N1 Vocabulary · Test 126

うっとうしい（鬱陶しい）means 'gloomy, depressing, oppressive, unpleasant.' It is commonly used to describe weather that is humid, cloudy, and unpleasant — exactly matching 蒸し暑く (hot and humid) summer days that drag on.

• 2気味悪い（きみわるい）means 'creepy, unpleasant, eerie.' It describes something that gives you an unsettling feeling, not oppressive weather.
• 3あつかましい（厚かましい）means 'shameless, brazen, audacious.' It describes a person's attitude, not weather.
• 4生ぬるい（なまぬるい）means 'lukewarm / half-hearted.' While it could metaphorically describe something lacking intensity, it does not collocate naturally with 蒸し暑く to describe oppressive summer weather.

• うっとうしい — gloomy, depressing, oppressive, unpleasant
• 気味悪きみわるい — creepy, unpleasant, eerie
• あつかましい — shameless, brazen, audacious
• 生なまぬるい — lukewarm, half-hearted

ごろごろ is an onomatopoeia describing the sound/motion of heavy objects rolling. 大きな岩がごろごろと転がってきた means 'a large rock came rolling down with a rumbling sound.' This perfectly matches a heavy rock rolling down from a cliff.

• 1ぞろぞろ describes people or things following one after another in a line, or things dragging along. It does not describe a single heavy object rolling.
• 3どろどろ describes something muddy, sticky, or viscous. It does not describe the rolling motion of a rock.
• 4ぼろぼろ describes things crumbling apart or falling to pieces. While it could describe a rock eroding, it does not describe the rolling motion/sound.

• ごろごろ — rumbling/rolling sound of heavy objects; idling around
• ぞろぞろ — following one after another in a line
• どろどろ — muddy, sticky, viscous
• ぼろぼろ — crumbling, falling to pieces

選考 (せんこう) means 'selection/screening (of candidates).' The sentence says 'As a result of ________ by interview, successful candidates were decided.' 選考 by interview is the natural process of screening applicants, so option 4 fits perfectly.

• 1採用 (さいよう) means 'hiring/employment.' While related to the context, 採用 refers to the act of actually hiring someone, not the screening/selection process that precedes it. The sentence describes the process (面接による…の結果) that leads to deciding successful candidates, so 選考 is more appropriate.
• 2採択 (さいたく) means 'adopting/selecting (a plan, bill, proposal, etc.),' used in legislative or planning contexts (e.g., 予算案を採択する). It is not used for screening job candidates.
• 3当選 (とうせん) means 'winning an election.' This is used when someone wins a public election, not in an employment interview context.

• 選考せんこう — selection, screening (of candidates)
• 採用さいよう — hiring, employment, adoption
• 採択さいたく — adoption (of a plan/bill/proposal)
• 当選とうせん — winning an election

つじつま (辻褄) means 'consistency, logical coherence.' つじつまが合う is a set phrase meaning 'to be consistent / to add up.' The sentence says 'Because I told a lie, the つじつま of the story stopped matching (つじつまが合わなくなった).' This is the standard expression for when a story develops inconsistencies.

• 1あべこべ means 'the opposite, reverse.' あべこべが合わない is not a set phrase and doesn't describe story inconsistency.
• 2よしあし (善し悪し) means 'good and bad, merits and demerits.' よしあしが合わない is not an established expression.
• 4まとまり (纏まり) means 'coherence, unity, settlement.' While まとまりがない can mean 'lacking coherence,' the fixed phrase つじつまが合う is the idiomatic expression tested here, and まとまりが合わない is not natural Japanese.

• つじつま — consistency, logical coherence (つじつまが合う: to be consistent)
• あべこべ — the opposite, reverse
• よしあし（善し悪し(よしあし)） — good and bad, merits and demerits
• まとまり（纏まり(まとまり)） — coherence, unity, settlement

向上 (こうじょう) means 'improvement' or 'enhancement.' 向上する is 'to improve.' 学力が向上した (academic ability improved) is the standard collocation. The sentence says 'Through the teachers' efforts, the students' academic ability improved.'

• 1偏向 (へんこう) means 'deviation' or 'bias' (e.g., political bias). 偏向する does not collocate with 学力 and carries a negative connotation.
• 3進化 (しんか) means 'evolution,' used for biological evolution or dramatic development of something over time. It is not used for 学力 (academic ability).
• 4推進 (すいしん) means 'promotion' or 'pushing forward' (a plan, policy, project). 推進する is transitive (～を推進する), not intransitive (～が推進した), and does not collocate with 学力.

• 向上こうじょう — improvement, enhancement
• 偏向へんこう — deviation, bias
• 進化しんか — evolution
• 推進すいしん — promotion, pushing forward

あかした is the past tense of 明かす (あかす), which means 'to reveal' or 'to divulge' (a secret, one's true feelings, etc.). 秘密を明かす (to reveal a secret) is the correct collocation. The sentence says 'She revealed a serious secret to me.'

• 1はたした is the past tense of 果たす (はたす), meaning 'to accomplish' or 'to fulfill' (a duty, promise, role). 果たす does not collocate with 秘密を～に.
• 2つくした is the past tense of 尽くす (つくす), meaning 'to exhaust' or 'to serve devotedly.' 尽くす does not collocate with 秘密を人に～.
• 4すました is the past tense of 澄ます (すます), meaning 'to act nonchalant' or 'to pretend not to notice.' 澄ます does not fit the context of revealing a secret.

• 明あかす — to reveal, to divulge (a secret)
• 果はたす — to accomplish, to fulfill
• 尽つくす — to exhaust, to serve devotedly
• 澄すます — to act nonchalant, to pretend not to notice

切実 (せつじつ) means 'urgent,' 'pressing,' or 'keenly felt.' 切実な問題 means 'a pressing/urgent issue.' The sentence says 'Securing energy has become a pressing issue in many countries.' 切実な問題 is the standard collocation for a problem that is urgently and personally felt.

• 1迅速 (じんそく) means 'swift' or 'prompt,' describing speed of action (e.g., 迅速な対応). 迅速な問題 is not a meaningful collocation—a problem cannot be 'swift.'
• 2厳重 (げんじゅう) means 'strict' or 'rigorous,' used for security, precautions, warnings, etc. (e.g., 厳重な警備). 厳重な問題 is not a natural collocation.
• 3極端 (きょくたん) means 'extreme.' While 極端な問題 is grammatically possible, it does not fit the context of energy security being an urgent, deeply felt concern across nations. 切実 captures the sense of pressing necessity.

• 切実せつじつ — urgent, pressing, keenly felt
• 迅速じんそく — swift, prompt
• 厳重げんじゅう — strict, rigorous
• 極端きょくたん — extreme

手順（てじゅん） means 'procedure, steps, order of operations.' The sentence says 'If you do it according to the ( ) in the manual, anyone can do it easily.' A manual contains a sequence of steps, so 手順 fits perfectly.

• 1手数（てすう） means 'trouble, labor' or 'commission/fees.' It does not refer to a sequence of steps in a manual.
• 3手芸（しゅげい） means 'handicraft.' Completely unrelated to following instructions.
• 4手配（てはい） means 'arrangement, allocation' (e.g., police 手配 for a suspect). Not a set of steps.

• 手順てじゅん — procedure, steps, order of operations
• 手数てすう — trouble, labor; commission/fees
• 手芸しゅげい — handicraft
• 手配てはい — arrangement, allocation; (police) search/wanted

なれなれしく is the adverbial form of なれなれしい, meaning 'overly familiar, presumptuous.' The sentence says 'He acts ( ) even with people he's meeting for the first time' — i.e., he is overly friendly/familiar with strangers, which matches なれなれしく.

• 2けがらわしく (穢らしく) means 'disgusting, filthy, repulsive.' It does not describe how one interacts with new acquaintances.
• 3みすぼらしく (見すぼらしく) means 'shabbily, looking poor/wretched.' This describes appearance, not manner of interaction.
• 4いちじるしく (著しく) means 'remarkably, noticeably.' It is a general intensifier and does not fit the context of 接する (interacting with people).

• なれなれしい — overly familiar, presumptuously friendly
• けがらわしい — disgusting, filthy, repulsive
• みすぼらしい — shabby, wretched-looking
• いちじるしい — remarkable, noticeable, striking