N2 Grammar · Test 48

The sentence uses 〜ありながら ('even though they have...'), setting up a contrast: they have the will and ability to work, BUT cannot find jobs. 仕事につけない者もいる ('there are also people who cannot get jobs') provides the correct contrasting outcome. つけない is the potential negative of つく ('to get/secure a job').

• 1つきたい者もいる ('there are also people who want to get jobs') does not create the expected contrast. Having will/ability but wanting a job is not a contradiction — wanting is consistent with having will.
• 2つかざるをえない者もいる ('there are also people who have no choice but to get jobs') means the opposite of the intended meaning. These people cannot get jobs; they don't have no choice but to get one.
• 4つくしかない者もいる is not grammatically natural. 〜しかない requires a negative verb to follow (e.g., つくしかない would need context like 〜しかない者, but the intended meaning — being unable to find work — is not expressed).

• 仕事しごとにつく — to get a job, to start working
• 〜ながら — 'even though ~, despite ~' — indicates contrast
• 意欲いよく — motivation, will, eagerness

The pattern 〜ないことには means 'unless/until one does X, ...' and is always followed by a negative or undesirable result. The sentence means: 'Unless you actually meet them, you won't really know what kind of person they are.' よくわからない ('don't understand well') is the natural negative consequence.

• 1だいたいわかるだろう ('can probably understand roughly') is a positive outcome, which contradicts the ないことには pattern that requires a negative result.
• 2わかるはずだ ('should understand') is also positive and contradicts the required negative consequence.
• 3わからなければならない ('must understand') expresses obligation, not a natural consequence of not meeting someone, and does not fit the pattern.

• 〜ないことには — 'unless/until one does ~' — followed by a negative or undesirable result; 'without doing X, [negative outcome]
• 実際じっさい — actually, in reality

The pattern 「～のみならず、～も…」means 'not only ~ but also ~'. The sentence says the low birth rate is a problem not only in Japan but also seemingly in other countries. Option 2 「ほかの国にもあるようだ」(it seems to exist in other countries too) fits perfectly, continuing the 'not only Japan' structure with 'also in other countries.'

• 1「ほかの国にはない」(does not exist in other countries) contradicts 「のみならず」(not only), which requires an affirmative continuation meaning the problem also exists elsewhere.
• 3「ほかの国にかぎられている」(is limited to other countries) does not follow from 'not only Japan' and makes no logical sense in context.
• 4「ほかの国にはありえない」(cannot exist in other countries) directly contradicts the 'not only Japan' pattern, which expects the phenomenon to extend beyond Japan.

• のみならず — not only… (used to indicate that something applies beyond the stated scope)
• 出生率しゅっしょうりつ — birth rate

「～からといって、～」is a grammar pattern meaning 'just because ~, it doesn't mean that ~' and is always followed by a negative or cautionary statement. Option 4 'spending too much is not good' provides the appropriate cautionary conclusion: 'Just because you have a lot of money, it's not good to spend too much.'

• 1「使ってもかまわない」(it's fine to spend) is an affirmative, permissive statement, which contradicts the cautionary nature of「からといって」.
• 2「使いたくなるだろう」(would probably want to spend) is a neutral/positive prediction, not the negative caution expected after「からといって」.
• 3「使えるはずだ」(should be able to spend) is an affirmative statement that doesn't convey the expected negative/critical nuance.

• ～からといって — just because… (followed by a negative conclusion: it doesn't mean that…)

「～として」means 'as ~'. The sentence says: 'Without thinking it has nothing to do with you, you are required to think of this problem as your own problem.' 「自分の問題として」(as one's own problem) fits perfectly, expressing that one should regard the environmental issue as a personal matter.

• 1「からいって」means 'judging from ~', which doesn't fit the context of treating something as one's own.
• 2「をのぞいて」means 'excluding ~', which would mean 'excluding one's own problem', the opposite of the intended meaning.
• 3「に限って」means 'only when ~ / limited to ~', which doesn't fit the idea of treating the issue as one's own.

• ～として — as ~ (expressing a role, capacity, or way of regarding something)
• 求もとめられている — is required / is demanded (passive of 求める, indicating what is expected of people)

たとえ〜ても is a fixed pattern meaning 'even if~.' The sentence means: 'Even if (we are) poor, living together as parent and child is the best.' 貧しくても is the て-form of the い-adjective 貧しい, correctly completing たとえ〜ても.

• 2貧しいなら（なら）means 'if~' but たとえ does not pair with なら; the pattern requires ても.
• 3貧しければ（ば-form）can sometimes appear with たとえ in certain contexts, but the standard and most natural pairing is たとえ〜ても; ば gives a conditional 'if' rather than the concessive 'even if' nuance.
• 4貧しいのに（のに）means 'even though~ (despite)' expressing complaint/contrast, which does not pair with たとえ.

• たとえ〜ても — even if~; no matter if~
• 貧まずしい — poor

やめられない（止められない）is the potential negative form of やめる, meaning 'cannot quit.' The sentence means: 'There are still many people who, even knowing it's bad for their health, cannot quit smoking.' The contrast between 知りながら ('even while knowing') and やめられない ('cannot quit') creates the intended meaning.

• 1やめたい（止めたい）means 'want to quit.' While logically possible, it does not convey the intended meaning that people are unable to quit despite knowing the harm; the sentence highlights inability, not desire.
• 2やめている（止めている）means 'are quitting / have quit' and contradicts the idea that there are still many such smokers.
• 3やめられる（止められる）means 'can quit,' which gives the opposite of the intended meaning.

• 〜ながら — while~; even while~ (expresses doing something despite awareness)
• やめられない — cannot quit (potential negative of やめる)
• タバコ — tobacco / cigarettes

The correct answer is 2 (うちに). The pattern 「～うちに」means 'while (a certain state continues)' or 'during the time that.' The sentence means: 'While my parents are still healthy, I'd like to build them a new house, but…' The idea is to take advantage of the ongoing state (parents being healthy) to do something for them. 「元気なうちに」is a very common collocation expressing 'while they are still in good health.'

• 1「ところに」means 'at the point/time when something happens,' often used for an interruption or unexpected timing (e.g., ご飯を食べているところに電話がかかってきた). It does not fit here because the sentence is about doing something during an ongoing favorable state, not about an event occurring at a particular moment.
• 3「なかに」means 'inside of' or 'in the middle of' in a physical or spatial sense. 「両親が元気ななかに」is grammatically unnatural and does not convey 'while.'
• 4「あとに」means 'after.' 「両親が元気なあとに」would mean 'after my parents are healthy,' which makes no logical sense in this context—you would build the house while they are healthy, not after.

• うちに — while (a state continues); during the time that ~
• 元気げんき — healthy; well; energetic
• 建たててあげる — to build (a house) for someone (doing a favor)

The correct answer is 1 (では). 「今では」is a set expression meaning 'now' or 'nowadays,' used to contrast the present situation with how things were in the past. The sentence says: 'In the past there weren't many types of cherry blossoms, but now there are over 300 types.' The contrast between 昔 (past) and 今 (now) is clearly marked by 今では, which emphasizes the change over time.

• 2「今でも」means 'even now' and implies that something continues unchanged or surprisingly persists. This does not fit because the sentence describes a dramatic change (from few types to 300+), not something that continues despite expectations.
• 3「今には」is not a natural collocation in this context. には typically marks a location or time with a target/destination nuance, but 今には does not convey the contrastive 'as of now' meaning needed here.
• 4「今にも」means 'at any moment; about to (happen),' used for something imminent (e.g., 今にも雨が降りそう). This does not fit at all—the sentence describes a current state, not something about to happen.

• 今いまでは — now; nowadays (contrastive, showing change from the past)
• 種類しゅるい — type; kind; variety
• ～以上にも（～いじょうにも） — over/above ~ (with emphasis on the large quantity)

The correct answer is 2 (も). The particle 「も」is used here for emphasis with a large quantity expression. 「千倍以上もの広さ」= 'an area as large as over 1,000 times (that of Japan).' The pattern 「 (quantity) + も + の + noun」emphasizes the surprising or impressive scale of the quantity. This is a common grammatical construction for highlighting large amounts.

• 1「で」would create 「千倍以上での広さ」, which is grammatically unnatural. で as a particle marks means/location/instrument, but it does not work in this quantity-emphasis construction.
• 3「と」would create 「千倍以上との広さ」, which is grammatically incorrect. と as a quoting/comitative particle does not fit this quantity-emphasis pattern.
• 4「に」would create 「千倍以上にの広さ」, which is grammatically incorrect. The combination にの is not valid Japanese in this context.

• 表面積ひょうめんせき — surface area
• 平方キロメートル（へいほうキロメートル） — square kilometer
• 千倍せんばい — one thousand times
• ～も — (with quantities) as much as; as many as (emphasizes the large amount)