race against time #2
地震発生後から72時間が経過すると、地震で生き埋めとなった人の生存率が急激に下がるといわれており、自衛隊や消防による懸命な救助が続いています。
Race against time in Kumamoto
KUMAMOTO (Jiji Press) — Rescue workers continued to race against time on Monday in the search for survivors of Saturday’s 7.3-magnitude earthquake and powerful aftershocks that struck southwestern Japan, with nine people listed as missing in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Police, the Self-Defense Forces and other organizations have mobilized a total of about 4,000 personnel for search and rescue efforts ahead of the passage of 72 hours after the main quake occurred around 1:25 a.m. Saturday. Survival rates are believed to fall rapidly after 72 hours.
But their operations were being hampered by mudslides, according to informed sources.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002885332
今回取り上げるのは、“race against time”という表現です。LDOCEで調べてみると、“a situation in which you have to do something very quickly because you have very little time available”と定義されており、名詞で「時間との闘い〔競争〕」、動詞では「一刻を争う」などと表せます。そのため、この表現からは生と死を分けるリミットである72時間が差し迫っていることが読み取れます。また今回の表現のうちの“time”を“the clock”に変えても、上記と同じ意味になります(『ジーニアス英和辞典』大修館書店)。(ninetails)
PS 珍しく連続でポストしたMt. Fujiyamaとかぶりました。