N1 Grammar · Test 25

The correct answer is 3 (聞こうにも). The grammar pattern 「～（よ）うにも～ない」means 'even if one wants to do X, one cannot.' Here, 「聞こうにも聞けない」= 'even if I want to ask, I can't (ask).' The senior colleague says 'ask me anything,' but since he's almost never at his desk due to meetings and going out, the speaker cannot actually ask him despite wanting to. The volitional form 聞こう + にも + potential-negative 聞けない perfectly captures this 'want to but can't' situation.

• 1聞いては does not form a valid pattern here. 「聞いては聞けない」is not a recognized grammar construction and does not convey the 'want to but can't' meaning.
• 2聞くには is not a valid pattern in this context. 「聞くには聞けない」does not work grammatically; には typically means 'in order to' (～には～が必要だ) or 'for the purpose of,' which doesn't fit here.
• 4聞かずとも means 'even without asking' (ずとも = 'even without'). This conveys the opposite of the intended meaning—the speaker wants to ask but can't, not that they can manage without asking.

• ～（よ）うにも～ない — even if one wants to do ~, one cannot (expresses inability despite desire)
• 外出がいしゅつ — going out (for work/business)
• 席せきにいない — not at one's desk / not present

Option 3 「任されるまでになったが」is correct. The sentence describes NishiKiyo-san's career trajectory: he rose to the position of branch manager (任されるまでになった), BUT (が) then left to pursue his dream of becoming a wagashi craftsman. 「～までになった」means 'reached the point/level of ~,' showing he had advanced significantly in his banking career. The 「が」at the end creates the crucial contrast with the following clause about quitting to chase his dream. The structure is: (achieved high rank) が (nevertheless left to pursue dream).

• 1「任されたまでは」does not fit. 「～までは」would need to be followed by a clause expressing what happens up to that point or what is true only up to that point, but the following clause about pursuing his dream doesn't connect grammatically or logically with this form.
• 2「任されたくらいでは」means 'just by being appointed...' and implies the role of branch manager was trivial or insufficient. This contradicts the context—being a branch manager is a significant achievement, and the sentence is highlighting the contrast between his success and his decision to leave.
• 4「任されるくらいになれば」is a conditional ('if one reaches the level of being appointed'). The sentence is not setting up a conditional; it is stating a factual biography. This form cannot connect to the following factual statement about pursuing his dream.

• 任まかされる — to be appointed/assigned (passive of 任せる)
• 和菓子職人わがししょくにん — traditional Japanese sweets craftsman
• 退職たいしょく — retirement, resigning from a job
• 生み出す（うみだす） — to create, to produce

Option 2 「やってみなきゃ」is correct. The full phrase is 「そんなのやってみなきゃわかんないよ」, meaning 'You won't know that unless you try.' 「やってみなきゃ」is the colloquial contraction of 「やってみなければ」, the conditional negative of やってみる (to try doing). The pattern 「～なければわからない」means 'you can't know unless you ~.' The father is reassuring the mother that they can't predict the outcome before Takeshi actually plays the match.

• 1「やってるって」means '(I'm saying that) he's doing it' or 'they say he's doing it.' Inserted before わかんない, it produces an ungrammatical and nonsensical phrase. It doesn't create the 'unless you try' conditional needed here.
• 3「やっちゃうのが」contains やっちゃう (casual for やってしまう, 'to do something completely/unfortunately') plus のが (nominalizer + subject marker). Before わかんない it does not form a coherent sentence—there is no conditional or logical connection to 'won't know.'
• 4「やっちゃおうと」is the volitional form やっちゃおう (let's do it) plus と, which would need to be followed by a verb of thinking/saying (と思う, と言う, etc.). It cannot connect to わかんない and does not express the needed 'unless you try' meaning.

• やってみる — to try doing something
• やってみなきゃ — colloquial contraction of やってみなければ (if [one] doesn't try)
• 対戦相手たいせんあいて — opponent (in a match/competition)
• 優勝ゆうしょう — championship, winning first place

Option 4 「答えておけばいいんだよ」is correct. B is giving advice: 'For that kind of thing, don't tell the truth every time—just answer vaguely and you'll be fine.' 「答えておけば」is the ば-conditional of 答えておく (to answer and leave it at that / to answer in advance as a precaution). 「～ばいいんだよ」means 'it's fine to ~ / you should just ~.' Together: 'You should just give a vague answer (and leave it at that).' This fits perfectly as practical advice for dealing with nosy questions.

• 1「答えてくれそうだよ」means '(someone) seems likely to answer for you.' This describes a third party's likely action, not advice to A. It doesn't fit the context of B telling A what A should do.
• 2「答えられたせいだよ」means 'it's because you were answered (by someone).' This is grammatically and semantically wrong: A was the one being asked questions, not being answered. The せいだ ('it's the fault of ~') also doesn't fit as advice.
• 3「答えただけのことだ」means 'you just answered, that's all.' This describes a past action as a mere fact, not advice. It doesn't convey the recommended strategy of giving vague answers going forward.

• いちいち — every single time, one by one (here: nitpicking every detail)
• 適当てきとうに — appropriately, suitably (also: vaguely, noncommittally in context)
• 答こたえておく — to answer (and leave it at that / as a precaution)
• ～ばいい — it's fine to ~, you should just ~

Option 4 「失わせてしまうおそれがある」is correct. The sentence explains why setting appropriate goals is difficult: 'If goals are too high, there is a risk of causing (people) to lose motivation—that's why.' 「～おそれがある」means 'there is a risk/danger of ~,' and pairs naturally with the reason-giving 「からだ」at the end. The structure is: (problem) おそれがある からだ = 'it's because there's a risk of (problem).' This logically explains the difficulty of goal-setting.

• 1「失わせてしまってはならない」means 'must not let (them) lose (motivation).' While semantically related, it doesn't fit the 「からだ」(because) ending. The sentence needs to explain WHY setting goals is difficult, not state a prohibition. 'It's because you must not make them lose motivation' is grammatically awkward and doesn't logically explain the difficulty.
• 2「失わせてしまいっつある」is not valid Japanese. It appears to be a corrupted version of 「失わせてしまいつつある」(is currently in the process of making them lose). Even if corrected to つつある, it would describe an ongoing process rather than a risk, which doesn't fit the explanatory 「からだ」context well.
• 3「失わせてしまうところだ」means 'is about to make (them) lose (motivation)' (～ところだ = on the verge of ~). This describes an imminent action rather than a risk/reason, and doesn't pair naturally with 「からだ」to explain why goal-setting is difficult.

• 適切てきせつ — appropriate, suitable
• 目標を設定する（もくひょうをせっていする） — to set a goal
• やる気（やるき） — motivation, willingness
• 失うしなわせる — to make [someone] lose (causative of 失う)
• ～おそれがある — there is a risk/danger of ~

Option 1 is correct. 「〜において」 means 'in' or 'at' (a time, place, or field). 「〜さえ」 means 'even'. 「現代においてさえ」 means 'even in modern times'. The sentence contrasts the advancement of brain science with the fact that there are still many unknown parts: 'Even in modern times, where brain science is said to have advanced, there are still many parts of the brain's mechanism that have not been elucidated.'

• 2「〜においてこそ」 means 'precisely in~', which emphasizes the modern era as the ideal place, but the context requires a concessive 'even in~' to highlight the remaining unknowns.
• 3「〜に対して」 means 'towards' or 'against', which is used for targets or opponents, not for eras or times like '現代'.
• 4「〜に対してこそ」 combines the wrong particle 'に対して' with the emphasizing 'こそ', making it doubly incorrect for this context.

• において — in; at; on (a time, place, or field)
• さえ — even
• 脳科学のうかがく — brain science
• 解明かいめい — elucidation; clarification

耐えぬいた末に (たえぬいたすえに) is correct. 耐えぬく means 'to endure through to the end / to persevere through hardship' (verb stem + ぬく = doing something tough all the way through). 末に (すえに) means 'after doing ~ / at the end of doing ~'. The sentence says Nishiyama, with her characteristic mental toughness, endured the opponent's fierce attacks and ultimately won. 'After enduring through the opponent's fierce attacks, she achieved a brilliant victory' fits perfectly.

• 1耐えかねたほど: 耐えかねる (たえかねる) means 'unable to endure / can't take it anymore' (verb stem + かねる = unable to do). This is negative—she would have given up—which contradicts winning. ほど ('to the extent that') also doesn't connect grammatically to the following clause 見事勝利を収めた.
• 2耐えかねた末に: Again, 耐えかねた means 'was unable to endure,' a negative outcome. 'After being unable to endure' makes no sense when she won the match.
• 3耐えぬいたほど: 耐えぬいた is the right verb, but ほど ('to the extent that ~') doesn't fit the sentence structure. The sentence needs a temporal/sequential connector (末に: 'after ~') leading into the result clause, not a degree expression.

• 耐たえぬく — to endure through to the end, to persevere through hardship
• 耐たえかねる — to be unable to endure, to find unbearable
• 末すえに — after doing ~, at the end of ~ (after a process)
• 持ち前（もちまえ） — one's inherent/natural quality (e.g., mental strength)

ようにしたつもりが is correct. ようにする means 'to make sure / to try to make it so that ~.' つもりが means 'intended to ~, but (actually ~).' The sentence describes a failed attempt: the upperclassmen asked many questions intending to make it easier for new students to talk, but it actually made them more nervous. 'We intended to make it easy for new students to talk, but instead we seem to have made them nervous' fits perfectly.

• 1ようにしたあげく: あげく (あげく) means 'after doing ~ (with a negative result).' It implies the action itself led to a bad outcome, but the sentence structure needs 'intended to ~ but actually ~' (つもりが), not 'as a result of trying to make it easy to talk.' Also, あげく typically follows a prolonged process, not an intention.
• 3ようになったものを: ものを means 'even though ~ (regrettable that ~).' But ようになった ('it became so that') describes an actual change, not an intention. The sentence is about what they tried/intended to do, not what actually happened first.
• 4ようになったばかりか: ばかりか means 'not only ~ but also ~.' This would mean 'not only did it become easy to talk, but also...' which doesn't match the structure. The sentence needs 'intended to ~ but actually ~,' not 'not only ~ but also.'

• 〜つもりが — intended to ~, but (actually ~)
• 〜ようにする — to make sure to ~, to try to make it so that ~
• 〜あげく — after doing ~ (with a negative/unfortunate result)
• 〜ものを — even though ~ (expressing regret)

待つばかりとなった is correct. 〜ばかりとなった means 'it has become so that all that remains is to ~ / it's now just a matter of ~.' The sentence says check-in and immigration are finished, so all that's left is to wait for departure. 'Now it has become just a matter of waiting for departure' fits perfectly.

• 2待つこともあるはずだ: 'There should also be times when we wait.' This is grammatically odd and doesn't fit the context. The situation is that everything is done and only departure remains—not that waiting sometimes happens.
• 3待てなくなってしまった: 'Became unable to wait.' This would mean they can no longer wait, which contradicts the positive, anticipatory tone of having completed all procedures and now just waiting.
• 4待てそうにないみたいだ: 'It seems unlikely (we) can wait.' This is negative and doesn't fit. The sentence describes a straightforward situation where all preparations are complete and only departure remains.

• 〜ばかりとなった — it has become so that all that remains is to ~; it's now just a matter of ~
• 搭乗手続とうじょうてつづき — boarding/check-in procedures
• 出国審査しゅっこくしんさ — immigration/emigration inspection

読みきれっこない is correct. 〜っこない is a strong negative expression meaning 'there's absolutely no way ~ can / it's impossible to ~.' 読みきれる (よみきれる, potential form of 読みきる 'to read completely') + っこない = 'there's no way she can read all of them.' The speaker thought 'You can only borrow them for 2 weeks, so there's no way you can read that many!' but the sister actually did read them all. This fits perfectly.

• 1読みかけなのか: 読みかける (よみかける) means 'to start reading / to be in the middle of reading.' This would mean 'Are you just starting to read?' which doesn't fit the speaker's disbelief about finishing 10 thick books in 2 weeks.
• 2読みっぱなしだろう: 読みっぱなし (よみっぱなし) means 'leaving (books) in a read state / reading and leaving them as-is.' This implies starting but not finishing or leaving books lying around, which is close but doesn't capture the speaker's strong conviction that reading all 10 is impossible. The nuance is wrong—the speaker isn't predicting she'll leave them unfinished, but asserting she can't possibly finish them.
• 4読んでもいないくせに: くせに means 'even though ~ (criticism).' This would mean 'Even though she hasn't even read them,' implying the speaker is accusing the sister of not reading. But the speaker's thought is about impossibility of finishing, not an accusation of not reading at all.

• 〜っこない — there's absolutely no way ~ can; it's impossible to ~ (strong negative)
• 読よみきれる — to be able to read completely (potential form of 読みきる)
• 読よみかける — to start reading, to be in the middle of reading
• 〜っぱなし — leaving something in a certain state (often negative nuance)
• 分厚ぶあつい — thick (of a book)