오늘의 한마디
2026학년도 수능 영어 19번, 원문 공개 (글의 출처)
“Where could it be?” Sophie asked herself. It had been more than ten years since she had last visited the area where she had grown up. The village had changed a lot over time. Uncertain, she awkwardly looked around at her surroundings. She walked the narrow streets of the village, unsure about which way to go. Suddenly, Sophie saw a familiar sight. “Yes, this must be it,” she thought. In front of her was a wall with flowers painted on it. Although the colors were now faded, the familiar shapes on the wall were the same ones she had painted with her father as a child. Sophie nodded, smiled brightly, and walked toward the gate. At last, she had finally found the house she had grown up in.
답:
솔직히 말하면:
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❌ 실제 단편소설 같지는 않음
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❌ 문학 잡지에 실릴 글은 아님
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⭕ 교과서·시험·학습 자료로는 매우 전형적
원어민이 읽으면:
“잘 쓴 ESL 학생 글”
이라는 반응이 나올 가능성이 큽니다.
핵심 이유: 언어를 ‘사용’한 게 아니라 ‘연습’한 흔적이 보이기 때문. 구체적으로: 감정 형용사 과다, 연결어 교과서적, 표현이 “정답형”
원어민은 읽으면서: “이건 누군가가 틀리지 않으려고 쓴 글이다” 라고 느낍니다.
이 글은 이야기를 들려주기 위해 쓴 글이 아니라, 영어를 ‘잘할 수 있음’을 보여주기 위해 쓴 글이다.
Revised Short Story Version
“Where could it be?” Sophie murmured, stopping at the corner of a narrow street.
More than ten years had passed since she had last walked through the village where she grew up. The road beneath her feet felt unfamiliar, yet something in the air—the dust, the stone, the faint smell of old paint—stirred a feeling she could not quite name. The houses leaned closer together than she remembered. The village had not remained unchanged while she was gone.
She hesitated, turned left, then doubled back. Her footsteps sounded too loud in the quiet street. She slowed, studying the walls, the gates, the small details she hoped might recognize her before she recognized them.
Then she stopped.
Half-hidden by time and weather, a wall stood ahead of her, its surface washed pale by years of sun and rain. Flowers stretched across it in uneven lines. The colors had faded, but the shapes remained unmistakable. Her fingers moved instinctively through the air, recalling the weight of a brush in her hand, her father crouched beside her, laughing when the paint dripped.
She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
Without thinking, she nodded once, as if answering a question that had been waiting for her all along. The gate creaked softly as she pushed it open. Sophie stepped forward—neither rushing nor hesitating.
At last, she had come home.