공통영어1 지학 신상근 2과 본문 빈칸 퀴즈

Have you heard the ____ “It’s Greek to me”?

It means “I can’t understand what you are saying because ____ sounds like a foreign language to me.”

____ may wonder why it is not French or Italian but Greek.

The reason is that the ____ Greeks had an enormous influence on Western culture.

Greece was the ____ of Classical Western civilization, and therefore, also left us with some pretty great idioms.

Idioms pose a ____ challenge in language learning because their meanings are different from the words that make them up.

Learning their origins will make it easier to understand what they mean and ____ figure out how to use them.

Here are four English ____ with Greek origins.

According to Homer, the Ancient ____ poet, the Greeks and Trojans had a war that lasted ten years.

This war eventually became known as the Trojan War, where Achilles became the most ____ hero.

When Achilles was born, his mother, ____ goddess of water, attempted to make him immortal.

She dipped him in ____ magical River Styx.

Wherever the water ____ the part touched would become indestructible.

However, because ____ held him upside down by one of his heels, Achilles’ heel remained dry.

This became his ____ weak spot.

Achilles grew up to be a great warrior ____ survived many great battles.

However, during the Trojan War, Paris, a prince ____ Troy, shot a poisoned arrow that struck Achilles’ heel, which led to his death.

This is why the idiom “Achilles’ heel” refers to a fatal weakness, especially in a situation where all ____ parts are strong.

Even ____ the death of Achilles, the Trojan War reached a point where no one could win.

One day, the Greeks came up ____ an idea.

They built a big wooden horse and left it ____ the city of Troy.

They pretended to leave the horse behind ____ a gift for the Trojans.

____ Trojans thought they had won, so they pulled the horse inside their city gates.

However, the Greeks ____ hidden their soldiers inside the horse.

That night, the soldiers came out of the horse and opened the ____ to let in the Greek army waiting outside.

This allowed the Greeks to win ____ war.

Nowadays, people use the ____ “Trojan horse” to describe a trick or scheme that is used to hide someone’s true purpose or intention.

Greek legend tells of the Gordian Knot, which ____ tied by a king named Gordius.

The knot was ____ complex that no one was able to untie it.

A prophet said whoever ____ untie the knot would become the ruler of Asia.

For hundreds of years, people unsuccessfully ____ to untie the knot.

Then, ____ the Great came along.

He tried ____ untie it, and it just got tighter.

After thinking for a while, he drew his sword and cut ____ knot in half!

Everyone was shocked ____ that was not what they had expected.

He explained, “It doesn’t matter how the knot was ____

____ important thing is that it’s undone.”

From that day on, ____ idiom “cutting the Gordian knot” has been commonly used to describe a simple solution to a complex problem.

In ancient Greece, people often discussed important matters and made ____ through voting.

They cast votes ____ dropping a white or black bean into a clay jar.

White beans were used for positive votes, ____ black beans for negative votes.

These votes were cast in secret, so if someone knocked over the jar, whether by accident or on purpose, they spilled the beans ____ revealed the results of the vote prematurely.

Because of this origin, the phrase “spill the ____ came to mean “reveal information that was meant to be kept secret.”

Idioms are an important part of everyday English, and they make ____ language rich and colorful.

When you ____ into idioms that are “Greek to you,” take the time to study their origins.

It is a fun way to increase your understanding of English, and it can also help you to remember them ____ use them in the appropriate situations going forward.