boon 復習
古代エジプト時代につくられたツタンカーメンの墓の壁の裏側に隠し部屋が存在することを示す調査結果が出たことが明らかになりました。ツタンカーメンの義母でエジプト三大美女とも言われるネフェルティティ王妃が埋葬されている墓の可能性があるようです。
Experts are optimistic Tut’s tomb may conceal Egypt’s lost queen; new evidence going to Japan for analysis
LUXOR, EGYPT – Chances are high that the tomb of ancient Egypt’s boy-king Tutankhamun has passages to a hidden chamber, which may be the lost last resting place of Queen Nefertiti, experts said on Saturday.
“There is, in fact, an empty space behind the wall based on radar, which is very accurate — there is no doubt,” Japanese radar specialist Hirokatsu Watanabe said, his hand hovering over a fuzzy blue radar scan he said indicated the presence of a false wall. The size of the cavity is not known.
There is huge international interest in Nefertiti, who died in the 14th century B.C. and is thought to be Tutankhamun’s stepmother. Confirmation of her final resting place would be the most remarkable Egyptian archaeological find this century.
New evidence from the radar imaging taken so far is to be sent to a team in Japan for analysis. The results are expected to be announced in a month.
“We said earlier there was a 60 percent chance there is something behind the walls. But now, after the initial reading of the scans, we are saying now it’s 90 percent likely there is something behind the walls,” Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty told a news conference.
He said he expects to reach the other side of the tomb’s wall within three months.
Discovery of Nefertiti, whose chiseled cheek bones and regal beauty were immortalized in a 3,300-year old bust now in a Berlin museum, would shed fresh light on what remains a mysterious period of Egyptian history.
It could also be a boon for Egypt’s ailing tourism industry, which is a vital source of foreign currency but has suffered nearly endless setbacks since the uprising that toppled autocratic President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/11/29/world/science-health-world/experts-optimistic-tuts-tomb-may-conceal-egypts-lost-queen-new-evidence-going-japan-analysis/#.VlskdDihdMs
今回取り上げる表現は “boon”です。G4では「〔…に対する〕恩恵、利益」とあり、LDOCEでは “something that is very useful and makes your life a lot easier or better”と定義づけられていました。この “boon”は古ノルド語の “bon（請願、祈願）”が語源です。
一方で『ジーニアス英和大辞典（大修館書店）』では別の “boon”を見つけることができます。こちらの意味は「愉快な、親切な」、「親切な、優しい」であり、 ラテン語の“bonus（良い）”から来ています。なお、「賞与、ボーナス、特典」を意味する “bonus”と同じ語源です。（Inaho）
