sheer 復習
那須町で発生した雪崩で高校生7人と教師1人のあわせて8人が犠牲になった事故に関して警察は、主催者の判断に問題がなかったかなど、業務上過失致死傷の疑いで調べています。
Police probing negligence in avalanche that killed 8
NASU, Tochigi Prefecture--Prefectural police have launched an investigation into suspicion of professional negligence following the deaths of seven high school male students and a teacher in an avalanche that occurred here on the morning of March 27.
Investigators will determine whether the teachers who were in charge of the students and the snow mountaineering workshop at Nasu Onsen Family Sky Resort endangered their safety.
The seven high school male students, aged 16 and 17, and a 29-year-old male teacher from Otawara high school, died at a hospital after they were pulled from the avalanche site on the upper part of the slope.
According to prefectural police, all died from traumatic asphyxia, as it is believed the sheer weight of the snow hindered their breathing. In addition, 40 others were injured, two seriously.
以下省略
http://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/AJ201703280043.html
今回取り上げる表現は、“sheer”です。『ウィズダム英和辞典』(第３版、三省堂)を引いたところ、「すさまじい、とてつもない〈重さ・大きさなど〉」とありました。LDOCEでは、“the sheer weight / size etc”で“used to emphasize that something is very heavy, large etc”と定義されています。
“sheer”には今回のように重さなどの程度を表す以外の別の意味があります。『ウィズダム英和辞典』の第１義には、「まったくの、真の、完全なる；純粋な(pure)」と載っています。“sheer enjoyment”「純然たる楽しみ」といったように用いられ、他に感情などが混ざっていないことを表現することができます。(Blue Sky)
