N1 Grammar · Test 58

The correct answer is 拝見させていただきます, which is a humble (謙譲語) expression using the pattern V-させていただく ('let me humbly do X'). 拝見 is the humble form of 見る (to read/look at), and adding させていただきます makes it even more polite and humble. The speaker is receiving a book from someone of higher status (a teacher), so this level of humility is appropriate. 'Yes, please let me humbly read it.'

• 1拝見していただきます is incorrect. 拝見する is already a humble verb, and adding していただく (receiving the favor of doing) creates a redundant and grammatically awkward construction. The correct humble pattern is 拝見させていただく.
• 2ご覧になって is 尊敬語 (respectful language) used for the other person's actions, not for one's own. Since the speaker is talking about their own action (reading the book), using respectful language for oneself is inappropriate.
• 4ご覧にならせて is an incorrect hybrid form. ご覧になる is 尊敬語 (respectful), and adding させて to it creates an ungrammatical mix of respect and humble forms. One should use 拝見させて for one's own humble action.

• 拝見はいけんする — humble form of 見る/読む — to humbly read/look at
• させていただく — humble pattern: let me humbly do X (V-させていただく)
• 差し上げる（さしあげる） — humble form of あげる — to humbly give
• ご覧になる（ごらんになる） — respectful form of 見る — to look at/read (used for others' actions)

「お年を召す」(おとしをめす) is the honorific expression for 「年をとる」(to grow old / to advance in age). In the sentence, the speaker is politely describing someone else's wife, so the honorific form with the polite prefix お～ and the respectful verb 召す is required. 「あそこのお年を召しいらっしゃるご婦人です」means 'the lady over there who is getting on in years.' 召しいらっしゃる is a compound honorific (召す + いらっしゃる) showing deep respect.

• 1「年を召す」lacks the polite prefix お. Without お, the phrase is not a proper honorific expression and sounds abrupt when referring to someone else's wife in a polite context.
• 3「年齢」(ねんれい) is a more clinical/formal word for 'age' and does not appear in the fixed expression 「お年を召す」. This compound does not take 年齢.
• 4「お年齢」similarly does not fit the fixed idiom. While お年齢 is a polite word for 'age,' the honorific verb 召す collocates only with お年, not with お年齢.

• お年を召す（おとしをめす） — honorific expression for 年をとる (to grow old, to advance in age)
• ご婦人（ごふじん） — lady (polite)
• 召めしいらっしゃる — honorific compound verb (召す + いらっしゃる), showing deep respect

「いかにも彼のやりそうなことだ」means 'that's exactly the kind of thing he would do.' The pattern 「いかにも～の（V-そうなことだ）」expresses that an action is very typical or characteristic of the person in question. やりそうなことだ = 'something he is likely to do,' which fits perfectly with いかにも ('indeed, exactly as one would expect').

• 1「やるべきことだ」means 'something he should do,' which implies obligation. Forgetting a passport is not something one *should* do, so this is semantically wrong.
• 2「やりたいことだ」means 'something he wants to do.' Forgetting a passport is not something he wants to do.
• 4「やるらしいことだ」is grammatically unnatural. らしい is a hearsay/conjecture suffix that does not combine naturally with ことだ in this pattern. The correct conjectural form here is そうな.

• いかにも — indeed, exactly as one would expect; used to emphasize that something is very typical
• やりそうなことだ — something (he) is likely to do; a thing characteristic of (him)

「やめさせられている」is the passive causative form (causative-passive), meaning 'are being made to quit / are being forced to leave.' The sentence says that even people who have long contributed to the company are being forced to leave due to the recession. The causative-passive expresses that the employees are on the receiving end—they are being made to quit by the company. This fits the context of layoffs.

• 1「やめさせるまでもない」means 'there is no need to make (them) quit.' This contradicts the context—the company IS making them quit.
• 2「やめられないですむ」is awkward and would mean something like 'managed to not have to quit,' which contradicts the context where people ARE leaving.
• 4「やめないではおかない」means '(they) will definitely quit / won't rest until they quit,' expressing the employees' own strong volition. But the context is about the company forcing them out, not about employees choosing to quit.

• ～てからというもの — ever since ~; since ~ happened (emphasis on a continuing state)
• やめさせられる — to be made to quit / to be forced to resign (causative-passive of やめる)
• 貢献こうけんする — to contribute

「もう少しで～V-るところだった」is a fixed grammar pattern meaning 'almost did ~ / came close to doing ~.' The sentence means: 'It was a good thing the driver told me, but I almost left my important graduation thesis in the taxi.' 忘れるところだった = 'I was about to forget (it).' This perfectly matches the near-miss situation described.

• 2「忘れるところだろう」means 'would probably be about to forget,' which is a conjectural form that doesn't fit the past-tense narrative context. The speaker is recounting what actually almost happened.
• 3「忘れないところだった」means 'I was about to NOT forget,' which is nonsensical in this context. The speaker DID almost forget.
• 4「忘れるところではなかった」means 'it was not a situation of forgetting,' which contradicts the context. The speaker nearly forgot.

• もう少しで～ところだった（もうすこしで～ところだった） — almost did ~; came close to doing ~ (near-miss pattern)
• よかったものの — it was good that ~, but ~

The correct answer is 2 (としても). The pattern V-る + としても means 'even if (one does) / even assuming that.' Here, 行けるとしても means 'even if I can go.' The sentence says: 'Tomorrow I'm busy, so even if I can go, it will end up being late at night.' The としても pattern correctly sets up a hypothetical concession followed by a consequence that holds regardless.

• 1になっても means 'even when it becomes ~,' which would attach to a noun like 夜になっても ('even when it becomes night'). It cannot follow the potential verb 行ける here, and it does not convey the 'even if' hypothetical meaning needed.
• 3によっても means 'by means of ~ also,' which expresses method/cause, not a concessive hypothetical. It is grammatically and semantically inappropriate here.
• 4ときても is not a standard grammatical pattern. While とき could mean 'when,' combining it with ても here does not produce a valid construction following 行ける.

• としても — even if; even assuming that — attaches to plain verb/adjective/noun forms to express a hypothetical concession
• 行いける — can go (potential form of 行く)

The correct answer is 1 (ゆえに). ゆえに is a formal/literary conjunction meaning 'therefore; because of.' 島国ゆえに means 'because (Japan) is an island nation.' The sentence states: 'It is said that because Japan is an island nation, its maritime industry flourished.' The causal relationship is perfectly expressed by ゆえに.

• 2の一方 means 'on the other hand' and is used to contrast two situations (e.g., 〜する一方、〜もする). There is no contrast here; the sentence requires a cause-effect relationship.
• 3のかわりに means 'instead of; in place of.' This would imply the maritime industry flourished *instead of* Japan being an island nation, which makes no sense.
• 4ごとくに means 'like ~; as ~' (from ごとく, the conjunctive form of ごとし). 島国ごとくに would mean 'like an island nation,' expressing similarity, not cause. The sentence needs a causal connector, not a simile.

• ゆえに — therefore; because of — a formal written-style conjunction expressing cause/reason
• 島国しまぐに — island nation
• 海運業かいうんぎょう — maritime/shipping industry

The correct answer is 1 (をよそに). The pattern N + をよそに means 'ignoring; disregarding; indifferent to.' 親の心配をよそに means 'ignoring her parents' worry/concern.' The sentence says: 'Akiko just plays around, ignoring her parents' worry.' This pattern perfectly captures the idea of someone acting without regard for another's feelings.

• 2はもとより means 'not to mention; let alone' and is used to add items to a list (e.g., XはもとよりYも). It does not convey the meaning of ignoring or disregarding.
• 3はやはり means 'as expected; still; after all.' It expresses expectation or inevitability, not disregard.
• 4をかぎりに means 'as of; ending at' (e.g., 今日をかぎりに 'as of today'). It marks a deadline or endpoint, which is completely unrelated to the sentence's meaning.

• をよそに — ignoring; disregarding; indifferent to — attaches to a noun, expresses acting without regard for something (often someone's feelings/concerns)
• 心配しんぱい — worry; concern

The correct answer is 3 (言わない). The fixed pattern 〜とは言わないまでも means 'even if one wouldn't go so far as to say ~; although not ~.' 天才とは言わないまでも means 'Even if I wouldn't go so far as to call her a genius...' The sentence continues: '...she is a person rich in talent.' This pattern sets up a concession: not reaching the extreme level (genius), but still acknowledging a high degree (talented).

• 1言う does not form a valid pattern with までも. 〜とは言うまでも is not a grammatical construction; the correct idiom requires the negative 言わない.
• 2言って does not form a valid pattern with までも. There is no such construction as 〜とは言ってまでも.
• 4言わずに means 'without saying' and would produce 天才とは言わずにまでも, which is not a valid Japanese construction. The correct pattern uses 言わない (the negative plain form), not 言わずに (the te-form negative).

• とは言わないまでも（とはいわないまでも） — even if one wouldn't go so far as to say ~; although one cannot call ~ — a fixed concessive pattern acknowledging something falls short of an extreme but is still significant
• 才能豊さいのうゆたか — rich in talent; talented

The correct answer is 3 (かねない). The pattern V-ます stem + かねない means 'might; could (happen); there is a risk of ~,' typically used for undesirable outcomes. 病気になりかねない means 'might end up getting sick.' The sentence says: 'If you push yourself too much, you might get sick, so you'd better be careful.' The warning tone matches かねない perfectly.

• 1かねる means 'unable to do; find it difficult to do' (V-ます stem + かねる). 病気になりかねる would mean 'cannot bring oneself to get sick,' which is nonsensical and the opposite of the intended meaning.
• 2すぎる means 'too much; excessively' and attaches to the ます stem. 病気になりすぎる would mean 'getting sick too much,' which is grammatically possible but does not fit the sentence structure (〜から 'because ~') and lacks the nuance of potential/risk that the sentence requires.
• 4すぎない means 'nothing more than; merely.' 病気になりすぎない would mean 'not getting sick too much' or 'is nothing more than getting sick,' neither of which makes sense in this warning context.

• かねない — might; could happen; there is a danger/risk of — attaches to V-ます stem, used for undesirable possibilities
• かねる — unable to do; find it difficult to do — attaches to V-ます stem, expresses inability or reluctance
• 無理むりをする — to push oneself too hard; to overdo it