gush 復習

　アメリカ、ワシントン州のデュポン市を走行していたアムトラックの特急列車が脱線しました。

Amtrak derailment in Washington State kills 3

An Amtrak train derailed on Monday during its inaugural run on a faster route from Seattle to Portland, Ore., sending passenger cars tumbling from a bridge onto a major highway, killing at least three people and injuring about 100 others.

Thirteen of the train’s 14 cars jumped the tracks near the town of DuPont, Washington State Patrol spokeswoman Brooke Bova said. Officials said 77 passengers and seven crew were aboard.

Five vehicles and two trucks were involved in the accident, and the highway was littered with fragments of the bridge and tree branches. Some motorists were injured but none died, authorities said.

中略

“All of a sudden, we felt this rocking and creaking noise, and it felt like we were heading down a hill,” Karnes said. “The next thing we know, we’re being slammed into the front of our seats, windows are breaking, we stop, and there’s water gushing out of the train. People were screaming.”

以下省略

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004136851

gush /gˈʌʃ/ を取り上げます。水という語をふまえると、水が出る様子を表しているのだろうと思いました。『ライトハウス英和辞典』（第5版　研究者）で引くと「1（副詞句をともなって）ほとばしり出る、（穴などからどっと）噴出する　2（軽べつ的）大げさにしゃべる（ほめる）（over）」とありました。

　LDOCEにはいくつか定義がありしたが、 “if a liquid gushes, it flows or pours out quickly and in large quantities” や “to express your praise, pleasure etc in a way that other people think is too strong” などと説明されています。液体が溢れ出ること以外にも言葉が溢れるというときにも使うようです。

　事故が起こった場所は、時速50キロほどにスピードを制限しなければいけない区間でしたが、約130キロで走行していたとのことで、明らかに速度超過だったことがわかっています。（aqua）