N1 Vocabulary · Test 79

ストレートに means 'directly, straightforwardly, without beating around the bush.' 率直に (そっちょくに, 'frankly, straightforwardly') is the closest paraphrase. The sentence says 'I wish you had said it more directly.'

• 1冷静に (れいせいに) means 'calmly,' which relates to emotional composure, not directness of expression.
• 3真剣に (しんけんに) means 'seriously, earnestly,' which relates to attitude/seriousness, not directness.
• 4慎重に (しんちょうに) means 'carefully, cautiously,' which is almost the opposite of being direct/straightforward.

• ストレートに（すとれーとに） — directly, straightforwardly
• 率直そっちょくに — frankly, straightforwardly

お手上げだ (おてあげだ) means 'at a loss, helpless, nothing can be done.' どうしようもない ('there's nothing that can be done') is the correct paraphrase. The sentence says if a huge supermarket opens in front of the station, (our small shop) would be helpless/doomed.

• 1大歓迎だ (だいかんげいだ) means 'greatly welcome,' which is the opposite of the helpless/negative nuance of お手上げだ.
• 3ぜひ働きたい (ぜひはたらきたい) means 'definitely want to work there,' which is unrelated.
• 4驚きだ (おどろきだ) means 'it's surprising,' which captures only surprise, not the sense of helplessness.

• お手上げだ（おてあげだ） — at a loss, helpless, nothing can be done
• どうしようもない — nothing can be done about it, hopeless

格段に (かくだんに) means 'remarkably, greatly, by a large margin.' 大幅に (おおはばに, 'substantially, by a wide margin') is the best paraphrase. The sentence says profits have increased remarkably over the past year.

• 1着実に (ちゃくじつに) means 'steadily, reliably' — it emphasizes consistency rather than the large degree that 格段に conveys.
• 2わずかに (わずかに) means 'slightly, barely' — this is the opposite of the large degree implied by 格段に.
• 4ゆるやかに (ゆるやかに) means 'gently, moderately' — it suggests a mild/gradual change, not a remarkable increase.

• 格段かくだんに — remarkably, greatly, by a large margin
• 大幅おおはばに — substantially, by a wide margin
• 着実ちゃくじつに — steadily, reliably
• わずかに — slightly, barely
• ゆるやかに — gently, moderately

いたって (至って) means 'very, extremely' and is used to emphasize an adjective, here describing the operating method as extremely easy. 非常に (ひじょうに) also means 'very, extremely' and is a direct synonym that fits the sentence perfectly: 'The operating method was extremely easy.'

• 1わりに (割に) means 'comparatively, relatively' — it suggests the result is surprising relative to expectations, not simple emphasis. It does not match いたって's meaning of 'very.'
• 2意外に (いがいに) means 'unexpectedly, surprisingly' — it implies something was contrary to expectations, which is a different nuance from いたって's straightforward intensification.
• 4たしかに (確かに) means 'certainly, surely' — it expresses certainty/confirmation, not degree/intensity, so it cannot replace いたって.

• 至いたって — very, extremely (used to emphasize an adjective)
• 非常ひじょうに — very, extremely
• 割わりに — comparatively, relatively
• 意外いがいに — unexpectedly, surprisingly
• 確たしかに — certainly, surely

一律 (いちりつ) means 'uniform, applying the same rule/treatment to all without distinction.' Option 4 says 'Rather than uniformly cutting all expenses, it's fine to reduce wasteful ones first.' This correctly uses 一律に to mean 'across the board, without discrimination' — the sentence even contrasts it with a selective approach, highlighting the word's meaning perfectly.

• 1'Every time he meets (someone), he uniformly wears a red hat' — 一律に cannot describe a repeated personal habit. The sentence itself is also unnatural (会うと一律に is ungrammatical).
• 2'Whenever I try to go out on a day off, it uniformly rains' — 一律に cannot describe something that happens repeatedly/inevitably. ぜんたい or いつも would be appropriate, not 一律に.
• 3'Our company's employees have varied backgrounds, but uniformly they all have study-abroad experience' — the sentence is self-contradictory: さまざまだが (varied, but) followed by 一律に…だ (uniformly they are) makes no logical sense. If they are all the same, they are not さまざま.

• 一律いちりつ — uniform, equal, applying the same rule to all without exception

不用意 (ふようい) means 'careless, thoughtless, unprepared, without due caution.' 不注意な (ふちゅういな) means 'careless, inattentive' and is the best synonym. 公の場で不用意な発言 = 'careless remarks in a public setting.'

• 1無駄な (むだな) means 'useless, wasteful' — about futility, not carelessness.
• 2不利な (ふりな) means 'disadvantageous, unfavorable' — about being at a disadvantage, not about lack of caution.
• 3無意味な (むいみな) means 'meaningless, pointless' — about lack of meaning, not carelessness.

• 不用意ふようい — careless, thoughtless, unprepared, without due caution
• 公の場（おうてきのば） — public setting, official occasion

厄介 (やっかい) means 'troublesome, bothersome, hard to deal with.' 面倒な (めんどうな) means 'troublesome, bothersome' and is the closest synonym. かなり厄介な問題 = 'a quite troublesome problem.'

• 2深刻な (しんこくな) means 'serious, grave' — describes severity, not the hassle/trouble of dealing with something.
• 3重要な (じゅうような) means 'important' — unrelated to being troublesome.
• 4特殊な (とくしゅな) means 'special, unusual, particular' — describes uniqueness, not difficulty.

• 厄介やっかい — troublesome, bothersome, hard to deal with

回想して (かいそうして) is the te-form of 回想する, meaning 'to look back on, recall, reminisce.' 思い返して (おもいかえして) is the te-form of 思い返す, meaning 'to think back, recall' — the best synonym. 当時のことを回想して語った = 'recalled the things of that time and spoke as follows.'

• 1反省して (はんせいして) means 'to reflect on one's past conduct, self-examine' — implies critical self-examination, not simple recollection.
• 2考え直して (かんがえなおして) means 'to reconsider, think over again' — about rethinking a decision, not recalling memories.
• 3後悔して (こうかいして) means 'to regret' — expresses remorse, not neutral recollection.

• 回想かいそうする — to look back on, recall, reminisce
• 思い返す（おもいかえす） — to think back, recall

手分け（てわけ）means to divide a task among people so that each person handles a separate part, working in parallel. 分担（ぶんたん）means to share/divide a duty or workload among members, which is the closest synonym. 「手分けしたほうがいい」= 'We should split up the work (among us),' and 分担 conveys that same idea of dividing labor.

• 1分配（ぶんぱい）means distributing or allotting things (goods, money, resources) to people. It is used for tangible items being handed out, not for dividing up a task to do separately.
• 3分解（ぶんかい）means to break down, disassemble, or decompose something into its parts (e.g., a machine, a chemical). It does not mean dividing work among people.
• 4分別（ぶんべつ）means sorting (e.g., garbage) or discernment/judgment. It is unrelated to splitting up a task.

• 手分てわけ — to divide work among people and do it separately; to split up a task
• 分配ぶんぱい — distribution, allotment (of goods/resources)
• 分担ぶんたん — sharing/dividing a duty or workload among people
• 分解ぶんかい — disassembly, decomposition, breaking down into parts
• 分別ぶんべつ — sorting (e.g., trash); discernment, judgment

抱え込む（かかえこむ）means to take something upon oneself and hold onto it, especially to shoulder a problem or burden alone without asking for help. Option 2 says: 'When a problem arises, don't 抱え込む (take it all on yourself); it's good to consult your boss or colleagues.' This usage perfectly matches the meaning of shouldering a burden alone.

• 1This sentence talks about firmly retaining memory through repetition. 抱え込む is not used for memorizing/retaining information; you would use something like 定着させる or 記憶に刻む.
• 3This talks about a cram school becoming able to accept up to 30 students. 抱え込む does not mean 'to accept/enroll people.' You would use 受け入れる or 預かる.
• 4This says the mother has carefully kept the drawings. 抱え込む implies taking on a burden or hoarding, not treasuring/keeping something precious. You would use とっておく or 保管する.

• 抱え込む（かかえこむ） — to take on a burden/problem oneself and hold onto it; to shoulder alone without seeking help; to hoard