Question

Difficulty: HardInferring Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions in Context

The following excerpt is taken from an analytical essay concerning artificial intelligence and intellectual property in digital media:

«La rápida proliferación de herramientas generativas en las redacciones ha obligado al gremio periodístico a revaluar sus modelos de atribución. Diversos analistas señalan que la extracción no autorizada de contenido editorial amenaza con hacer mella en la sostenibilidad financiera de la prensa independiente. Lejos de dar carpetazo a las reclamaciones por derechos de autor, varios sindicatos han optado por poner en tela de juicio la legitimidad jurídica de los algoritmos de entrenamiento. Mientras tanto, algunos conglomerados mediáticos prefieren hacer la vista gorda ante la explotación masiva de sus archivos a cambio de convenios comerciales preliminares.»

Based on the context of the passage, match each Spanish idiomatic expression with its correct English contextual definition.

  • hacer mella enTo exert a gradual, damaging impact on stability or viability
  • dar carpetazo aTo definitively shelve or dismiss an ongoing dispute or investigation
  • poner en tela de juicioTo cast doubt upon or challenge the legitimacy of an established claim
  • hacer la vista gordaTo deliberately ignore or overlook an unauthorized or unethical practice

Answer

The correct pairings match 'hacer mella en' with 'To exert a gradual, damaging impact on stability or viability', 'dar carpetazo a' with 'To definitively shelve or dismiss an ongoing dispute or investigation', 'poner en tela de juicio' with 'To cast doubt upon or challenge the legitimacy of an established claim', and 'hacer la vista gorda' with 'To deliberately ignore or overlook an unauthorized or unethical practice'.
Each idiomatic expression is resolved through precise contextual indicators in the passage: 'hacer mella en' denotes debilitating impact on press sustainability; 'dar carpetazo a' describes the definitive shelving of legal claims; 'poner en tela de juicio' denotes casting formal doubt on algorithmic legitimacy; and 'hacer la vista gorda' represents willfully overlooking unauthorized exploitation in exchange for commercial agreements.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the financial threat described around the first expression.
The phrase 'amenaza con hacer mella en la sostenibilidad financiera' shows that unauthorized extraction erodes or harms financial stability, identifying 'hacer mella en' as causing progressive damage.
Contextual nouns such as 'amenaza' and 'sostenibilidad financiera' define the negative erosive impact.
2
Examine the contrast marker 'lejos de' preceding the second expression.
The phrase 'lejos de dar carpetazo a las reclamaciones' indicates that rather than closing or shelving the claims, the unions escalated their actions.
The idiom 'dar carpetazo' historically refers to putting documents into a folder to file them away indefinitely.
3
Determine the action taken by unions toward the legal basis of algorithms.
The unions 'optado por poner en tela de juicio la legitimidad jurídica', meaning they challenge or dispute the validity of the training practices.
The noun 'legitimidad' directly objects to unquestioned acceptance, indicating skepticism and legal challenge.
4
Evaluate the pragmatic trade-off made by conglomerates in the final sentence.
Conglomerates 'hacer la vista gorda ante la explotación... a cambio de convenios', demonstrating intentional disregard of an infringement for financial gain.
The expression 'hacer la vista gorda' functions as an exact semantic equivalent to turning a blind eye or deliberately ignoring an offense.

Key Concept

Inferring idiomatic and figurative expressions in journalistic prose through syntactic markers and contextual clues
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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