reduced to tears 復習
日本時間１９日、レスリング女子５３キロ級の決勝が行われ、吉田沙保里は判定負けで銀メダルに終わりました。
3-time Olympic champ Yoshida reduced to tears after huge upset
RIO DE JANEIRO--Three-time gold medalist Saori Yoshida collapsed to the mat in tears and remained there inconsolable as time ran out on her bid to win her fourth consecutive Olympic crown.
Yoshida lost the 53-kilogram women's wrestling gold medal match on Aug. 18 to Helen Maroulis of the United States, failing to replicate the feat of Kaori Icho the previous day of winning four straight golds.
"I promised so many people that I would show them the gold medal, but I will not be able to keep that promise," a disappointed Yoshida said. "I want to apologize to all those who were cheering for me."
Yoshida had won her two previous matches against Maroulis, but she felt the American was more aggressive in the final.
"I could feel that she really wanted to beat me," Yoshida said. "I lost psychologically."
Yoshida buried her face in a towel after finally stepping off the mat after not moving for minutes.
She was persuaded by Kazuhito Sakae, the wrestling team leader, to approach the stands where her mother and older brother were waiting.
When her mother, Yukiyo, hugged her, Yoshida broke out in tears again and she wailed as she was comforted by her. She continued to cry even during the medal ceremony.
As Maroulis and bronze medalists Sofia Mattsson of Sweden and Natalya Sinishin of Azerbaijan smiled for photographers while showing off their medals, Yoshida could not stop the tears from flowing.
"I am just so frustrated because I never thought that in the end I would have only the silver," she said.
The lone bright spot for Japan's women wrestlers was Risako Kawai, who took the gold in the 63-kg category.
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201608190048.html
今回注目した表現は、“reduced to tear”です。“reduce”を『ウィズダム英和辞典』(第３版、三省堂)で引いたところ、第２義に「〚通例be ~d〛«好ましくない状態などに» (無理に)変えられる；«…に» 降格させられる «to»；«…する» 羽目になる «to doing»」とありました。例文として、“Laura was reduced to tears [silence].”「ローラは泣いて[黙って]しまった」が示されていました。
確認のためにLDOCEを引いたところ、“reduce someone to tears/silence etc”の表現は、“to make someone cry, be silent etc”と定義されていました。
『ウィズダム英和辞典』の定義からもわかるように、“reduce”を用いることによってうれしくて流している涙ではないことが分かります。試合直後から表彰台まで終始涙を流していた吉田選手の「悔し涙」を、“reduced to tear”で表現しているのだと思います。(Blue Sky)
以前にも“reduced to ~”の用法は取り上げられております、ご覧ください。
