N1 Vocabulary · Test 31

経緯 is read けいい. It means 'the course of events, the process, the circumstances leading up to something.' In this sentence it refers to the course the trial has taken: 'Watching the course of the trial, neither side shows any willingness to compromise…'

• 1けいか would correspond to 経過 (passage of time / progress), a plausible lookalike with the same first kanji.
• 2きょうか is not a valid reading for this compound; it resembles 強化 (strengthening) or 教科 (subject).
• 4きょうい is not a valid reading; it resembles 驚異 (marvel) or 脅威 (threat).

• 経緯けいい — the course of events, the process, circumstances

譲歩 is read じょうほ. It means 'concession, compromise, yielding (to the other side).' The sentence says neither party shows any posture of concession.

• 2じょうほう is the reading of 情報 (information), a deliberate distractor sharing the じょう- onset.
• 3じょうふ is not a standard reading for this compound; it is a fabricated near-homophone.
• 4じょうぶ is the reading of 丈夫 (sturdy/healthy), another plausible distractor.

• 譲歩じょうほ — concession, compromise, yielding

争い is read あらそい (verb 争う → noun 争い). It means 'dispute, conflict, quarrel.' The sentence says the dispute has taken on the appearance of a quagmire (泥沼).

• 1きそい would come from 競う (to compete), 競い — a near-synonym but wrong kanji/reading for this word.
• 2たたかい is 戦い/闘い (battle/fight), a semantically close distractor but not the reading of 争い.
• 3うばい would come from 奪う (to snatch), 奪い — unrelated and incorrect.

• 争あらそい — dispute, conflict, quarrel

泥沼 is read どろぬま. Literally 'mud swamp,' it is used metaphorically for a situation one cannot escape — a quagmire. 泥沼の様相を呈している means 'has taken on the appearance of a quagmire.'

• 1でいじょう uses the on-readings でい + じょう; 泥 can be read でい but 沼 is ぬま here, not じょう.
• 2どろじょう mixes the kun-reading どろ with a fabricated じょう for 沼.
• 3でいぬま uses the on-reading でい for 泥; while でい is a valid on-reading, the common reading of this word is どろぬま.

• 泥沼どろぬま — quagmire, morass (literal and figurative)

様相 is read ようそう. It means 'aspect, state of affairs, appearance (of a situation).' 様相を呈している is a common set phrase: 'has taken on the appearance/aspect of…'

• 1ようそ is a plausible but incorrect shortening; not a real word.
• 3ようじょう is not a valid reading; it resembles 容量 (ようりょう) or 様状 (not standard).
• 4ようす is the reading of 様子 (state/condition), a very common near-synonym and the most tempting distractor.

• 様相ようそう — aspect, state of affairs, appearance of a situation

事態 is read じたい (jitai), meaning 'the situation' or 'the state of affairs.' In this sentence, it refers to the current situation that must not be allowed to worsen further. The correct reading is option 2, じたい.

• 1じてい is an incorrect reading. There is no common word read じてい that corresponds to these kanji. The kanji 態 is read タイ (たい) in this compound, not てい.
• 3じってい is an incorrect reading with an inserted っ (small tsu). There is no geminate consonant in 事態; the correct reading is simply じたい without any っ.
• 4じったい is an incorrect reading with an inserted っ. This might be confused with 事実 (じじつ, 'fact') or 実態 (じったい, 'actual state'), but 事態 itself has no geminate consonant and is read じたい.

• 事態じたい — the situation, the state of affairs (usually an undesirable or critical one)
• 悪化あっか — deterioration, worsening
• 軽率けいそつ — rash, thoughtless, imprudent
• 相互そうご — mutual, reciprocal
• 不信感ふしんかん — sense of distrust, feeling of mistrust

The correct reading of 「軽率な」 is 「けいそつな」. In the context of the sentence, avoiding 'rash' or 'careless' actions is necessary to prevent the situation from worsening further. The kanji 「軽」 is read here as 「けい」 (on'yomi), and 「率」 is read as 「そつ」 (on'yomi).

• 1「けいりつな」 is incorrect. While the first part 「けい」 is correct, the second kanji 「率」 is misread as 「りつ」. The reading 「りつ」 is seen in words like 「効率 (こうりつ)」, but here it must be read as 「そつ」.
• 3「かいりつな」 is incorrect. The first kanji 「軽」 is misread as 「かい」. The correct reading for 「軽」 in this word is 「けい」.
• 4「かいそつな」 is incorrect. The first kanji 「軽」 is misread as 「かい」. The correct reading for 「軽」 in this word is 「けい」.

• 軽率けいそつな — rash, careless, thoughtless, imprudent

The correct reading for 避ける in this context is さける. The verb 避ける has two primary readings, さける and よける, but they are used in slightly different contexts. さける is used for avoiding abstract concepts, actions, or situations, such as 軽率な行動 (rash actions), 責任 (responsibility), or 争い (conflict). Since the sentence is about avoiding careless actions to prevent a situation from worsening, さける is the appropriate reading.

• 1よける is also a valid reading for 避ける, but it is primarily used for physically dodging or moving out of the way of something concrete, such as 雨をよける (taking shelter from the rain) or 車をよける (dodging a car). It is not typically used for avoiding an abstract action like 軽率な行動.
• 2ぬける corresponds to verbs like 抜ける (to slip out, to come out, to be missing). It is not a valid reading for 避ける.
• 3のける corresponds to verbs like 退ける or 除ける (to remove, to put aside). It is not a valid reading for 避ける.

• 避さける — to avoid (abstract things, actions, situations)
• 避よける — to dodge, to keep away from (physical things, obstacles)
• 事態じたい — situation, state of affairs
• 悪化あっか — deterioration, worsening
• 軽率けいそつな — rash, careless, thoughtless
• 不信感ふしんかん — distrust, suspicion

相互 is read そうご, meaning 'mutual' or 'reciprocal.' In the sentence, 相互の不信感 means 'mutual distrust,' so option 4 is correct.

• 1しょうごう is an incorrect reading. Neither 相 nor 互 has a しょう reading here; this is a distractor that misassigns a long しょう sound.
• 2しょうご is also incorrect. The first character 相 is read そう in this compound, not しょう.
• 3そうごう is incorrect. While 相 is indeed read そう, 互 is read ご (short), not ごう (long). Adding the extra う makes it wrong.

• 相互そうご — mutual, reciprocal, each other
• 事態じたい — situation, state of affairs
• 悪化あっか — deterioration, worsening
• 軽率けいそつ — rash, careless, thoughtless
• 不信感ふしんかん — distrust, feeling of mistrust
• 取り除く（とりのぞく） — to remove, to eliminate

The correct reading for 取り除く is とりのぞく. In this context, the sentence states that to prevent the situation from worsening further, it is necessary to make efforts to 'remove' or 'eliminate' the mutual distrust. 取り除く (とりのぞく) means to remove, eliminate, or get rid of something undesirable (like distrust, anxiety, or obstacles).

• 1とりさく is not a standard Japanese word and does not fit the kanji 除く. This is a distractor designed to test if the reader knows the correct reading of 除 (のぞ).
• 2とりほどく (取り解く) means to untie, undo, or unravel (e.g., a knot, or to clear up a misunderstanding). While it might seem plausible for 'distrust', the kanji is 除く, not 解く, and the standard phrase for eliminating distrust is 不信感を取り除く.
• 4とりまく (取り巻く) means to surround, encircle, or crowd around (someone or something). It does not mean to remove or eliminate, and it does not match the kanji 除く.

• 取り除く（とりのぞく） — to remove, to eliminate, to get rid of
• 取り解く（とりほどく） — to untie, to undo, to unravel
• 取り巻く（とりまく） — to surround, to encircle
• 軽率けいそつ — rash, careless, thoughtless
• 悪化あっか — worsening, deterioration
• 不信感ふしんかん — distrust, feeling of distrust