N1 Vocabulary · Test 82

極力（きょくりょく） means 'as much as possible, to the utmost.' The sentence means 'Let's reduce wasteful expenses as much as possible.' できる限り (dekiru kagiri) means 'as much as one can,' which matches.

• 1少しずつ means 'little by little' — describes pace, not degree of effort.
• 2大幅に (ōhaba ni) means 'drastically, on a large scale' — describes the size of a change, not the effort to do something to the fullest.
• 4真っ先に (massaki ni) means 'first of all, before anything else' — describes priority/order, not degree.

• 極力きょくりょく — as much as possible, to the utmost
• 経費けいひ — expenses, costs

落胆（らくたん）した means 'was disappointed / became discouraged.' Hearing the result and feeling 落胆 means being let down. がっかりした means 'was disappointed,' which is the correct paraphrase.

• 1びっくりした means 'was surprised' — surprise is not the core meaning of 落胆, which is about disappointment.
• 3動揺した means 'was shaken / agitated' — describes emotional instability, not specifically disappointment.
• 4疑問を持った means 'had doubts' — a cognitive reaction, not an emotional let-down.

• 落胆らくたん — disappointment, discouragement, dejection
• がっかりする — to be disappointed

あっけない describes something that ends too abruptly or too easily, leaving one feeling unsatisfied or let down — an unexpectedly anticlimactic outcome. The novel's ending was あっけない, meaning it was unexpectedly unsatisfying/bland. Option 1, 意外につまらない ('unexpectedly boring/unsatisfying'), best captures both the surprise element (意外) and the letdown (つまらない).

• 2意外におもしろい means 'unexpectedly interesting' — あっけない carries a negative, unsatisfied nuance, not a positive one.
• 3予想通りつまらない means 'boring as expected' — あっけない implies the abruptness was unexpected, so 予想通り does not fit.
• 4予想通りおもしろい means 'interesting as expected' — both the positive tone and the 'as expected' element are wrong.

• あっけない — abrupt, anticlimactic; ending too quickly/easily and leaving one unsatisfied
• 結末けつまつ — ending, conclusion (of a story)

コントラスト (contrast) refers to the difference between light and dark, or between colors. 対比 (たいひ) means 'contrast/comparison,' making it the correct synonym. The sentence means 'That poster's color contrast is impressive.'

• 2効果 (こうか) means 'effect,' which is not what コントラスト means.
• 3繊細 (せんさい) means 'delicate/fine,' unrelated to contrast.
• 4豊富さ (ほうふさ) means 'abundance/ richness,' not contrast.

• コントラスト — contrast (of colors, light/dark)
• 対比たいひ — contrast, comparison
• 効果こうか — effect
• 繊細せんさい — delicate, fine
• 豊富ほうふさ — abundance, richness

とっくに means 'already, long ago' — indicating something was completed well before the present moment. Option 2, '山田さんならとっくに帰りました' (Yamada already went home long ago), is the natural and correct usage.

• 1とっくに is used for completed actions, not for past existence ('there was a big temple here long ago'). You would use 昔 or 以前 instead.
• 3While とっくに遅い might seem possible, the natural expression here would be もう遅い or 手遅れ. とっくに emphasizes that something was done/completed long ago, not simply that a situation is 'already too late.'
• 4とっくに does not work with an ongoing state like 鳴りっぱなし (ringing continuously). さっきから already sets the time frame, and とっくに conflicts with the sense of an ongoing action.

• とっくに — already, long ago (something completed well before now)

張り合う（はりあう）means 'to compete with each other, to vie with one another.' The sentence says 'Those siblings are always 張り合っている with each other.' 競争して（きょうそうして）means 'competing,' which is the correct paraphrase.

• 2応援して（おうえんして）means 'supporting, cheering on.' 張り合う is the opposite—competing, not supporting.
• 3無視して（むしして）means 'ignoring.' Competing with someone is not the same as ignoring them.
• 4尊重して（そんちょうして）means 'respecting.' This is the opposite of the rivalry implied by 張り合う.

• 張り合う（はりあう） — to compete with each other, to vie
• 競争きょうそうする — to compete
• 応援おうえんする — to support, to cheer on
• 尊重そんちょうする — to respect

朗報（ろうほう）means 'good news, glad tidings.' The sentence says 'One day, 朗報 arrived at our house.' うれしい知らせ means 'happy/glad news,' which is the correct paraphrase.

• 1意外な知らせ means 'unexpected news.' 朗報 specifically conveys gladness, not merely surprise.
• 3大切な知らせ means 'important news.' While good news may be important, 朗報 emphasizes the joyful content, not importance.
• 4めずらしい知らせ means 'rare/unusual news.' Rarity is not the core meaning of 朗報.

• 朗報ろうほう — good news, glad tidings
• 知しらせ — news, notice, tidings

わずらわしい（煩わしい）means 'troublesome, bothersome, annoying.' The sentence says 'I was finally freed from the わずらわしい work.' 面倒な（めんどうな）means 'troublesome, bothersome,' which is the closest paraphrase.

• 1地味な（じみな）means 'plain, modest, unflashy.' This describes appearance or style, not the bothersome nature of a task.
• 2苦手な（にがてな）means 'not good at, weak at.' Being bad at something is different from it being troublesome/annoying.
• 4退屈な（たいくつな）means 'boring, tedious.' While a troublesome task might also be boring, the core meaning of わずらわしい is that it is a bother/hassle, not that it is uninteresting.

• わずらわしい — troublesome, bothersome, annoying
• 面倒めんどうな — troublesome, bothersome
• 地味じみな — plain, modest
• 退屈たいくつな — boring, tedious

いやみを言われる means 'to be told something sarcastic/mocking.' 皮肉 (ひにく) means 'sarcasm, irony, cynical remark,' so いやみを言われる ≈ 皮肉を言われる. Option 4 is correct.

• 1不平 (ふへい) means 'complaint, dissatisfaction.' You can say 不平を言う (to complain), but 不平 is not synonymous with いやみ; it expresses dissatisfaction rather than a sarcastic jab.
• 2冗談 (じょうだん) means 'joke.' Being told a joke is not the same as being told something sarcastic/mocking.
• 3愚痴 (ぐち) means 'grumbling, complaint about one's own troubles.' 愚痴を言う is to vent/complain, which is different from making a snide remark directed at someone.

• いやみ — sarcasm, snide remark, unpleasant thing to say
• 皮肉ひにく — sarcasm, irony
• 不平ふへい — complaint, dissatisfaction
• 冗談じょうだん — joke
• 愚痴ぐち — grumbling, complaint

密集 (みっしゅう) means 'to be densely packed/crowded together' and is an intransitive verb describing things (especially buildings/people) being closely concentrated. Option 1, 'この地区は古い住宅が密集している' (In this district, old houses are densely packed), is the correct usage.

• 2密集 is intransitive and describes a state of being densely packed, not an action you do to people. You cannot を密集する. The correct verb here would be 集合する or 集める.
• 3For people gathering for a concert, 集まる or 集結する is appropriate. 密集 implies physical density/crowding in a space, not the act of famous singers assembling.
• 4Collecting stamps is 収集 (しゅうしゅう) or 収集する, not 密集. 密集 does not mean 'to collect.'

• 密集みっしゅう — to be densely packed, to be crowded together
• 収集しゅうしゅう — collection, collecting