N1 Grammar · Test 23

Option 3 「ないくせに」completes the pattern 〜てしかたがないくせに, meaning 'even though (you) can't help (wanting to do something).' The full sentence: A says 'Hey, this manga is interesting.' B says 'Not interested.' A teases: 'You say that, but even though you actually can't help wanting to read it...' The くせに adds the teasing, accusatory tone that A uses to call out B's tsundere behavior. The structure is: 読んでみたくてしかたが(ない) + くせに.

• 1「なくちゃ」is colloquial for なくては, used in patterns like 〜なくちゃいけない (must). It does not fit the 〜てしかたが structure or the teasing tone.
• 2「ないけど」means 'not, but.' While it could grammatically complete しかたがない, it lacks the teasing/accusatory nuance that くせに provides. The sentence needs the 'even though you clearly feel that way' implication.
• 4「なくたって」is colloquial for なくても, meaning 'even if (you) don't.' It does not fit the 〜てしかたが pattern or convey the teasing accusation needed here.

• 読よんでみたくてしかたがない — can't help wanting to read it
• くせに — even though; despite (expresses criticism or teasing about a contradiction) (N1 grammar)

The sentence means 'I have played against the next match's opponent once at the previous tournament. I lost last time, but this time I definitely want to win.' The correct answer is 対戦している. Here, 〜ている with 一度 expresses a past experience that remains relevant to the present — 'have (already) played against once.' This is a common use of ている with a quantified past action (一度…している = 'have done ~ once'). The second sentence (前回は負けた) confirms this refers to a completed past match.

• 2対戦してくる uses 〜てくる, which indicates an action or change moving toward the speaker in time or space. It does not express a completed past experience, so it doesn't fit '一度' + past context.
• 3対戦してみる means 'try playing against (to see what it's like).' This changes the meaning to attempting something, which doesn't match the context of recalling a past match.
• 4対戦していく uses 〜ていく, indicating an action continuing away from the speaker in time or space. It suggests an ongoing or future-oriented action, not a completed past experience.

• 対戦たいせんする — to compete against, to play against (in a match/game)
• 大会たいかい — tournament, competition
• 〜ている — (with past quantified action) have done ~ (experience/state resulting from a past action)

This is a ryokan (Japanese inn) pamphlet. The sentence means 'For guests arriving by train, our staff will go to meet you at the nearest Morikawa Station, so please inform us of your estimated arrival time by the day before.' The subject performing the action is スタッフ (staff), who are humbly serving the guests. お迎えにあがる is a humble expression (謙譲語) meaning 'to go to pick someone up.' Here, あがる is a humble form of 行く ('to go'), used when the speaker (or their in-group, i.e., the staff) goes to do something for a respected person (the guest). The pattern お/ご〜にあがる means 'to go to do ~ (humble).'

• 1見えます is 尊敬語 (respectful language) for 来る/行く, used when the respected person (guest) is the subject. But here the subject is スタッフ (staff), so respectful language is inappropriate — the staff should use humble language toward the guest.
• 3くださいます is 尊敬語 for くれる. お迎えにくださる would mean the respected person (guest) goes to pick someone up, which makes no sense here — the staff is the one picking up the guest.
• 4さし上げます is 謙譲語 for あげる ('to give'), but it is used for giving/doing something for someone, not for 'going to pick up.' The pattern お迎えにさしあげる is not a natural expression; さしあげる does not replace 行く in this construction.

• お迎えにあがる（おむかえにあがる） — (humble) to go to meet/pick someone up; あがる is humble for 行く in this pattern
• お越し（おこし） — (respectful) coming, visiting
• 最寄もより — nearest, closest
• スタッフ（すたっふ） — staff

The sentence means 'Last night, I went all the way to Kitayama to see the night view, but with incredible strong wind and cold, enjoying the night view was out of the question.' The key structure is せっかく〜のに (went through the trouble of ~, but) followed by a negative outcome. 楽しむどころではなかった means 'it was far from enjoyable / let alone enjoying it — that was out of the question.' 〜どころではない expresses that a situation is so bad/extreme that the expected action is completely impossible, which perfectly matches the strong wind and cold preventing enjoyment.

• 1楽しまずにはいられなかった means 'couldn't help but enjoy (it).' This is the opposite of what the context requires — the person could NOT enjoy the night view due to the weather.
• 2楽しめないことはなかった means 'it wasn't that I couldn't enjoy it' (double negative = could enjoy it). This contradicts the context of strong wind and cold ruining the outing.
• 4楽しむつもりはなかった means 'I didn't intend to enjoy it.' This contradicts せっかく夜景を見に行った (went all the way to see the night view), which clearly shows the person intended to enjoy it.

• せっかく — going to the trouble of, taking the effort to (often followed by のに for a disappointing result)
• 夜景やけい — night view, night scenery
• 強風きょうふう — strong wind
• 〜どころではない — far from ~ing; it's out of the question to ~ (situation makes the action impossible)
• 楽たのしむ — to enjoy

B is reacting to the claim that sales can be increased 5x in half a year, saying '5倍？ありえないよ。どう考えてもさすがに（無理っていうもんだ）。' — '5x? Impossible. No matter how you think about it, as you'd expect, it's simply impossible.' 無理ってもんだ is a colloquial contraction of 無理というものだ. 〜というものだ expresses a strong, definitive characterization: 'that is truly ~ / that's what ~ means.' So 無理というものだ = 'it is truly impossible / that's the definition of impossible.' This matches B's dismissive ありえないよ and A's agreement 無理ですよね.

• 1無理するもんだ means 'it's natural/expected to push oneself (to overdo things).' This would suggest that pushing oneself is normal, which doesn't fit the context of declaring the plan impossible.
• 2無理するもんか means 'there's no way I'd push myself / I wouldn't overdo it.' This expresses the speaker's refusal to overexert, not a judgment that the plan is impossible. It doesn't match どう考えても (no matter how you think about it).
• 4無理なもんか is a rhetorical negative meaning 'there's no way it's impossible' = 'it's not impossible.' This is the opposite of the intended meaning — B is saying it IS impossible.

• 無理むり — impossible, unreasonable
• 〜というものだ — (used for strong assertion/characterization) that is truly ~; that's what ~ is; colloquially contracted as 〜っていうもんだ / 〜ってもんだ
• さすがに — as one would expect; naturally; even so
• ありえない — impossible, can't be (strong denial)
• 売り上げ（うりあげ） — sales, sales revenue

「とかで」is a colloquial pattern meaning 'because (I heard/it is said that)…', citing a hearsay reason. 紹介されたとかで means 'because it was apparently introduced on TV (or so I hear).' The とか part indicates hearsay ('I heard that…'), and で marks the reason. This explains why long lines form every day — the restaurant was featured on TV.

• 2「とかなら」means 'if it were the case that…'. 紹介されたとかなら would set up a conditional ('if it were introduced on TV, then…'), but the sentence states a fact (lines ARE forming), not a hypothetical.
• 3「というのが」means 'which is…' / 'the one that…', used to identify or define something. It doesn't provide a reason and doesn't connect properly with the second clause about long lines.
• 4「というのも」means 'the reason is…' and is used to introduce an explanation (というのも～からだ). While it can express reason, it requires a follow-up explanatory structure (～というのも…からだ) and is too formal/heavy for this context. とかで is the natural choice for citing a hearsay reason concisely.

• 行列ぎょうれつ — line, queue
• 紹介しょうかいする — to introduce, feature (on TV etc.)

Option 2 is correct. The key pattern is 「何の〜にもならない」(does not serve as ~ at all / amounts to nothing as ~). Here, 「何の説明にもなっておらず」means 'not serving as any explanation whatsoever.' The 「に」marks the role or function (as an explanation), and 「も」emphasizes 'even/not any.' The trailing 「〜しておらず」connects to the second clause 「わが社の信用が失われるだけだ」(it only damages our company's credibility). The sentence reads: 'The president held a press conference about this accident, but with that, it doesn't serve as any explanation at all, and it only loses our company's credibility.'

• 1「になっておらず」means 'not becoming an explanation,' which is grammatically possible but lacks the critical 「も」that makes the set phrase 「何の〜にもならない」(doesn't amount to ~ at all). Without も, the sentence loses the emphatic 'not even / not any' nuance that the context (あれでは…だけだ, expressing strong disappointment) demands.
• 3「になっているのではなく」means 'it's not that it is becoming an explanation,' which is awkward and does not connect naturally to the following clause. The 「〜のではなく」pattern would expect a contrasting positive statement (e.g., 'it's not X but rather Y'), but the second clause offers no such contrast.
• 4「にもなっているのではなく」combines the emphatic も with the awkward 「〜のではなく」pattern. Like option 3, it expects a contrasting follow-up that never comes, and the progressive 「なっている」is unnatural here.

• 会見かいけん — press conference
• 信用が失われる（しんようがうしなわれる） — credibility is lost/damaged
• 〜にもならない — does not serve as ~ at all / does not amount to ~
• 危あやうく — nearly, almost (with a negative outcome avoided)

Option 3 is correct. The pattern 「〜たり〜なかったり」expresses alternation or inconsistency: 'sometimes does X, sometimes doesn't.' Here, 「来たり来なかったり」describes Yamaguchi's unreliable behavior — 'sometimes she comes, sometimes she doesn't.' The full sentence: 'I wonder. Even when she says she'll come, she's the type who sometimes comes and sometimes doesn't, so…' The ending 「だから」(because…) works naturally because 「来たり来なかったり」functions as a noun-like description of her tendency.

• 1「来ても来なくても」means 'whether she comes or not' and is a conditional pattern (〜ても〜なくても). It cannot serve as a noun phrase ending with だから, and it doesn't describe a tendency — it describes a condition that is irrelevant to the context.
• 2「来るか来ないか」means 'whether she comes or not' and expresses uncertainty about a single event. It doesn't convey the repeated inconsistency (sometimes comes, sometimes doesn't) that the context requires, and it is awkward before だから.
• 4「来るのも来ないのも」is grammatically incomplete. The pattern 「〜の〜も」needs a predicate (e.g., 「来るのも来ないのも同じだ」), so it cannot stand alone before だから.

• 〜たり〜なかったり — sometimes does X, sometimes doesn't (alternation/inconsistency)
• 強引ごういんに — aggressively, pushily
• 勧誘かんゆう — recruitment, solicitation (e.g., for a club)

Option 1 is correct. The key pattern is 「危うく〜ところだった」= 'almost / nearly did something (but didn't).' Here, the causative-passive 「させられる」(was made to / was forced to) combines with 「ところだった」to give 「危うく入会させられるところだった」= 'I was almost forced to join (the club).' This perfectly matches the context: they pushed the conversation aggressively (強引に話を進められて), and the speaker narrowly avoided being forced into membership.

• 2「されようがなかった」means 'there was no way I could be made to join,' which contradicts the context. The speaker was troubled precisely because they were nearly forced to join, not because it was impossible.
• 3「させなかったのかと思った」means 'I wondered if I didn't make (them) not join,' which is nonsensical in this context. The speaker is the one being recruited, not the one controlling membership.
• 4「しなかったことにした」means 'I pretended I didn't join,' which doesn't connect with 「危うく」(nearly/almost). The sentence needs a near-miss expression, not a statement about pretending something didn't happen.

• 危うく〜ところだった（あやうく〜ところだった） — almost/nearly did something (but didn't)
• 強引ごういんに — aggressively, pushily
• 入会にゅうかいさせられる — to be made/forced to join (causative-passive)

Option 4 is correct. The pattern is 「〜からって、〜わけじゃない」= 'just because ~, it doesn't mean ~.' Here, 「見学したからって、入らなきゃいけないってわけじゃない」= 'Just because you visit/observe, it doesn't mean you have to enroll.' This is a natural reassurance: Takahashi is inviting Hayashi to observe the class and reassuring her that observing doesn't obligate her to join. The 「し」at the end connects to 「どう？」(how about it?), presenting a reason why the invitation is low-pressure.

• 1「入りたがるじゃない」means 'wouldn't you want to join?' which is the opposite of reassurance. Takahashi is trying to lower the pressure, not push Hayashi to join.
• 2「入らせないわけにはいかない」means 'I can't help but let you join / I have no choice but to let you in,' which makes no sense as a reassurance and is grammatically/semantically inappropriate for the context.
• 3「入りたくないだけかもしれない」means 'it might just be that you don't want to join,' which doesn't fit the pattern 「〜からって、〜し」and doesn't function as reassurance. It also shifts the subject awkwardly.

• 〜からって、〜わけじゃない — just because ~, it doesn't mean ~
• 見学けんがく — observation, visiting (a class) to watch
• 入はいらなきゃいけない — have to enroll/join (colloquial contraction of 入らなければいけない)