N2 Grammar · Test 1

すら (1) is correct. The pattern 〜どころか means 'far from ~ing, not even ~'. The sentence says the minister not only failed to give a satisfactory answer, he could not even understand the content of the questions. すら means 'even' and is used with a negative predicate to express 'not even ~'. 質問の内容すら理解できていなかった = 'could not even understand the content of the questions.'

• 2こそ means 'precisely/especially' and is used to emphasize something positively (e.g., 今回こそ頑張る). It does not pair with the negative できていなかった and does not fit the どころか escalation.
• 3のみ means 'only' and is a formal equivalent of だけ. It is not used with a negative to mean 'not even', so 質問の内容のみ理解できていなかった is unnatural here.
• 4ほど with a negative can mean 'not as ~ as' (〜ほど〜ない), but 質問の内容ほど理解できていなかった would mean 'did not understand (something) as much as the content of the question', which makes no sense in this context.

• どころか — far from ~ing; not only not ~, but (even) not ~ — used to show the situation is even worse than expected
• すら — even (used with negative predicates: not even ~)
• 追及ついきゅう — pursuit; pressing (someone) for answers/responsibility
• 野党やとう — opposition party

どうも (3) is correct. どうも is used to express a vague sense or suspicion that something is the case: 'it seems that ~ / I have a feeling that ~'. 最近どうもパソコンの調子がおかしい = 'Lately my computer seems to be acting strange.' This matches the speaker's uncertain observation, followed by a conditional plan to send it for repair.

• 1ちっとも means 'not at all' and requires a negative predicate (ちっとも〜ない). Here the predicate is おかしい (positive adjective), so ちっとも cannot be used.
• 2いったい means 'on earth / in the world' and is used in questions expressing puzzlement (いったいどうしたのか). It does not fit a declarative observation sentence.
• 4まさか means 'surely not / it can't be that' and is normally followed by 〜だろうか or a dubitative expression. It does not fit the straightforward statement パソコンの調子がおかしい.

• どうも — it seems; I have a feeling that ~ (expresses vague suspicion)
• ちっとも — not at all (requires negative predicate)
• 調子ちょうし — condition; state (of a machine, health, etc.)
• 修理に出す（しゅうりにだす） — to send (something) in for repair

を問わず (2) is correct. A を問わず B means 'B regardless of A / without regard to A'. 初心者、経験者を問わず = 'regardless of whether one is a beginner or an experienced person'. This fits the advertisement's message that the piano school carefully teaches anyone, beginner or veteran alike.

• 1を通して means 'through / by means of / throughout'. 初心者、経験者を通して does not form a meaningful contrast; it would imply 'through beginners and experienced people', which is nonsensical here.
• 3にかけて means 'over (a period/time/space)' or 'in the area of ~ (pride/skill)'. It does not express 'regardless of' a category like beginner/experienced.
• 4にもかかわらず means 'despite / in spite of'. It expresses that a contrary result occurred despite some condition, not 'regardless of whether A or B'.

• を問わず（をとわず） — regardless of; without regard to (Aを問わず = regardless of A)
• を通して（をとおして） — through; by means of; throughout
• にもかかわらず — despite; in spite of
• 初心者しょきんしゃ — beginner
• 経験者けいけんしゃ — person with experience

にかぎって (2) is correct. 〜にかぎって means 'whenever ~ happens (it tends to be the case that ~)' or 'especially when ~, (inconveniently) ~'. It expresses that a particular (often rare) situation is always accompanied by a certain (often undesirable) outcome. めったに出かけないのに、外出するときにかぎって大雨になる = 'I rarely go out, but whenever I do go out, it rains heavily.' The のに (even though) sets up the irony that にかぎって captures perfectly.

• 1にあたって means 'on the occasion of / when about to do (something important)'. It is used for deliberate, significant actions (出発にあたって), not for the ironic 'whenever ~ happens' pattern here.
• 3において means 'in / at / on (a place or situation)'. 外出するときにおいて大雨になる is grammatically odd and does not convey the 'every time' nuance.
• 4に際して means 'on the occasion of / when (a significant event occurs)'. Like にあたって, it is for formal occasions, not the repetitive ironic pattern of にかぎって.

• にかぎって — whenever ~ (happens); especially when ~, (inconveniently) ~
• にあたって — on the occasion of; when about to do (something significant)
• に際して（にさいして） — on the occasion of; at the time of (a significant event)
• めったに — rarely; seldom (used with negative predicate)
• 外出がいしゅつ — going out

せいか (4) is correct. せい means 'because of (a bad cause)'; せいか adds か to express uncertainty: 'perhaps because of ~ / maybe it's because ~'. 昨夜よく眠れなかったせいか、体がだるい = 'Perhaps because I couldn't sleep well last night, my body feels sluggish.' The speaker is not 100% sure of the cause, so せいか (tentative) is the right choice.

• 1からには means 'now that ~ / since ~ (and therefore one should ~)', expressing a strong commitment or logical conclusion based on a condition. It does not express a tentative cause-effect relationship.
• 2わけか means 'so it means that ~ / is that the reason?'. 昨夜よく眠れなかったわけか would mean 'so the reason is that you couldn't sleep?', which doesn't fit the structure 体がだるい (a result, not a reason).
• 3あまりに means 'too ~ / excessively'. It is an adverb modifying adjectives/verbs (あまりに忙しい). It cannot connect a cause clause to a result clause as 〜あまりに、〜 does; the correct form would be 〜あまり (noun form), but even that means 'due to excessive ~', which doesn't fit 'couldn't sleep'.

• せいか — perhaps because of ~; maybe it's because ~ (tentative cause, usually negative)
• からには — now that ~; since ~ (one should/must ~)
• わけか — so it means that ~; is that the reason?
• だるい — sluggish; heavy (body feeling)

The correct order is: この学校で先生や友達と過ごす[3.のも][1.あと数週間][★2.と思うと][4.寂しさが増してくる]。The full sentence means: 'I'll be graduating from high school soon. When I think that I only have a few more weeks to spend with my teachers and friends at this school, my sadness grows.' The pattern 〜と思うと means 'when I think that〜, (then emotion/result follows).' Here, 過ごすのもあと数週間 ('the time left to spend... is only a few weeks') is the content of the thinking, and 寂しさが増してくる is the emotional result.

• 1あと数週間 belongs before と思うと, forming 'あと数週間と思うと' ('when I think it's only a few more weeks'). Placing it at ★ would break the sentence structure.
• 3のも attaches to 過ごす to form 過ごすのも ('even spending time / the time spent... too'), and must come right after 過ごす, before あと数週間.
• 4寂しさが増してくる is the main clause (the emotional result) and must come after と思うと, not at the ★ position.

• と思うと（とおもうと） — when (I) think that〜; the moment (I) think that〜 — followed by an emotional or consequential main clause
• 寂しさが増してくる（さびしさがましてくる） — sadness/loneliness increases (and keeps growing)
• 過すごす — to spend (time)

The correct order is 4→2→★3→1, making the full sentence: 「サラリーマンから農家になるとはずいぶん勇気があるんだね。」(It takes a lot of courage to become a farmer from a salaryman, doesn't it). The phrase 「農家になる」(become a farmer) is followed by 「とは」, which is used to express surprise or an evaluation of the preceding action. This is then modified by 「ずいぶん」(considerably/a lot), which correctly connects to 「勇気がある」(have courage). Therefore, option 3 (ずいぶん) fits perfectly in the ★ position to emphasize the amount of courage.

• 1If 勇気 is placed in the ★ slot, the sentence becomes 「農家になるとは勇気ずいぶん...」, which is grammatically incorrect. The adverb ずいぶん must come immediately before the noun phrase 勇気がある to modify it.
• 2If とは is placed in the ★ slot, the sentence becomes 「農家になるずいぶんとは勇気...」, which is incorrect. The particle とは must directly follow the action it evaluates, which is the noun phrase 農家になる.
• 4If になる is placed in the ★ slot, the sentence becomes 「農家ずいぶんになるとは勇気...」, which is incorrect. The verb になる must directly attach to the noun 農家 to form the compound 農家になる.

• 農家のうか — farming family, farmer
• 勇気ゆうき — courage, bravery
• ずいぶん — very, considerably, a lot
• 〜とは — to do something like... (used to express surprise, admiration, or evaluation of an action)
• あきらめきれなくて — unable to completely give up (on something)

The correct order is: 「いってきます」と[2.言い終わるか][1.終わらないか][★4.のうちに][3.玄関を]飛び出していった。The full sentence means: 'On the morning of the field trip, my daughter rushed out the front door before she had even finished saying "I'm off."' The pattern 〜か〜ないかのうちに means 'before (one) has barely finished doing〜 / in the moment of whether or not〜 has finished.' Here, 言い終わるか終わらないかのうちに ('before she had finished saying it or not') modifies 飛び出していった ('rushed out').

• 1終わらないか is the negative counterpart in the 〜か〜ないか pattern, and must come after 言い終わるか, before のうちに.
• 2言い終わるか starts the 〜か〜ないかのうちに pattern and must come right after と, before 終わらないか.
• 3玄関を is the object of 飛び出していった (玄関を飛び出す = 'rush out the front door'), so it must come right before 飛び出していった, after のうちに.

• 〜か〜ないかのうちに — before (one) has barely finished doing〜; in the very moment of finishing or not finishing〜
• 言い終わる（いいおわる） — to finish saying
• 飛び出す（とびだす） — to rush out, to dash out
• 玄関げんかん — entryway, front door (of a house)

The correct order for the blanks is 1 -> 4 -> 2 -> 3, making the full sentence: 参考書を読んで完璧に「1. 理解した」「4. つもりでも」「★ 2. 問題を解いてみると」「3. できない」ということがよくある。The grammar point 「〜たつもりでも」 (even if one thinks they did ~) connects to 「理解した」 to form 「完璧に理解したつもりでも」 (even if you think you understood perfectly). Following this, 「問題を解いてみると」 (when you try to solve the problem) sets up the condition that leads to the result 「できない」 (cannot do it). Option 2 fits perfectly in the ★ position to connect the condition of trying to solve the problem with the unexpected result.

• 1「理解した」 must come immediately before 「つもりでも」 to form the phrase 「理解したつもりでも」 (even if you think you understood). Placing it at the ★ position would break this necessary grammatical pairing and result in a nonsensical sentence.
• 3「できない」 is the result of trying to solve the problem, so it must come after 「問題を解いてみると」. Placing it at the ★ position would separate it from its logical trigger and create an ungrammatical sequence.
• 4「つもりでも」 must follow a verb in its past or dictionary form, such as 「理解した」, to express 'even if you think you ~'. Placing it at the ★ position after 「理解した」 would leave it stranded without its required preceding verb context.

• 完璧かんぺき — perfect, flawless
• 理解りかいする — to understand, to comprehend
• 〜つもりでも — even if one thinks/intends to ~ (used after V-た or V-る)
• 問題もんだい — problem, question
• 解とく — to solve (a problem)
• 〜てみる — to try doing something to see what happens
• 〜と — when / if (conditional, used to express a natural or inevitable result)

The correct order is: この池に[2.すむ][3.魚のなかには][★4.100年以上生きる][1.ものもいる]そうだ。The full sentence means: 'Among the fish that live in this pond, there are apparently some that live for over 100 years.' The structure is: この池にすむ modifies 魚のなかには ('among the fish that live in this pond'), and 100年以上生きる modifies ものもいる ('there are also ones that live 100+ years'). The reportative そうだ ('it is said/apparently') comes at the end.

• 1ものもいる ('there are also ones/creatures that〜') is the main predicate and must come right before そうだ, after the modifying clause 100年以上生きる.
• 2すむ modifies 魚 ('fish that live in this pond'), so it must come right after この池に, before 魚のなかには.
• 3魚のなかには ('among the fish') sets the topic/scope and must come after すむ (which modifies 魚), before 100年以上生きる.

• 〜のなかには — among〜; within〜 (used to highlight a subset)
• 生いきる — to live, to survive
• 〜そうだ — it is said that〜; apparently〜 (hearsay/reportative)
• 池いけ — pond