DEAR ABBY: My best friend of 20 years, “Claire,” has suffered bouts of depression ever since I have known her. She recently confided to me that her brother had repeatedly sexually abused her as a child.
When she went to her mother for help, her mother told her she needed to “thank God that it was happening because it would make her a stronger person.” Her mother is dead now, but her father is still alive. I am furious at him for allowing the abuse to happen under his roof. Abby, the family acts like it never happened! Claire invites her dad to events we plan together like birthdays. How do I attend knowing what I know? I don’t want to sit across a table from him.
My husband is an abuse survivor and feels even more strongly than I do. It has made get-togethers miserable for us. Should we just smile and pretend we don’t know because we can’t fight my best friend’s fight for her? How do we get over the anger?
CONFUSED IN OKLAHOMA
DEAR CONFUSED: Years ago, someone explained to me that depression is anger turned inward. Your friend is enduring these bouts of depression because she was never allowed to express her anger where it belonged ― at her brother and her mother. Whether the mother ever told her husband what was going on, or whether it was the continuation of a long family tradition of sexual abuse, is something we don’t know. But if you haven’t suggested to Claire that she could benefit from counseling, you should.
As to you and your husband participating in these family gatherings, my advice is to stop doing it. Celebrate special occasions with your friend right before or after these occasions; many people have pre- or post-birthday get-togethers, and that’s what I recommend in a case like this.
※ 다음에 나오는 문제들은 본 기사에 나오는 중요한 어휘들로 구성된 토익, 토플, 텝스 기출 및 예상 문제입니다.
※ Choose the one word or phrase that best keeps the meaning of the highlighted part or fill in the blank with a suitable one.
1. It made me _______________ that my sister refused to help me.
① furious ② inexperienced ③ abundant ④ lucrative
2. It would be nice to pretend that The Times is
.
① insightful ② faultless ③ invaluable ④ readable
3. Teachers who speak
may cause their students to become confused.
① ambiguously ② quickly ③ softly ④ aggressively
4. Power _______________ to the strong, and the strong are big in more ways than one.
① shrink ② lengthen ③ belongs ④ leap
5. The casual clothes he was wearing were hardly
for such a solemn occasion.
① suitable ② dignified ③ approximate ④ improper
[번역 및 정답]
1. [번역] 나의 여동생이 나를 도와주길 거절한 것이 나를
[정답] ①
2. [번역] 더 타임스가
체 한다면 좋을 텐데.
[정답] ②
3. [번역]
말하는 교사들은 학생들이 혼란스러워지게 할 수 있다.
4. [번역] 권력은 힘이 강한 자에게
힘 있는 자들은 한 가지 이상의 면에서(여러 면에서) 정말 거대한 존재이다.
[정답] ③
5. [번역] 그가 입고 있었던 간편복은 그토록 엄숙한 행사에는 그다지
못했다.