it crashes into something and causes damage!
And that gives us “snowball” as a verb.
Dictionary.com defines the verb “snowball” as becoming “larger, greater, more intense…” very quickly.
If something like a project, campaign, or business snowballs, its progress rapidly increases and grows. For example, after a photographer posted a picture on Instagram of a monkey protecting a human baby, her followers snowballed to over 1 million within a week!
However, when we use this expression the ending results are usually not good. Something that snowballs in a bad way goes downhill quickly. For example, when we do not take care of small problems, they can snowball into bigger ones.
Now, let’s hear an example using the verb “snowball.”
A: I have a friend who lied about knowing sign language on her resume. She thought no one would ask her to actually prove she knew sign language. But her boss asked her to. In fact, he set up a big meeting with the deaf community and assigned her to act as translator. She lied about why she could not attend the event. But her boss surprised her with an unplanned meeting. That is when he found out that she did not know how to sign. Her lie on her resume quickly snowballed into a workplace drama that got her fired from her job.
Next, let’s talk about the expression snowball effect.
A snowball effect is a situation where one action or event causes many other similar actions or events. And these actions or events grow and grow bigger and more problematic – just like a snowball rolling down a hill.
A snowball effect is similar to a chain of events. However, with a chain of events, one thing leads to another. But these events do not necessarily intensify or grow bigger.
And that’s the end of this Words and Their Stories. Hopefully, using resources on VOA Learning English is having a snowball effect on your English studies … in a good way!
Until next time, I’m Anna Matteo.
Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.View