N1 Reading · Test 41

Option 2 「力である」 completes the sentence as 「芸術の力、言葉の力である。」—'It is the power of art, the power of words.' The preceding sentences describe how photos, paintings, novels, and films can leave a stronger, more vivid impression than reality itself. The author is affirming and declaring that this is precisely the power of art and language. The declarative 「〜である」 matches the essay's authoritative, expository tone.

• 1「力でもいい」means 'even if it's the power (that's fine).' This concessitional nuance weakens the assertion and makes no sense here—the author is not conceding anything but boldly declaring art's power.
• 3「力にしよう」is volitional ('let's make it the power'). The author is not proposing or resolving to do anything; this is a statement of fact, not intention.
• 4「力にすぎない」means 'it is nothing more than the power,' which would belittle or minimize art's power. This contradicts the entire passage, which celebrates how art surpasses reality.

• 芸術げいじゅつ — art
• 力ちから — power, strength
• 悪辣残虐あくらつざんぎゃく — vile and cruel

Option 1 「あるとき」means 'once, at one time.' The sentence reads 「私の敬愛する知人の一人があるとき言った」—'One of my respected acquaintances once said…' The author is introducing a recollection of something said at an unspecified point in the past. There is no specific time being pointed to in the discourse, so the non-deictic, indefinite 「あるとき」is the natural choice.

• 2「このとき」('at this time') requires a specific time currently in focus (e.g., a time just described in the previous sentence). No such time has been established here.
• 3「そのとき」('at that time') refers back to a previously mentioned specific time. Again, no specific time has been set up in the preceding context.
• 4「あのとき」('that time, you know the one') presupposes a shared, memorable specific moment between speaker and reader. The author has not yet introduced any such scene, so this cannot refer forward.

• 敬愛けいあいする — to respect and love
• 知人ちじん — acquaintance

Option 2 「思えてきた」completes the sentence as 「あれはホンネだったのだと思えてきた」—'I have come to feel that that was his true feelings.' The key is the combination of 〜てきた (a gradual change unfolding up to now) with 「このごろ」('recently'). The author initially dismissed the acquaintance's words as a joke, but over twenty years has gradually come to realize they were sincere. 「思えてきた」perfectly captures this gradual shift in perception.

• 1「思うそうだ」is ungrammatical in this context. そうだ as hearsay would require a different verb form (e.g., 思っているそうだ), and even then it would report someone else's thinking, not the author's own realization.
• 3「思わせつつある」('is in the process of being made to think') uses causative-passive, implying something external is forcing the author to think so. This is overly convoluted and does not match the author's own gradual realization.
• 4「思っているだろう」('probably thinks') expresses conjecture about a third party's state of mind, not the first-person author's own feeling. The subject here is 私 (the author).

• ホンネ（ほんね） — true feelings, real intention
• 冗談半分じょうだんはんぶん — half joking
• 照てれかくし — hiding one's embarrassment

Option 3 「そういえば」means 'come to think of it' or 'now that I think of it.' The sentence reads 「そういえば、明治四十二年以来、有名作家の筆になるもので、春の訪れそのものを描いた作品はほとんど見当らないようであるか？」—'Come to think of it, since Meiji 42, there seem to be hardly any works by famous writers that depict the arrival of spring itself, are there?' The author has just argued that superb literature can 'poison' later writers and discourage them. 「そういえば」introduces a supporting observation that suddenly comes to mind, reinforcing the argument: indeed, almost no one has written about spring since Kafū did.

• 1「もっとも」means 'however' or 'be that as it may,' introducing a concession or counterpoint. The final sentence supports the author's thesis rather than contradicting it, so this does not fit.
• 2「とはいえ」means 'having said that, nevertheless,' also introducing a concession. The last sentence is not a concession but corroborating evidence, so this is wrong.
• 4「それどころか」means 'far from that, on the contrary,' introducing something opposite to expectation. The observation about the scarcity of spring-themed works is not contrary to the preceding argument—it supports it.

• 意気を阻喪する（いきをそそうする） — to discourage, to dishearten (lose motivation)
• 見当みあたらない — cannot be found, is nowhere to be seen
• 筆ふでになるもの — works produced by (a writer's) pen

Option 2 is correct. The author explicitly states that editing (編集) is the work of combining existing materials as-is (すでにある材料をそのまま組み合わせ) to create new depth and breadth of meaning (新しい意味の深さやひろがりを作り出す). The author says they want to read a magazine made by an editor, not a designer. Option 2 captures this exactly: combining materials to give new meaning.

• 1This describes the very thing the author criticizes — magazines that are too fixated on layout (レイアウトに凝りすぎる). The author finds such magazines suffocating (息苦しい), not desirable.
• 3The key word '加工されて' (processed/modified) contradicts the passage's 'そのまま' (as-is). The author specifically says editors do NOT alter the materials, unlike designers who '手を加える' (modify). Also, this option is missing a particle (深み増やした should be 深みを増やした).
• 4This describes the designer's approach — adjusting content to fit the layout (レイアウトに合わせて内容が調整された). The author explicitly rejects this: 'デザイナーではなく編集者がつくった雑誌が読たい.'

• 凝こる — to be particular about, to lavish attention on
• 仕切しきる — to partition, to divide up
• 息苦いきぐるしい — suffocating, oppressive
• 組み合わせる（くみあわせる） — to combine, to put together