N2 Grammar · Test 24

ものの means 'although / even though' and connects two clauses where the second contradicts or qualifies the first. The sentence: 'The production of mandarin oranges in this region temporarily decreased from 2000 to 2003, but then increased again, reaching a record high in 2010.' 減少したものの = 'although it decreased.'

• 1として means 'as / assuming / if.' 減少したとして would mean 'assuming it decreased,' which doesn't fit — the decrease is stated as fact, not a hypothesis.
• 2のかどうか means 'whether or not.' 減少したのかどうか would mean 'whether it decreased or not,' turning the clause into an embedded yes/no question, which doesn't connect to '再び増加し' properly.
• 3からには means 'since / now that (one has committed to something), one should...'. It expresses determination based on a condition (e.g., 約束したからには 'since I promised, I must...'). It doesn't fit a factual description of a trend.

• ものの — although, even though (contrasts two clauses)
• として — as, assuming, if
• のかどうか — whether or not
• からには — since / now that..., one should...
• 一時いちじ — temporarily, for a time
• 減少げんしょう — decrease
• 増加ぞうか — increase
• 過去最高かこさいこう — all-time high, record high

「慌てることはありません」(あわてることはありません) is the correct choice. The grammar pattern「〜ことはありません」means 'there is no need to ~'. The sentence is from a childcare book (育児書) and aims to reassure parents: 'Even if the baby has a slight fever, if they are playing energetically, there is no need to panic.' This fits the context perfectly.

• 2「慌てざるを得ません」(あわてざるをえません) uses the grammar pattern「〜ざるを得ない」, which means 'cannot help but ~' or 'have no choice but to ~'. This would mean 'you cannot help but panic,' which completely contradicts the reassuring advice given in the passage.

• 慌あわてる — to panic, to be in a rush
• 〜ことはありません — there is no need to ~
• 〜ざるを得ない（〜ざるをえない） — cannot help but ~, have no choice but to ~

でしょうがない attaches to the stem of a な-adjective (暇 → 暇でしょうがない) and means 'so ~ that I can't stand it.' 暇でしょうがない = 'so bored/free I can't stand it.' This fits the context of having nothing to do on days off.

• 2そうにない means 'unlikely to ~' and attaches to verb stems. 暇そうにない would mean 'unlikely to be free,' which contradicts the context — the person IS free and bored.
• 3にすぎない means 'nothing more than / merely.' 暇にすぎない = 'merely free time,' which doesn't express the unbearable feeling the speaker is describing.
• 4すらない means 'not even ~.' 暇すらない = 'not even free,' which contradicts the context of having nothing to do because of a day off.

• 〜でしょうがない — so ~ that one can't stand it (attaches to な-adjective stem or い-adjective 〜くて)
• 暇ひま — free time, idle, bored

見えました is the 尊敬語 (sonkeigo / honorific form) of 来る (to come). 森田 is reporting to 村山 that 川西部長, a guest from another company, has arrived. Since 川西部長 is a person to be respected (an outside visitor), honorific language is appropriate. 「会議室でお待ちです」(He is waiting in the conference room) also confirms this is about a superior/guest who has arrived.

• 1参りました is the 謙譲語 (kenjougo / humble form) of 行く・来る. It would be used to humbly describe the speaker's own action of going/coming, not to respectfully describe a guest's arrival.
• 2承りました is the 謙譲語 of 聞く・承る (to humbly receive/hear). It is unrelated to someone arriving.
• 4伺いました is the 謙譲語 of 行く・来る・聞く (to humbly go/come/visit/ask). Like option 1, it is a humble form describing the speaker's own action, not an honorific for a respected visitor's arrival.

• 見みえる — honorific form of 来る — (a respected person) comes/arrives
• 参まいる — humble form of 行く・来る — to go/come (humble)
• 承うけたまわる — humble form of 聞く・引き受ける — to humbly hear/accept
• 伺うかがう — humble form of 行く・来る・聞く — to humbly visit/ask

ようであれば means 'if it seems that / if it appears that.' The sentence says: 'If it seems that your fever hasn't gone down even by tomorrow, take this medicine.' よう (seeming/appearance) + であれば (if) creates a conditional based on an observed state, which fits the doctor's instruction perfectly.

• 2からであれば means 'if it is because...' — this would require a reason/cause before から, but here there is no causal relationship; the clause describes a condition (fever not going down), not a reason.
• 3というようには is not a grammatical pattern that fits here. というようには would imply 'in the way called...' which is unnatural and doesn't create the needed conditional meaning.
• 4というからには means 'since it is said that... (then naturally...)' — からには expresses a strong conditional with an obligation ('since X, then Y must be done'), which doesn't match the doctor's simple conditional instruction.

• ようであれば — if it seems that / if it appears that (conditional based on appearance)
• からであれば — if it is because... (conditional on a cause)
• からには — since... (then naturally); now that... — expresses obligation

練習していくうちに means 'as you continue practicing' / 'while you keep practicing.' 〜うちに expresses a process or span of time during which a change gradually occurs. The teacher says: at first you may be nervous and unable to sing loudly, but as you continue practicing, you'll gradually be able to sing louder. This fits perfectly.

• 2練習してでも means 'even if it means practicing' / 'even at the cost of practicing.' 〜てでも expresses doing something at any cost, which doesn't fit the gradual improvement context here.
• 3練習するのに対して means 'in contrast to practicing' / 'as opposed to practicing.' 〜のに対して expresses contrast/comparison between two things, which doesn't fit the sequential 'at first... but then...' structure.
• 4練習するのに比べて means 'compared to practicing.' 〜に比べて expresses comparison, which is irrelevant to the context of gradual change over time.

• 〜うちに — while / during the time that — expresses a change happening within a time span
• 〜てでも — even if it means doing... / at any cost
• 〜のに対して — in contrast to / as opposed to
• 〜に比べて（〜にくらべて） — compared to

驚かせてやろう uses the causative form 驚かせる (to surprise/make someone surprised) of the intransitive verb 驚く, plus 〜てやる (to do something for someone / to do something to someone with a confident or aggressive tone). The coach says: 'Let's win and surprise the world (世間を驚かせる), aren't we!' The causative makes the verb transitive so it can take を, and てやろう matches the coach's bold, confident tone.

• 1驚いてやろう uses 驚く, which is intransitive and cannot take the object marker を (世間を驚く is grammatically impossible). The causative form is needed to make it transitive.
• 2驚いてもらおう also uses the intransitive 驚く, which cannot take を. Additionally, 〜てもらう means 'receive the favor of someone doing something,' which reverses the agent-patient relationship — the coach wants to DO the surprising, not receive it.
• 4驚かせてもらおう uses the correct causative 驚かせる, but 〜てもらおう means 'let me receive the favor of surprising them,' which is a humble/requesting perspective. This doesn't match the coach's aggressive, rallying tone of 'let's go surprise them!' expressed by 〜てやろう.

• 驚おどろく — to be surprised (intransitive)
• 驚おどろかせる — to surprise / to make someone surprised (causative, transitive)
• 〜てやる — to do something for someone / to do something to someone (can carry a confident or aggressive nuance)
• 〜てもらう — to receive the favor of someone doing something for one's benefit