indentation
島根県で、広島からやってきた親子の車に落石が当たり、運転していた母親は軽症で助かりましたが、一緒に乗っていた18歳の山口大１年生の娘さんが亡くなりました。
Falling rock strikes car in Shimane Pref., killing university student
MATSUE -- A rock around 1 meter in diameter fell onto a car on a prefectural road in Onan, Shimane Prefecture, on May 4, killing an 18-year-old student in the vehicle, police said.
The rock fell at around 3:55 p.m., striking a car driven by Hiromi Kurihara, 52, a company employee from Asaminami Ward in the city of Hiroshima. Kurihara's 18-year-old daughter Yuna, a first-year university student in the city of Yamaguchi, who had been sitting in the passenger seat, died from the impact. Kurihara escaped with light head injuries.
An area measuring about 500 meters across near where the incident took place was designated some 20 years ago as a dangerous zone for falling rocks following an inquiry conducted by the prefecture. However, no safety nets had been put up at the site where the car was struck.
On May 5, prefectural officials found a 1-meter-sized indentation at the base of a tree located at a 30-meter-high section of an incline in the area. They determined it was likely that the tree had been shaken by strong winds, dislodging the rock.
In 2001, the prefecture removed three rocks from a slope in the area measuring about 50 meters across, but had determined at the time that it was unnecessary to install nets.
An official with the prefectural government commented, "We took the necessary measures, but we were lax in following up on the condition of the slope."
http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160507/p2a/00m/0na/007000c
今回取り上げる単語は、"indentation"です。
まず、LDOCEで調べてみると、
1."also indent a space at the beginning of a line of writing"
2."also indent a cut into the surface or edge of something"とあり、"indent"と同じ意味であることが分かりました。
そこで、『ジーニアス英和辞典』(大修館)第4版で、まず、"indentation"を調べみますと、やはり、
「(新しい段落の行の)字下げ、字下げした余白」とあり、今回の記事では意味が通らなくなってしまいます。
"indent"でもう一度調べてみると、名詞で、「(物の表面の)穴、くぼみ、へこみ」とありました。
つまり、"a 1-meter-sized indentation" 「直径1メートルのくぼみ」が30メートル上にある木の根元にあったことが分かります。(Akim)
