Long-passage reading comprehension

【Passage】A library is easily taken for a place that lends out books, but its role has widened with the times. The library of the past had a strong flavour of an institution for preserving a limited stock of material and showing it to those who needed it. That was because paper books were expensive and an individual could own only a few. And yet, once printing became cheap and books came to stand on shelves at home, simply keeping material on hand no longer drew people in. So the library shifted its centre of gravity towards being a place that helps you search. The work is to show someone who does not know what to read a run of material that suits their purpose. In recent years it has taken on still more of the character of a place to bring what you have found and talk it over, and a place to gather and keep the records of the local area. Seats where you may talk, and old local photographs being put in order, are signs of this. Seen this way, what lies at the centre of a library is not books themselves but the work of joining people to information. Lending is only one of the forms that work takes. 【Question】 Which of the following agrees with the passage?

1. The library of the past had strongly the character of an institution that preserved a limited stock of material and showed it to those who needed it.
2. The work of gathering and keeping local records is drifting out of the library's role.
3. The writer states that lending is the work that lies at the centre of a library.
4. Once printing became cheap and books stood on shelves at home, the number of people visiting libraries actually rose.

【Passage】A library is easily taken for a place that lends out books, but its role has widened with the times. The library of the past had a strong flavour of an institution for preserving a limited stock of material and showing it to those who needed it. That was because paper books were expensive and an individual could own only a few. And yet, once printing became cheap and books came to stand on shelves at home, simply keeping material on hand no longer drew people in. So the library shifted its centre of gravity towards being a place that helps you search. The work is to show someone who does not know what to read a run of material that suits their purpose. In recent years it has taken on still more of the character of a place to bring what you have found and talk it over, and a place to gather and keep the records of the local area. Seats where you may talk, and old local photographs being put in order, are signs of this. Seen this way, what lies at the centre of a library is not books themselves but the work of joining people to information. Lending is only one of the forms that work takes. 【Question】 In the underlined part, 'Seats where you may talk, and old local photographs being put in order, are signs of this', what does 'this' most appropriately refer to?

1. That the library shifted its centre of gravity towards helping people who do not know what to read to search for material
2. That what lies at the centre of a library is not books themselves but the work of joining people to information
3. That paper books were once expensive and an individual could own only a few
4. That the library is strengthening its character as a place to bring what you have found and talk it over, and a place to gather and keep local records

【Passage】A library is easily taken for a place that lends out books, but its role has widened with the times. The library of the past had a strong flavour of an institution for preserving a limited stock of material and showing it to those who needed it. That was because paper books were expensive and an individual could own only a few. (blank), once printing became cheap and books came to stand on shelves at home, simply keeping material on hand no longer drew people in. So the library shifted its centre of gravity towards being a place that helps you search. The work is to show someone who does not know what to read a run of material that suits their purpose. In recent years it has taken on still more of the character of a place to bring what you have found and talk it over, and a place to gather and keep the records of the local area. Seats where you may talk, and old local photographs being put in order, are signs of this. Seen this way, what lies at the centre of a library is not books themselves but the work of joining people to information. Lending is only one of the forms that work takes. 【Question】 Which word best fits the blank?

1. this is because (なぜなら, nazenara)
2. for example (たとえば, tatoeba)
3. and yet (ところが, tokoroga)
4. in short (つまり, tsumari)

【Passage】A library is easily taken for a place that lends out books, but its role has widened with the times. The library of the past had a strong flavour of an institution for preserving a limited stock of material and showing it to those who needed it. That was because paper books were expensive and an individual could own only a few. And yet, once printing became cheap and books came to stand on shelves at home, simply keeping material on hand no longer drew people in. So the library shifted its centre of gravity towards being a place that helps you search. The work is to show someone who does not know what to read a run of material that suits their purpose. In recent years it has taken on still more of the character of a place to bring what you have found and talk it over, and a place to gather and keep the records of the local area. Seats where you may talk, and old local photographs being put in order, are signs of this. Seen this way, what lies at the centre of a library is not books themselves but the work of joining people to information. Lending is only one of the forms that work takes. 【Question】 Why did the library of the past put its weight on preserving material and showing it?

1. Because there were many people who did not know what to read
2. Because there was no room to provide seats where people could talk
3. Because there was a need to leave local records for later generations
4. Because paper books were expensive and an individual could own only a few

【Passage】A library is easily taken for a place that lends out books, but its role has widened with the times. The library of the past had a strong flavour of an institution for preserving a limited stock of material and showing it to those who needed it. That was because paper books were expensive and an individual could own only a few. And yet, once printing became cheap and books came to stand on shelves at home, simply keeping material on hand no longer drew people in. So the library shifted its centre of gravity towards being a place that helps you search. The work is to show someone who does not know what to read a run of material that suits their purpose. In recent years it has taken on still more of the character of a place to bring what you have found and talk it over, and a place to gather and keep the records of the local area. Seats where you may talk, and old local photographs being put in order, are signs of this. Seen this way, what lies at the centre of a library is not books themselves but the work of joining people to information. Lending is only one of the forms that work takes. 【Question】 Which best states the writer's claim?

1. As printing technology advanced, the reason for libraries to exist has gradually been lost.
2. Raising the number of items lent out is the greatest task for the library of the future.
3. What lies at the centre of a library is not books themselves but the work of joining people to information.
4. The library should go on putting first the preservation of material, its original role.

【Passage】Keigo (敬語), the honorific style of Japanese, is often explained as language for treating the other person as one's superior. Watch real conversation, though, and you notice that what keigo carries is less rank than the adjusting of distance. Choosing a polite way of speaking with someone you are meeting for the first time does not necessarily mean that person is your senior. You do not yet know the space between you, so you begin from a distant position for the time being. As the acquaintance goes on the speech gradually loosens, but this is not because you have come to think less of the person. It is because a signal has passed between you both that speaking at close range will do no harm. Conversely, use polite language suddenly with someone you are close to and the other person braces themselves, because it is taken as a signal that the distance is being widened. Thought of this way, whether or not to use keigo is less a question of correctness than a choice about how much width to leave between you and the other person. What is needed in learning keigo is not only memorising a list of forms. It is also practice in reading how far away from this particular person you stand right now. 【Question】 Which of the following agrees with the passage?

1. Use polite language with someone you are close to and the other person feels the distance has narrowed.
2. The writer states that memorising a list of forms is enough for keigo.
3. Choosing a polite way of speaking with someone met for the first time is because that person is your senior.
4. Speech loosening as an acquaintance goes on is because a signal has passed that it is all right to speak at close range.

【Passage】Keigo (敬語), the honorific style of Japanese, is often explained as language for treating the other person as one's superior. Watch real conversation, though, and you notice that what keigo carries is less rank than the adjusting of distance. Choosing a polite way of speaking with someone you are meeting for the first time does not necessarily mean that person is your senior. You do not yet know the space between you, so you begin from a distant position for the time being. As the acquaintance goes on the speech gradually loosens, but this is not because you have come to think less of the person. It is because a signal has passed between you both that speaking at close range will do no harm. Conversely, use polite language suddenly with someone you are close to and the other person braces themselves, because it is taken as a signal that the distance is being widened. Thought of this way, whether or not to use keigo is less a question of correctness than a choice about how much width to leave between you and the other person. What is needed in learning keigo is not only memorising a list of forms. It is also practice in reading how far away from this particular person you stand right now. 【Question】 In the underlined part, 'this is not because you have come to think less of the person', what does 'this' most appropriately refer to?

1. That polite language is used suddenly with someone you are close to
2. That a polite way of speaking is chosen with someone met for the first time
3. That as the acquaintance goes on, the speech gradually loosens
4. That you practise reading how far away from the other person you stand

【Passage】Keigo (敬語), the honorific style of Japanese, is often explained as language for treating the other person as one's superior. Watch real conversation, though, and you notice that what keigo carries is less rank than the adjusting of distance. Choosing a polite way of speaking with someone you are meeting for the first time does not necessarily mean that person is your senior. You do not yet know the space between you, so you begin from a distant position for the time being. As the acquaintance goes on the speech gradually loosens, but this is not because you have come to think less of the person. It is because a signal has passed between you both that speaking at close range will do no harm. Conversely, use polite language suddenly with someone you are close to and the other person braces themselves, because it is taken as a signal that the distance is being widened. Thought of this way, whether or not to use keigo is less a question of correctness than a choice about how much width to leave between you and the other person. What is needed in learning keigo is not only memorising a list of forms. It is also practice in reading how far away from this particular person you stand right now. 【Question】 Why does the other person brace themselves when polite language is used suddenly with someone close?

1. Because the polite wording is taken to be a mistake
2. Because it amounts to treating the person as a superior
3. Because it makes what is said harder to follow
4. Because it is taken as a signal that the distance is being widened

【Passage】Keigo (敬語), the honorific style of Japanese, is often explained as language for treating the other person as one's superior. Watch real conversation, though, and you notice that what keigo carries is less rank than the adjusting of distance. Choosing a polite way of speaking with someone you are meeting for the first time does not necessarily mean that person is your senior. You do not yet know the space between you, so you begin from a distant position for the time being. As the acquaintance goes on the speech gradually loosens, but this is not because you have come to think less of the person. It is because a signal has passed between you both that speaking at close range will do no harm. Conversely, use polite language suddenly with someone you are close to and the other person braces themselves, because it is taken as a signal that the distance is being widened. Thought of this way, whether or not to use keigo is less a question of correctness than a choice about how much width to leave between you and the other person. What is needed in learning keigo is not only memorising a list of forms. It is also practice in reading how far away from this particular person you stand right now. 【Question】 Which best states the writer's claim?

1. Conversation loosening is a sign that you have come to think less of the other person.
2. Keigo is used less to show rank than to adjust the distance to the other person.
3. Keigo need only be used with superiors, and there is no need to use it with people you are close to.
4. Memorising the forms of keigo accurately is the only way to keep conversation correct.

【Passage】A plant cannot walk, but it has any number of ways of delivering the next generation to a place away from the parent. The best known is the way that uses the wind. A seed with light hairs like down is carried a long way even on the slightest breeze. Among waterside plants there are seeds with a coat that floats, which travel on the current. Then again, there are many that make use of animals. Plants that sweeten their fruit so that it will be eaten and have the undigested seed dropped somewhere else, and seeds that catch on animal hair by their barbs and are carried off, are examples. What all these ways have in common is that they avoid falling beside the parent. Directly under the parent the light is poor, and there is likely to be a scramble for water and nutrients. If they are all bunched in one place, there is also the danger of losing the lot at once should disaster strike there. For a living thing that cannot move, sending seeds far away is one of the few means it has of widening its margin for survival. 【Question】 Which of the following agrees with the passage?

1. Directly under the parent the light is good, so seeds tend to gather there.
2. A coat that floats on water is found only in plants that make use of animals.
3. A seed from fruit eaten by an animal is sometimes dropped undigested somewhere else.
4. Seeds carried by wind cannot move unless a strong wind blows.

【Passage】A plant cannot walk, but it has any number of ways of delivering the next generation to a place away from the parent. The best known is the way that uses the wind. A seed with light hairs like down is carried a long way even on the slightest breeze. Among waterside plants there are seeds with a coat that floats, which travel on the current. (blank), there are many that make use of animals. Plants that sweeten their fruit so that it will be eaten and have the undigested seed dropped somewhere else, and seeds that catch on animal hair by their barbs and are carried off, are examples. What all these ways have in common is that they avoid falling beside the parent. Directly under the parent the light is poor, and there is likely to be a scramble for water and nutrients. If they are all bunched in one place, there is also the danger of losing the lot at once should disaster strike there. For a living thing that cannot move, sending seeds far away is one of the few means it has of widening its margin for survival. 【Question】 Which word best fits the blank?

1. in short (つまり, tsumari)
2. then again (また, mata)
3. however (しかし, shikashi)
4. this is because (なぜなら, nazenara)

【Passage】A plant cannot walk, but it has any number of ways of delivering the next generation to a place away from the parent. The best known is the way that uses the wind. A seed with light hairs like down is carried a long way even on the slightest breeze. Among waterside plants there are seeds with a coat that floats, which travel on the current. Then again, there are many that make use of animals. Plants that sweeten their fruit so that it will be eaten and have the undigested seed dropped somewhere else, and seeds that catch on animal hair by their barbs and are carried off, are examples. What all these ways have in common is that they avoid falling beside the parent. Directly under the parent the light is poor, and there is likely to be a scramble for water and nutrients. If they are all bunched in one place, there is also the danger of losing the lot at once should disaster strike there. For a living thing that cannot move, sending seeds far away is one of the few means it has of widening its margin for survival. 【Question】 According to the passage, why do plants avoid letting their seeds fall beside the parent?

1. Because the wind and the water current weaken beside the parent
2. Because directly under the parent the light is poor and there is likely to be a scramble for water and nutrients
3. Because seeds beside the parent get eaten by animals
4. Because plants of the same kind stop growing beside the parent

【Passage】A plant cannot walk, but it has any number of ways of delivering the next generation to a place away from the parent. The best known is the way that uses the wind. A seed with light hairs like down is carried a long way even on the slightest breeze. Among waterside plants there are seeds with a coat that floats, which travel on the current. Then again, there are many that make use of animals. Plants that sweeten their fruit so that it will be eaten and have the undigested seed dropped somewhere else, and seeds that catch on animal hair by their barbs and are carried off, are examples. What all these ways have in common is that they avoid falling beside the parent. Directly under the parent the light is poor, and there is likely to be a scramble for water and nutrients. If they are all bunched in one place, there is also the danger of losing the lot at once should disaster strike there. For a living thing that cannot move, sending seeds far away is one of the few means it has of widening its margin for survival. 【Question】 Which best states the gist of this passage?

1. Plants can send seeds far away only by having animals carry them.
2. The various mechanisms for carrying seeds far away are the means by which plants, which cannot move, widen their margin for survival.
3. Of the ways plants disperse seeds, the one using wind is the most efficient.
4. Seeds gathering in one place is useful as a preparation against disaster.

【Passage】Faced with a big job, your hands sometimes stop. There is so much to do that you cannot see where to begin. What works at such a time is to split the deadline into several instead of keeping just one. If only the final submission date is fixed, there always seems to be room to spare until that day. The amount of work has not actually changed, yet you stay in a state where there is no reason anywhere to start today. So divide the whole into three or four sections and put a date on each. Each section gets its own small deadline, so the share to be done today becomes clear. Another benefit is that you notice slippage early. If the first section took longer than planned, you can rebuild the plan at that point. If you do not notice until the last day, there is hardly any move left to make. It helps to think of splitting the deadline not as a way of driving yourself on but as a way of making a scale that measures how far you have got. 【Question】 Which of the following agrees with the passage?

1. With the deadline split, you can notice slippage at the first section and rebuild the plan.
2. Your hands stop on a big job because the final submission date approaches and the time left runs short.
3. If only the final submission date is fixed, the amount of work to get through gradually falls.
4. Splitting the deadline is a way of driving yourself on and raising your speed.

【Passage】Faced with a big job, your hands sometimes stop. There is so much to do that you cannot see where to begin. What works at such a time is to split the deadline into several instead of keeping just one. If only the final submission date is fixed, there always seems to be room to spare until that day. The amount of work has not actually changed, yet you stay in a state where there is no reason anywhere to start today. So divide the whole into three or four sections and put a date on each. Each section gets its own small deadline, so the share to be done today becomes clear. Another benefit is that you notice slippage early. If the first section took longer than planned, you can rebuild the plan at that point. If you do not notice until the last day, there is hardly any move left to make. It helps to think of splitting the deadline not as a way of driving yourself on but as a way of making a scale that measures how far you have got. 【Question】 In the underlined part, 'What works at such a time', what does 'such a time' most appropriately refer to?

1. When there is so much to do that you cannot see where to begin and your hands have stopped
2. When the submission date is near and there is not enough time left
3. When you have finished setting a small deadline for each section
4. When it took longer than planned and the plan needs rebuilding

【Passage】Faced with a big job, your hands sometimes stop. There is so much to do that you cannot see where to begin. What works at such a time is to split the deadline into several instead of keeping just one. If only the final submission date is fixed, there always seems to be room to spare until that day. The amount of work has not actually changed, yet you stay in a state where there is no reason anywhere to start today. So divide the whole into three or four sections and put a date on each. Each section gets its own small deadline, so the share to be done today becomes clear. Another benefit is that you notice slippage early. If the first section took longer than planned, you can rebuild the plan at that point. If you do not notice until the last day, there is hardly any move left to make. It helps to think of splitting the deadline not as a way of driving yourself on but as a way of making a scale that measures how far you have got. 【Question】 Why does fixing only the final submission date make it hard to get started?

1. Because the amount of work to get through by the submission date grows day by day
2. Because chances to rebuild the plan increase and there is more rework
3. Because the sections are too fine and you cannot decide which to take up first
4. Because there always seems to be room to spare until that day, so you stay in a state where there is no reason to start today

【Passage】Faced with a big job, your hands sometimes stop. There is so much to do that you cannot see where to begin. What works at such a time is to split the deadline into several instead of keeping just one. If only the final submission date is fixed, there always seems to be room to spare until that day. The amount of work has not actually changed, yet you stay in a state where there is no reason anywhere to start today. So divide the whole into three or four sections and put a date on each. Each section gets its own small deadline, so the share to be done today becomes clear. Another benefit is that you notice slippage early. If the first section took longer than planned, you can rebuild the plan at that point. If you do not notice until the last day, there is hardly any move left to make. It helps to think of splitting the deadline not as a way of driving yourself on but as a way of making a scale that measures how far you have got. 【Question】 Which best states the writer's claim?

1. Splitting the deadline is not a way of driving yourself on but a way of making a scale that measures how far you have got.
2. With a big job, first cut down the total amount of work and then begin.
3. The more deadlines you add and the harder you drive yourself, the faster the work goes.
4. Keep the deadline as a single one and concentrate on the final stretch.

【Passage】Place names preserve how the people who lived there saw the land. A place name containing a character to do with water is often somewhere a river once ran, or where water tended to collect. A place name containing the characters for valley or slope can show that the original ground was full of rises and falls, even where it looks flat today. That is because when the shape of the land is changed by construction work, the name alone is often handed down unchanged. That said, some care is needed when reading a place name as a record of the terrain. A name that has been swapped for auspicious characters, or one given to a newly developed district, is sometimes not tied to how that land came to be. Read even these as records of the terrain and you will judge wrongly. So it is risky to settle the character of a piece of land on the strength of its name alone. Only when laid over old maps and records does it become a clue. Even so, a name is still a doorway into the history of a place. Look up once the name of the road you walk every day, and the familiar scenery starts to look different. 【Question】 Which of the following agrees with the passage?

1. The writer states that it is fine to judge the character of land on the strength of its name alone.
2. A place name swapped for auspicious characters also shows correctly how that land came to be.
3. Place names with the characters for valley or slope are given only to land that still has large rises and falls.
4. Even when the shape of the land is changed by construction work, the name alone is often handed down unchanged.

【Passage】Place names preserve how the people who lived there saw the land. A place name containing a character to do with water is often somewhere a river once ran, or where water tended to collect. A place name containing the characters for valley or slope can show that the original ground was full of rises and falls, even where it looks flat today. That is because when the shape of the land is changed by construction work, the name alone is often handed down unchanged. That said, some care is needed when reading a place name as a record of the terrain. A name that has been swapped for auspicious characters, or one given to a newly developed district, is sometimes not tied to how that land came to be. Read even these as records of the terrain and you will judge wrongly. So it is risky to settle the character of a piece of land on the strength of its name alone. Only when laid over old maps and records does it become a clue. Even so, a name is still a doorway into the history of a place. Look up once the name of the road you walk every day, and the familiar scenery starts to look different. 【Question】 In the underlined part, 'Read even these as records of the terrain and you will judge wrongly', what does 'these' most appropriately refer to?

1. Names containing the characters for valley or slope, carrying the rises and falls of the original ground
2. Names that can be confirmed by laying them over old maps and records
3. Names swapped for auspicious characters, and names given to newly developed districts
4. Names containing a character to do with water, showing where a river once ran

【Passage】Place names preserve how the people who lived there saw the land. A place name containing a character to do with water is often somewhere a river once ran, or where water tended to collect. A place name containing the characters for valley or slope can show that the original ground was full of rises and falls, even where it looks flat today. That is because when the shape of the land is changed by construction work, the name alone is often handed down unchanged. (blank), some care is needed when reading a place name as a record of the terrain. A name that has been swapped for auspicious characters, or one given to a newly developed district, is sometimes not tied to how that land came to be. Read even these as records of the terrain and you will judge wrongly. So it is risky to settle the character of a piece of land on the strength of its name alone. Only when laid over old maps and records does it become a clue. Even so, a name is still a doorway into the history of a place. Look up once the name of the road you walk every day, and the familiar scenery starts to look different. 【Question】 Which word best fits the blank?

1. for example (たとえば, tatoeba)
2. for that reason (そのため, sono tame)
3. that said (もっとも, mottomo)
4. in short (つまり, tsumari)

【Passage】Place names preserve how the people who lived there saw the land. A place name containing a character to do with water is often somewhere a river once ran, or where water tended to collect. A place name containing the characters for valley or slope can show that the original ground was full of rises and falls, even where it looks flat today. That is because when the shape of the land is changed by construction work, the name alone is often handed down unchanged. That said, some care is needed when reading a place name as a record of the terrain. A name that has been swapped for auspicious characters, or one given to a newly developed district, is sometimes not tied to how that land came to be. Read even these as records of the terrain and you will judge wrongly. So it is risky to settle the character of a piece of land on the strength of its name alone. Only when laid over old maps and records does it become a clue. Even so, a name is still a doorway into the history of a place. Look up once the name of the road you walk every day, and the familiar scenery starts to look different. 【Question】 Why can a place name still be a clue to the original terrain even after construction work has changed the shape of the land?

1. Because there is a custom in every region of swapping in auspicious characters
2. Because it is laid down that old place names must be kept during construction work
3. Because land with rises and falls is always given the characters for valley or slope
4. Because the name alone is often handed down unchanged

【Passage】Place names preserve how the people who lived there saw the land. A place name containing a character to do with water is often somewhere a river once ran, or where water tended to collect. A place name containing the characters for valley or slope can show that the original ground was full of rises and falls, even where it looks flat today. That is because when the shape of the land is changed by construction work, the name alone is often handed down unchanged. That said, some care is needed when reading a place name as a record of the terrain. A name that has been swapped for auspicious characters, or one given to a newly developed district, is sometimes not tied to how that land came to be. Read even these as records of the terrain and you will judge wrongly. So it is risky to settle the character of a piece of land on the strength of its name alone. Only when laid over old maps and records does it become a clue. Even so, a name is still a doorway into the history of a place. Look up once the name of the road you walk every day, and the familiar scenery starts to look different. 【Question】 Which best states the writer's claim?

1. A place name is a doorway into the history of a piece of land, but it needs checking against old maps and records.
2. Newly given place names have no value, so there is no point looking them up.
3. Reading land from its name should be left to specialists; there is no need to mind it in daily life.
4. A place name is an exact record of how the land came to be, so it may be trusted as it stands.

【Passage】Fermentation and spoiling are both the work of micro-organisms breaking food down. What divides the two is less the kind of micro-organism than a difference of view: whether the result is useful to people. If the breaking down produces the components behind acids and aromas, and the taste improves or the food keeps longer, it is called fermentation; if the food becomes inedible, it is called spoiling. The reason it keeps longer is that the micro-organisms that multiplied first have taken up the space and the nutrients, so other micro-organisms arriving later find it hard to increase. Acid being given off and the surroundings turning acidic is also a condition many micro-organisms find hard to live in. In short, a fermented food is protected not by driving micro-organisms out but by having convenient micro-organisms move in first. That fermented foods developed all over the world in the age before refrigerators is thought to be because people knew this mechanism from experience. 【Question】 Which of the following agrees with the passage?

1. In the age before refrigerators, fermented foods were hardly made.
2. Fermentation and spoiling are divided clearly by the kind of micro-organism involved.
3. Fermented foods keep longer because every micro-organism has been removed.
4. Acid being given off and the surroundings turning acidic is a condition many micro-organisms find hard to live in.

【Passage】Fermentation and spoiling are both the work of micro-organisms breaking food down. What divides the two is less the kind of micro-organism than a difference of view: whether the result is useful to people. If the breaking down produces the components behind acids and aromas, and the taste improves or the food keeps longer, it is called fermentation; if the food becomes inedible, it is called spoiling. The reason it keeps longer is that the micro-organisms that multiplied first have taken up the space and the nutrients, so other micro-organisms arriving later find it hard to increase. Acid being given off and the surroundings turning acidic is also a condition many micro-organisms find hard to live in. (blank), a fermented food is protected not by driving micro-organisms out but by having convenient micro-organisms move in first. That fermented foods developed all over the world in the age before refrigerators is thought to be because people knew this mechanism from experience. 【Question】 Which word best fits the blank?

1. for example (たとえば, tatoeba)
2. in short (つまり, tsumari)
3. however (しかし, shikashi)
4. by the way (ところで, tokorode)

【Passage】Fermentation and spoiling are both the work of micro-organisms breaking food down. What divides the two is less the kind of micro-organism than a difference of view: whether the result is useful to people. If the breaking down produces the components behind acids and aromas, and the taste improves or the food keeps longer, it is called fermentation; if the food becomes inedible, it is called spoiling. The reason it keeps longer is that the micro-organisms that multiplied first have taken up the space and the nutrients, so other micro-organisms arriving later find it hard to increase. Acid being given off and the surroundings turning acidic is also a condition many micro-organisms find hard to live in. In short, a fermented food is protected not by driving micro-organisms out but by having convenient micro-organisms move in first. That fermented foods developed all over the world in the age before refrigerators is thought to be because people knew this mechanism from experience. 【Question】 Why does fermentation make food keep longer?

1. Because the micro-organisms that multiplied first take the space and the nutrients, so later arrivals find it hard to increase
2. Because the food loses its moisture as the breaking down proceeds
3. Because the components behind the aromas keep micro-organisms away
4. Because every micro-organism dies during fermentation

【Passage】Fermentation and spoiling are both the work of micro-organisms breaking food down. What divides the two is less the kind of micro-organism than a difference of view: whether the result is useful to people. If the breaking down produces the components behind acids and aromas, and the taste improves or the food keeps longer, it is called fermentation; if the food becomes inedible, it is called spoiling. The reason it keeps longer is that the micro-organisms that multiplied first have taken up the space and the nutrients, so other micro-organisms arriving later find it hard to increase. Acid being given off and the surroundings turning acidic is also a condition many micro-organisms find hard to live in. In short, a fermented food is protected not by driving micro-organisms out but by having convenient micro-organisms move in first. That fermented foods developed all over the world in the age before refrigerators is thought to be because people knew this mechanism from experience. 【Question】 Which best states the gist of this passage?

1. Fermentation and spoiling are phenomena strictly distinguished by the kind of micro-organism involved.
2. Removing micro-organisms completely is the only way to make food last.
3. Fermentation is a technique that spread across the world once refrigerators came into wide use.
4. Fermented foods are kept by having convenient micro-organisms move in first.

【Passage】Saying 'I don't understand' in a meeting is thought to take courage, because it is frightening to be known not to have followed. However, if you leave it unresolved on the spot, the person who suffers later is not only the one who failed to ask. When work goes ahead on a mistaken idea of what was decided and has to be redone, it is everyone who loses time. Another thing easily overlooked is that you are not necessarily the only one who feels lost. Where the explanation is thin, several people are usually snagged in the same place. Nobody opens their mouth, so it merely looks as though everyone has understood. So it is better to think of a question not as a slow learner asking for help but as filling a hole in the explanation for everyone's sake. Whether a meeting becomes one where it is easy to ask depends less on the participants' temperaments than, in large part, on whether you say at the outset that people may stop you partway. 【Question】 Which of the following agrees with the passage?

1. Because nobody asks, it sometimes merely looks as though everyone has understood.
2. The only person who suffers from leaving something unresolved is the one who failed to ask.
3. Whether a meeting becomes one where it is easy to ask is decided by the participants' temperaments.
4. Where the explanation is thin, usually only one person is snagged.

【Passage】Saying 'I don't understand' in a meeting is thought to take courage, because it is frightening to be known not to have followed. (blank), if you leave it unresolved on the spot, the person who suffers later is not only the one who failed to ask. When work goes ahead on a mistaken idea of what was decided and has to be redone, it is everyone who loses time. Another thing easily overlooked is that you are not necessarily the only one who feels lost. Where the explanation is thin, several people are usually snagged in the same place. Nobody opens their mouth, so it merely looks as though everyone has understood. So it is better to think of a question not as a slow learner asking for help but as filling a hole in the explanation for everyone's sake. Whether a meeting becomes one where it is easy to ask depends less on the participants' temperaments than, in large part, on whether you say at the outset that people may stop you partway. 【Question】 Which word best fits the blank?

1. for example (たとえば, tatoeba)
2. however (しかし, shikashi)
3. therefore (だから, dakara)
4. in short (つまり, tsumari)

【Passage】Saying 'I don't understand' in a meeting is thought to take courage, because it is frightening to be known not to have followed. However, if you leave it unresolved on the spot, the person who suffers later is not only the one who failed to ask. When work goes ahead on a mistaken idea of what was decided and has to be redone, it is everyone who loses time. Another thing easily overlooked is that you are not necessarily the only one who feels lost. Where the explanation is thin, several people are usually snagged in the same place. Nobody opens their mouth, so it merely looks as though everyone has understood. So it is better to think of a question not as a slow learner asking for help but as filling a hole in the explanation for everyone's sake. Whether a meeting becomes one where it is easy to ask depends less on the participants' temperaments than, in large part, on whether you say at the outset that people may stop you partway. 【Question】 Why does the writer say that the person who suffers from leaving something unresolved is not only the one who failed to ask?

1. Because the person giving the explanation ends up under-prepared
2. Because the more people who do not ask, the longer the meeting itself becomes
3. Because the participants' temperaments change how the meeting proceeds
4. Because when work goes ahead on a mistaken idea of what was decided and has to be redone, everyone loses time

【Passage】Saying 'I don't understand' in a meeting is thought to take courage, because it is frightening to be known not to have followed. However, if you leave it unresolved on the spot, the person who suffers later is not only the one who failed to ask. When work goes ahead on a mistaken idea of what was decided and has to be redone, it is everyone who loses time. Another thing easily overlooked is that you are not necessarily the only one who feels lost. Where the explanation is thin, several people are usually snagged in the same place. Nobody opens their mouth, so it merely looks as though everyone has understood. So it is better to think of a question not as a slow learner asking for help but as filling a hole in the explanation for everyone's sake. Whether a meeting becomes one where it is easy to ask depends less on the participants' temperaments than, in large part, on whether you say at the outset that people may stop you partway. 【Question】 Which best states the writer's claim?

1. Whether you can say you do not understand comes down in the end to how much courage you have.
2. A question in a meeting stops the flow, so it is better to ask individually afterwards.
3. A question fills a hole in the explanation for everyone's sake, and saying at the outset that people may stop you partway makes it easy to ask.
4. In a meeting, what matters most is that slow learners ask those around them for help.