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Difficulty: MediumInferring Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions in Context

An environmental journalism report examining water security in Colombia's Chingaza high-altitude wetland ecosystem states: «Ante las proyecciones climáticas adversas y el riesgo inminente de desabastecimiento hídrico, las autoridades ambientales decidieron curarse en salud e impusieron restricciones preventivas antes del inicio de la temporada seca». Based on the contextual clues in the excerpt, what action does the author indicate the authorities took?

Answer:By using the idiomatic expression «curarse en salud», the author emphasizes that the environmental authorities chose to 【take preventive measures】 to mitigate potential shortages before the dry season arrived.

Answer

take preventive measures
The correct response reflects the figurative meaning of the Spanish idiom «curarse en salud», which denotes acting cautiously or taking preemptive precautions before a problem escalates. In the excerpt, the authorities applied preventive water restrictions in anticipation of adverse climate forecasts and dry-season shortages.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Locate the target idiomatic phrase within the journalistic text.
The target expression is «curarse en salud», positioned between the recognition of future adverse projections and the execution of preventive restrictions.
Determining where the idiom appears helps identify the grammatical and logical relationship to surrounding clauses.
2
Analyze surrounding contextual evidence and parallel syntactic structures.
The text pairs «curarse en salud» directly with «impusieron restricciones preventivas antes del inicio de la temporada seca» in response to an «inminente riesgo de desabastecimiento».
Journalistic writing frequently pairs an idiomatic summary with a concrete clarifying action to illustrate institutional behavior.
3
Synthesize the figurative meaning to complete the analytical statement.
The phrase means taking proactive precautions or preventive steps ahead of time to safeguard against an impending crisis.
The context dictates a proactive stance rather than a reactive or medical intervention.

Key Concept

Inferring the figurative meaning of journalistic idioms through adjacent contextual clues and administrative actions.
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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Inferring Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions in Context

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