N1 Vocabulary · Test 143

昇進（しょうしん）means 'promotion' (in rank or position at work). Option 3 says 'Yamakawa-san was promoted to section manager last month,' which is the correct usage — being promoted to a higher job title.

• 1Using an escalator to go up to the 3rd floor is physical movement upward, not a promotion. The correct verb would be 上がる（あがる）or 昇る（のぼる）.
• 2Smoke rising into the sky is physical upward movement. The correct word would be 昇る（のぼる）or 上る（のぼる）.
• 4Going from high school to university is advancing/progressing in education, not a workplace promotion. The correct word would be 進学（しんがく）する.

• 昇進しょうしん — promotion (in rank/position at work)

へりくだる（謙る）means 'to be humble, to lower oneself, to speak humbly.' Option 1 says 'He speaks in a humble way to everyone,' which is the correct usage — describing a modest, self-deprecating manner of speaking.

• 2This describes being unable to climb down from a tree. The intended word is 降りる（おりる）'to descend/climb down.' へりくだる has nothing to do with physical descent.
• 3Walking along a path that goes down along a river. Again, this is physical descent; the correct word would be 下る（くだる）'to go down.' へりくだる is about humility, not physical movement.
• 4Bowing one's head to apologize. The correct expression would be 頭を下げる（あたまをさげる）'to bow/lower one's head.' You cannot へりくだる your head — it is an intransitive verb about one's attitude, not a transitive action on a body part.

• へりくだる — to be humble, to speak humbly, to lower oneself (in attitude)

忠実（ちゅうじつ）means 'faithful, true to (the original/facts), loyal.' It is typically used as a na-adjective or adverbially with に. Option 4 says 'This is a drama that faithfully reproduces the facts' — 忠実に再現する is a natural and correct collocation meaning 'to reproduce faithfully.'

• 1忠実する is grammatically wrong. 忠実 is a na-adjective, not a suru-verb, so it cannot take する directly. The intended expression might be 忠実にする 'to carry out faithfully' or 実行する 'to execute.'
• 2忠実の姿 is ungrammatical. A na-adjective modifying a noun should use な, not の: 忠実な姿. Even then, 'that is his faithful appearance' is an unnatural sentence.
• 3忠実と説明した is ungrammatical and unnatural. 忠実 is a na-adjective and cannot connect to a verb with と. The intended word might be 詳細（しょうさい）に 'in detail' or 丁寧（ていねい）に 'carefully.'

• 忠実ちゅうじつ — faithful, true to the original, loyal

指図（さしず）means 'direction, instruction, order (someone around).' Option 3 says 'The person over there giving all sorts of orders is the president' — あれこれと指図している means 'giving various orders/instructions,' which is the correct usage of the word as a noun used with する.

• 1This means 'If you point out my mistakes, I'll fix them right away.' The intended word is 指摘（してき）'to point out (errors),' not 指図. 指図 means giving orders, not pointing out mistakes.
• 2This describes pointing at a graph during a lecture to explain something. The intended word is 指す（さす）'to point at' or 指示（しじ）'to indicate.' 指図 means giving orders/instructions to people, not physically pointing at objects.
• 4This describes tracing/pointing at an unreadable character to have someone teach it to you. Again, the intended word is 指す（さす）'to point at' or なぞる 'to trace.' 指図 is about giving commands, not physical pointing.

• 指図さしず — direction, instruction, ordering someone around

とっさに means 'in an instant, reflexively, on the spur of the moment' — describing a quick, involuntary reaction. Option 2 says 'I was about to fall, so I reflexively grabbed the arm of the person next to me.' This is the correct usage: a sudden, instinctive physical reaction to an unexpected situation. (Note: the option text reads とっそに, which is a transcription error for とっさに; the intended meaning is clear.)

• 1This describes a sudden errand coming up so one could not attend a party. The intended word would be 急（きゅう）に or 突然（とつぜん）'suddenly.' とっさに describes a split-second reflexive action, not a circumstance that arises.
• 3This describes rain suddenly starting in the evening. The correct word is 突然（とつぜん）'suddenly' or 急に. とっさに is for human reflexive reactions, not weather changes.
• 4This describes going home immediately after work because of a prior plan to meet a friend. The intended word is すぐ（に）'immediately' or まっすぐ 'straightaway.' とっさに implies an unplanned reflex, not a deliberate quick action based on a plan.

• とっさに — in an instant, reflexively, on the spur of the moment

執着 (しゅうちゃく) means 'obsession, tenacious attachment' — being emotionally fixated on something and unable to let go. Option 2, 「彼は勝敗に執着するタイプだ」('He's the type who obsesses over winning and losing'), uses the word correctly: it describes a person who is emotionally attached to/obsessed with the outcome of a contest.

• 1駅に執着したら ('if you arrive at the station') confuses 執着 with 到着 (とうちゃく, arrival). 執着 does not mean 'to arrive.'
• 3セーターを毎日執着しています ('wearing a sweater every day') confuses 執着 with 着用 (ちゃくよう, wearing) or 身につける. 執着 is not a verb meaning 'to wear.'
• 4船底に貝が執着している ('shellfish are attached to the ship's bottom') uses 執着 as if it meant physical adhesion. The correct word for physical attachment is 付着 (ふちゃく). 執着 refers to emotional/psychological attachment.

• 執着しゅうちゃく — obsession, tenacious attachment, inability to let go
• 到着とうちゃく — arrival (at a destination)
• 着用ちゃくよう — wearing (clothes)
• 付着ふちゃく — adhesion, sticking (physically) to a surface

禁物 (きんもつ) is used in the pattern Xは禁物（だ）, meaning 'X is strictly prohibited / one must absolutely not do X.' Option 3, 「自信があっても油断は禁物です」('Even if you're confident, carelessness is strictly prohibited'), is the textbook usage: a noun (油断) followed by は禁物です, warning that something must be avoided at all costs.

• 1禁物を持ち込もう ('trying to bring in prohibited items') treats 禁物 as a concrete noun meaning 'prohibited item.' 禁物 is not used this way; the correct term would be 危険物 (きけんぶつ) or 禁制品 (きんせいひん).
• 2禁物されています ('it is being prohibited') treats 禁物 as a する-verb. 禁物 is a noun and cannot take される (passive of する).
• 4禁物なもの ('prohibited things') uses 禁物 adjectivally with な. 禁物 functions as a predicate noun (Xは禁物だ), not as a na-adjective modifying a noun.

• 禁物きんもつ — strictly prohibited, something that must absolutely not be done
• 油断ゆだん — carelessness, letting one's guard down
• 危険物きけんぶつ — dangerous/hazardous items

そらす (逸らす) means 'to avert, to divert, to turn (something) away.' A very common collocation is 話題をそらす ('to change/divert the topic'). Option 4, 「彼は都合が悪くなると、いつも話題をそらす」('When things become inconvenient for him, he always diverts the topic'), is the correct usage.

• 1席をそらしております ('I am away from my seat') confuses そらす with 外す (はずす, to remove/be away from). The correct expression is 席を外しております.
• 2看板をそらして ('removed the sign and replaced it') also confuses そらす with 外す (はずす, to remove/take down). そらす does not mean 'to remove.'
• 3昼ご飯をそらした ('skipped lunch') is incorrect. To say 'skipped' a meal, you would use 食べ損ねた (たべそこねた) or 抜いた (ぬいた). そらす does not mean 'to skip.'

• 逸そらす — to avert, to divert (one's eyes, a topic, etc.), to turn away
• 外はずす — to remove, to take off, to be absent from (a seat)
• 話題を逸らす（わだいをそらす） — to change/divert the topic of conversation

ずらっと is an adverb meaning 'in a long line, in a row' — it describes many things arranged side by side in a line, creating a visual impression of a long row. Option 4, 「店の前にずらっと人が並んでいる」('People are lined up in a long row in front of the store'), is the perfect usage: many people standing in a line.

• 1本にずらっと目を通した ('skimmed through the book') confuses ずらっと with ざっと (roughly, briefly). ずらっと describes physical arrangement in a line, not the manner of skimming.
• 2ずらっと晴れる ('will be sunny') is incorrect. ずらっと describes things lined up visually; it cannot modify a weather condition like 晴れる.
• 3ずらっと背が高い ('is tall') confuses ずらっと with すらっと (slim and tall). ずらっと does not describe body type.

• ずらっと — in a long line, in a row (many things arranged side by side)
• ざっと — roughly, briefly (e.g., skimming through)
• すらっと — slim and tall (describing a person's build)

不順 (ふじゅん) means 'irregular, unsettled, abnormal (not following the proper/natural course).' The most common and natural collocation is 天候不順 (てんこうふじゅん, unsettled/unseasonable weather). Option 1, 「今年は天候が不順で野菜が高い」('This year the weather has been unsettled and vegetables are expensive'), is the standard correct usage.

• 2子ども達が不順にならんでいた ('children lined up irregularly') uses 不順 where 不揃い (ふぞろい, uneven/irregular arrangement) is the correct word. 不順 does not describe physical arrangement of people.
• 3不順に練習しても ('even if you practice irregularly') uses 不順 where 不規則 (ふきそく, irregular) or でたらめ (random) would be appropriate. 不順 does not modify the manner of practicing.
• 4会社の成長が不順で ('the company's growth is irregular') is unnatural. For business/economic contexts, one would say 成長が鈍化している (growth has slowed) or 業績が不調 (business is sluggish). 不順 is primarily used for weather and natural conditions.

• 不順ふじゅん — irregular, unsettled, abnormal (not following the proper course, especially weather)
• 天候不順てんこうふじゅん — unsettled/unseasonable weather
• 不揃ふぞろい — uneven, irregular (in size, arrangement, etc.)
• 不調ふちょう — sluggish, poor (business/performance)