N1 Grammar · Test 61

「あきらめるよりほかない」means 'there is nothing to do but give up.' The sentence describes a situation where the speaker lent money to someone who then disappeared, and now (今となっては = 'as things stand now') there is no recourse. The pattern 「V-るよりほかない」expresses that there is no other choice but to do V. This fits the hopeless situation perfectly.

• 1「あきらめきれない」means 'cannot completely give up (emotionally).' This implies the speaker still harbors hope or cannot emotionally let go, which doesn't fit the resigned tone of 今となっては.
• 2「あきらめかねない」means 'might give up / is likely to give up.' かねない expresses possibility/likelihood, which doesn't fit the conclusive tone needed here.
• 3「あきらめるまでもない」means 'there is no need to give up,' which contradicts the situation entirely—the person disappeared with the money, so giving up is the only option.

• 今いまとなっては — as things stand now; at this point
• V-るよりほかない — there is nothing else to do but V; one has no choice but to V
• 姿を消す（すがたをけす） — to disappear; to vanish

「～に限って、～はずがない」is a fixed pattern meaning 'when it comes to ~, there is no way ~.' The sentence means: 'Knowing how careful he is, there is no way he would make such a mistake.' に限って singles out that person as an exception, and はずがない expresses strong impossibility. Together they convey strong confidence that the careful person would not make such an error.

• 1「おかしてばかりいる」means 'is always making (mistakes),' which contradicts the premise that the person is 慎重 (careful).
• 3「おかさないではいられない」means 'cannot help but make (mistakes),' implying an irresistible urge to make mistakes. This contradicts the careful nature of the person.
• 4「おかそうとしている」means 'is trying to make (a mistake),' implying intentional action. This is nonsensical—no one tries to make a mistake, and it contradicts the careful characterization.

• ～に限って（～にかぎって） — when it comes to ~; especially in the case of ~ (singling out someone/something as an exception)
• はずがない — there is no way ~; it is impossible that ~
• 慎重しんちょう — careful, cautious, prudent

The phrase 涙なくしては means 'without tears, one cannot...' and requires a negative potential verb form. 語れない ('cannot be spoken/told') fits perfectly: 'That person's life, full of hardship, cannot be spoken of without tears.' The structure なくしては + negative potential expresses that something is impossible without a certain condition.

• 1語る is the plain positive form. With 涙なくしては, a negative form is required — you cannot say 'without tears, speak.'
• 2語らない is negative but not the potential form. The sentence needs 'cannot be told' (impossibility), not simply 'does not tell.' 涙なくしては calls for a potential negative.
• 3語れる is the positive potential form ('can be told'), which directly contradicts the なくしては pattern that requires a negative.

• 涙なみだなくしては — without tears; cannot do ~ without tears (requires negative predicate)
• 苦難くなん — hardship, suffering
• 語かたれない — cannot be told/spoken about (potential negative of 語る)

にして here means 'even (someone like).' あの人にしてそうなのだから = 'Even that person was like that, so...' The logic is: even a Nobel Prize winner was a poor student as a boy, so there's no need to worry deeply just because your own child is a poor student. にして is used to emphasize that even an exemplary person had the same experience.

• 1だけが means 'only (that person).' The sentence needs 'even that person,' not 'only that person.' The point is that a great person also struggled, not that only he did.
• 2にとって means 'for (someone).' あの人にとってそうなのだから is ungrammatical and meaningless in this context.
• 4ともなると means 'when it comes to / if it becomes.' あの人ともなると would mean 'when it comes to that person,' which doesn't convey the 'even that person' meaning needed here.

• にして — even (someone like); used to emphasize that even an exceptional person/thing has a certain quality
• 劣等生れっとうせい — poor student, underachiever
• 深刻に悩む（しんこくになやむ） — to worry deeply/seriously

行きたくないわけではないが means 'It's not that I don't want to go, but...' The writer is slow to make decisions and ends up missing trips. They regret it, so they do want to go — they just can't decide quickly. This option perfectly expresses 'I don't NOT want to go, but (I can't decide right away).'

• 2行きたくないから means 'because I don't want to go.' This contradicts the context — the writer feels 残念 (regret) that the trip was cancelled, meaning they did want to go.
• 3行きたいわけではないが means 'It's not that I want to go, but...' This says the person does NOT want to go, which contradicts the regret they feel when the trip is cancelled.
• 4行きたいというより means 'rather than wanting to go...' This doesn't fit grammatically or semantically — it would need a follow-up clause and doesn't convey the intended 'I do want to go but can't decide' nuance.

• 〜わけではない — it is not the case that ~; it's not that ~
• 取とりやめ — cancellation (of a plan)
• 返事へんじ — reply, response

The correct answer is 4 (ございます). The pattern V-て + ございます is a humble/polite expression meaning 'has been done (for you); is ready.' 準備してございます means 'it has been prepared.' The employee is humbly reporting to the president that the meal preparation is already done. 〜てございます is used to politely inform a superior that something has been arranged or placed, making it the appropriate humble response here.

• 1いたします is the humble form of する. However, 準備していたします is grammatically incorrect — the correct humble form would be 準備いたしました (past tense) or 準備いたします (non-past). The 〜て + いたします pattern does not work here.
• 2まいります is the humble form of 行く/来る. It is completely unrelated to the act of preparing something. 準備してまいります would mean 'I will go prepare,' which does not answer the question about whether preparations are already done.
• 3なさいます is the honorific form of する, used to describe the *superior's* action respectfully. Using it here would mean the employee is honoring their own action, which is inappropriate — honorifics should be used for the other person (the president), not oneself.

• 〜てございます — has been done/is ready (humble/polite) — attaches to V-て, used to humbly report to a superior that something has been arranged or is in a ready state
• いたします — humble form of する (to do)
• まいります — humble form of 行く/来る (to go/to come)
• なさいます — honorific form of する (to do) — used for the superior's action