focal 復習
イギリスの動物園で飼育員が虎に襲われ死亡しました。
Zookeeper killed by tiger is remembered as a 'shining light'
Hamerton Zoo Park in England is mourning the loss of zookeeper Rosa King, who died Monday after she was attacked by a tiger that had entered an enclosure with her, according to police in Cambridgeshire where the wildlife park is located.
King's friend, Garry Chisholm, a professional wildlife photographer, told the BBC that King was the "focal point" and "shining light" of the zoo.
"Rosa wasn't just a keeper at Hamerton Zoo -- she was Hamerton Zoo," Chisholm added.
After the attack on the 34-year-old King, the zoo was evacuated and has remained closed since. A full investigation is currently underway, according to zoo officials.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/zookeeper-killed-tiger-remembered-shining-light/story?id=47722918
取り上げる単語は"focal"です。『ジーニアス英和辞典』第４版（大修館）で調べてみると、「焦点の、中心的な、とても重要な」とあり、"focal point"で「焦点、（活動、話題などの）中心点」と載っていました。
ここでは、「話題、活動などの中心」という意味で使われており、今回亡くなった飼育員のローザ・キングさんは、動物園の中心的存在であったことが分かります。
LDOCEでは、"the person or thing that you pay most attention to"や"the point at which beams of light meet after they have been through a lens"と表現されています。(Akim)
