confound - confuse or cause someone to struggle to understand. The critics most likely struggled to understand something about this person's artwork. edit: I have now read about Wyeth, and I agree with Andy's answer that it was the popularity of his artwork that they were confused by, because it contradicted the popular critical opinion that his artwork was not worthy of high praise. discourse - this word refers to communication through various mediums in a generic fashion. This likely includes, in this case, people publishing critical opinions, art-related publications, and discussions between art enthusiasts.

-용 is a suffix that adds the meaning "for use as/for use during/etc". It comes from the 한자 "用" which means "to use". Naver dictionary page: http://m.endic.naver.com/krenEntry.nhn?entryId=031c9edbd7984109b389d2dbe18ea070&sLn=kr e.g. 식용 - the 한자 for this 식 (食) means "to eat" or "food". So 식용 means for "used as something to eat" or "edible". So 선물용 is something which is used as or can be used as a gift. 선물용으로 would be "as a gift". I'm not native either so I can't tell you the exact difference in feeling between 지인 and 친구. If there is a difference, I would guess that 친구 is a closer relationship than 지인. If that is the case then I guess 지인선물용 would be something which makes a good gift for acquaintances. Otherwise it could just be an expression meaning it's good as a gift for any friend.

Crossbred is the past tense form of the verb crossbreed. If they are appearing as characteristics in a list or something, they can potentially mean the same thing, except one would be the past tense verb (crossbred) and the other would be the noun form (crossbreed).

In that sentence, "kind of" is used to soften the sentence. As in, he doesn't want to bluntly say "The money comes automatically", and instead wants to say "The money comes without much effort", suggesting that while he puts in some small amount of effort to make the money come, it comes easier than one might expect. "Kind of" can be used extremely flexibly to soften a wide variety of sentences. If you want to imply some uncertainty, you can kind of just insert it before a verb or adjective. It's kind of easy to use.

Depending on exactly what you want to say about the driver, you can use a bunch of different words. In my opinion speed-crazy driver is fine, or alternatively speed-crazy maniac (driver). In my experience I often hear the word "maniac" used to describe reckless drivers. You could also use the term "speed demon", which doesn't have as much of a negative connotation in my opinion. edit: Obviously, we also have the word "speeder" but that is used to describe someone who breaks the law by exceeding the speed limit and doesn't have much emotional attachment to it.

Shower(洗澡) (2)

This is a liberal translation of an essay written in Japanese.
Would you correct it? Thank you in advance.

An old public bathhouse for men is located in a traditional downtown district of China. The bath is run by an old man, Rye, and his son, and is due to be demolished as part of a redevelopment program. A large number of people, many of whom are retired old Beijingers, gather there everyday bringing their joy and sorrow.

The bath is almost the same as a Japanese one but it provides a variety of peripheral services such as haircuts, shaving, massage, scrubbing (a service provided by a professional scrubber who scrubs down the bather's body), bonesetting, moxibustion, etc..

In other words, the main business of the house is not confined to bathing facilities. In this oasis, the customers are enjoying half of their daily lives, taking part in the games such as Chinese chess or cricket fighting, flapping their chops, listening to music, and reading books. Therefore, it is becoming the most important rest area in the town.

It was devastating.

Put yourself in situations where you must listen / write / speak well. It is easy to watch movies and listen to songs without attempting to fully comprehend everything that is being said. Challenge yourself to write a perfect diary entry or review or essay, then have it reviewed. Record yourself speaking, e.g. write a speech and then read it aloud or shadow someone else's. Do listening tests, or listen to podcasts and genuinely try to understand everything. And of course if the option is there, have conversations with native speakers. It is easy to focus on what you are comfortable with (vocabulary and reading) but it doesn't yield the greatest improvement.