N1 Vocabulary · Test 77

ルーズ (from English 'loose') means 'sloppy, careless, lax,' especially regarding rules, time, or money. だらしない means 'sloppy, careless, untidy,' which is the best paraphrase. The sentence says 'Ikeda is a person who is sloppy/careless about money.'

• 1けちな means 'stingy, cheap.' Being loose with money is the opposite of being stingy; ルーズ means careless/lax, not frugal.
• 3無関心な（むかんしんな）means 'indifferent, unconcerned.' While a ルーズ person may not care about details, the word specifically means sloppy/lax rather than simply uninterested.
• 4厳しい（きびしい）means 'strict, severe.' This is nearly the opposite of ルーズ, which means lax/careless.

• ルーズ（るーず） — sloppy, careless, lax (from English 'loose')
• だらしない — sloppy, careless, untidy

つぶさに means 'in detail, minutely, thoroughly.' 詳細に（しょうさいに）means 'in detail,' which is the best paraphrase. The sentence says 'My grandfather told me in detail about a mysterious event he experienced during his student days.'

• 1のんびりと means 'leisurely, in a relaxed manner.' つぶさに describes thoroughness of description, not a relaxed pace.
• 2繰り返し（くりかえし）means 'repeatedly.' Telling something in detail is not the same as telling it repeatedly.
• 4懐かしそうに（なつかしそうに）means 'nostalgically, as if reminiscing.' While the grandfather may feel nostalgic, つぶさに describes the level of detail, not the emotional manner.

• つぶさに — in detail, minutely, thoroughly
• 詳細しょうさいに — in detail

脈絡（みゃくらく）means 'connection, coherence, logical link.' 脈絡がない is a common phrase meaning 'there is no connection/coherence' — i.e., the story jumps around without logical flow. つながり means 'connection, link,' which is the best paraphrase. The sentence says 'Takahashi's story has no coherence/connection.'

• 1うそ means 'lie.' 脈絡がない does not mean the story is a lie; it means it lacks logical flow.
• 2終わり（おわり）means 'end, ending.' 脈絡 is about internal coherence, not about whether something has concluded.
• 3面白み（おもしろみ）means 'interest, amusement, appeal.' A story lacking coherence is not the same as a story lacking entertainment value.

• 脈絡みゃくらく — connection, coherence, logical link
• つながり — connection, link

吟味 (ぎんみ) means to carefully examine or scrutinize something in detail. In this context, the new project is to be carefully examined/considered at the next meeting. 検討 (けんとう) — to study, consider, or examine — is the closest synonym and fits naturally here.

• 1決定 (けってい) means 'decision/finalization.' The sentence says they will 吟味 (examine) the project, not that they have already decided it. 吟味 is an investigative process, not a final decision.
• 2提案 (ていあん) means 'proposal/suggestion.' This is something one might do before 吟味, not a synonym for it.
• 4報告 (ほうこく) means 'report.' Reporting is presenting information, not examining it carefully.

• 吟味ぎんみ — careful examination, scrutiny (suru-verb)
• 検討けんとう — to study, consider, examine (suru-verb)
• 決定けってい — decision, finalization
• 提案ていあん — proposal, suggestion
• 報告ほうこく — report

要望 (ようぼう) means a strong request or demand made to an authority or organization. Option 2 correctly uses it: citizens made a request (to the city/authorities), and as a result new road signs were installed. This is a textbook usage of 要望.

• 1Becoming an astronaut is a personal dream or wish, expressed as 夢 (ゆめ) or 願い (ねがい). 要望 is a request directed at someone/an organization, not a lifelong personal aspiration.
• 3Applying for a passport is an 申請 (しんせい, formal application), not a 要望. You submit documents to apply, not to 'request/demand.'
• 4Telling a teacher one's intention to pursue higher education would be a 希望 (きぼう, wish/hope) or 相談 (そうだん, consultation), not a 要望. 要望 implies pressing a demand on an authority.

• 要望ようぼう — strong request, demand (to an authority/organization)
• 申請しんせい — formal application
• 希望きぼう — hope, wish

かろうじて（辛うじて）means 'barely, narrowly, with great difficulty.' The sentence says 'I barely managed to remember my elementary school classmate's name.' 何とか（なんとか）means 'somehow, barely managing to,' which captures the same nuance of barely succeeding.

• 1なぜか means 'for some reason.' This describes an unexplained cause, not the difficulty of remembering.
• 3すぐに means 'immediately, right away.' This is the opposite of かろうじて, which implies it took effort and was difficult.
• 4たまたま means 'by chance, coincidentally.' This describes randomness, not the difficulty of recalling something.

• かろうじて（辛うじて） — barely, narrowly, with difficulty
• 何なんとか — somehow, barely managing to

自尊心（じそんしん）means 'self-respect, pride (in oneself).' The sentence says 'He regained his self-respect.' プライド means 'pride,' which is the closest equivalent among the katakana options.

• 1イメージ means 'image.' Self-respect is not an image.
• 2コントロール means 'control.' This is unrelated to self-respect.
• 3スタイル means 'style.' This is unrelated to self-respect.

• 自尊心じそんしん — self-respect, pride
• プライド（ぷらいど） — pride

ささいな（些細な）means 'trivial, minor, small.' The sentence says 'This is a trivial/small problem for me.' 小さな（ちいさな）means 'small,' which is the closest synonym.

• 1重要な（じゅうような）means 'important.' This is the opposite of ささいな.
• 2新たな（あらたな）means 'new.' This describes novelty, not the size/importance of the problem.
• 4深刻な（しんこくな）means 'serious, grave.' This is the opposite of ささいな, which means trivial.

• ささいな（些細な） — trivial, minor, small
• 小ちいさな — small

とまどう（戸惑う）means to be confused, bewildered, or at a loss for what to do. 困る（こまる）means to be in trouble or at a loss, which is the closest synonym among the choices. '佐藤さんは少しとまどっているようだった' = 'Sato seemed a little at a loss/confused.'

• 2驚いて（おどろいて）means 'surprised/astonished' — being surprised is different from being confused or at a loss.
• 3怖がって（こわがって）means 'being afraid/scared' — fear is not the same as confusion.
• 4悔やんで（くやんで）means 'regretting' — regret is an emotional state unrelated to being bewildered.

• 戸惑とまどう — to be confused, bewildered, at a loss
• 困こまる — to be in trouble, at a loss
• 驚おどろく — to be surprised
• 怖こわがる — to be afraid
• 悔くやむ — to regret

規制（きせい）means regulation/restriction imposed by rules or authorities, typically on a societal or systemic level. Option 3 correctly uses it: 'On the day of the marathon, traffic is regulated (規制され) and some roads are closed.' This is an official, rule-based restriction.

• 1Reducing utility costs is a personal effort to cut down — should use 抑制（よくせい）or 節約（せつやく）, not 規制.
• 2Cutting back on part-time work is a personal decision — should use 制限（せいげん）する or 控える, not 規制.
• 4Limiting class size is an institutional cap — should use 制限（せいげん）される, not 規制. 規制 implies rule-based/regulatory restriction, not a capacity limit.

• 規制きせい — regulation, restriction (by rules/authorities)
• 抑制よくせい — restraint, suppression
• 制限せいげん — limit, restriction