be lax on〜
以前UG先生が書かれていた万里の長城の遭難事故のfollow-upです。freak weather - 田邉祐司ゼミ 常時英心：言葉の森から
「万里の長城」付近で日本人3人が亡くなった事故の詳細が明らかになってきました。会社は現地のガイドの身分を把握していなかったようです。
Tour operator criticized for being lax on China guide, trekking course
TOKYOーThe head of the travel agency that arranged a tour of the Great Wall of China where three elderly Japanese tourists died in a snowstorm has come under fire for lax operational measures.
Katsumi Itai, president of Amuse Travel Co, went to Beijing on Tuesday to meet with relatives of two of the tourists who died on Sunday. Before leaving Tokyo, he told reporters that his company had not checked the trekking route, nor did he know the name and qualifications of the Chinese guide, Fuji TV reported.
In Tokyo, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism has ordered the Japan Tourism Agency to investigate Amuse Travel’s operations and examine what safety measures they have in place.
The tour operator has been in trouble before. In 2009, it operated a mountain tour in Hokkaido, during which eight people, including the tour guide, got stranded in icy weather and froze to death. After that incident, the government imposed a 51-day suspension on Amuse but the company organized a tour despite the ban.
今回取り上げるのはbe lax on〜です。音声学でlax voweｌ「〈母音が〉弛緩音」という用語があるように「ゆるい、ゆるんだ、締りのない、〈筋肉が〉たるんだ」という意味がありますが、ここでは「〈人が〉〔・・・の点で〕怠慢な、ずぼらな（slack、careless）」という意味（『ジーニアス英和辞典』（第4版、大修館書店））があります。LDOCEには"not strict or careful enough about standards of behavior, work, safety,etc"とあるので、「安全性、仕事面において基準を満たしてない」というニュアンスですね。 ここでは「中国人ガイドへのずさんな対応」と表現することができるでしょうか。relaxの語源re〈もと〉＋lax〈ゆるめる〉）でもあるので、みなさんにはおなじみのフレーズではあると思いますが、自分自身の復習の為、確認しておきます。（EnDough）
