arid 復習
アメリカ、カリフォルニア州を中心に問題になっている干ばつ被害に関する記事です。
California Wants to Store Water for Farmers, but Struggles Over How to Do It
FRIANT, Calif. — Californians suffering through the fourth year of a punishing drought have a new worry. With fierce storms predicted for the winter, they are bracing for floods by stockpiling sandbags and rushing to buy insurance.
Yet those who need water the most, farmers, are in a poor position to take advantage of any deluge. If El Niño floods pour into the Central Valley, the farmers will inevitably watch millions of gallons of water flow to the sea.
《中略》
Many independent experts, and almost all environmental groups, argue that dams would supply relatively little water for the money. They contend that Californians need to move aggressively to more modern methods of water management, reducing waste to a minimum and learning to live within the limits imposed by an arid environment.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/22/science/california-wants-to-store-water-for-farmers-but-struggles-over-how-to-do-it.html?
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今回取り上げる表現は “arid” /ærɪd/です。『ジーニアス英和辞典第4版（大修館書店）』では「〈土地・気候などが〉(異常に)乾燥した，湿気の無い（dry）；不毛の」とあり、LDOCEでは “arid land or an arid climate is very dry because it has very little rain”と定義づけられていました。ラテン語のaridus（乾いている）からきた表現です。（Inaho）