N2 Grammar · Test 8

The pattern being tested is V（stem）+ かけた, meaning 'was about to do' or 'had started doing (but didn't finish)'. The stem of あきらめる is あきらめ, so あきらめかけた means 'I was on the verge of giving up.' This fits perfectly: 一時はあきらめかけたが…できた ('At one point I was about to give up, but somehow I managed to submit it today').

• 2あきらめてかけた is ungrammatical; the て-form cannot attach before かける in this pattern.
• 3あきらめるかけた is ungrammatical; you must use the stem (ます-stem), not the dictionary form, before かける.
• 4あきらめたかけた is ungrammatical; the past tense cannot precede かける in this construction.

• あきらめる — to give up, to abandon
• 〜かけた — was about to ~ / had started ~ (but didn't finish); attached to the verb stem
• 一時（いちじ） — at one point, temporarily
• 無事（ぶじ） — safely, without problem

The tested point is the use of の as a substitute for が inside a relative clause modifying a noun. 母の作ったハンバーグ = 'the hamburg steak that my mother made.' In noun-modifying clauses, の can replace が to mark the subject. This is a classic N2 grammar item.

• 2母との作ったハンバーグ is ungrammatical; と ('with') does not mark the subject of a relative clause here.
• 3母によって作ったハンバーグ would mean 'the hamburg steak made by my mother,' but によって is overly formal/stiff for this context and the sentence continues よく作ってもらった ('I often had her make it for me'), which is a personal, informal context. によって also typically pairs with passive voice (作られた), not the active 作った.
• 4母にとって means 'for/to my mother' (perspective marker), which makes no sense: 'the hamburg steak that for my mother made' is ungrammatical.

• 〜の（代わりの が）（〜の） — の replacing が to mark the subject inside a relative/noun-modifying clause
• ハンバーグ — hamburg steak, Salisbury steak
• 〜てもらう — to have someone do something (for me); receiving a favor

において means 'in / at / with regard to' and is used to set the context or domain in which something holds true. 現代社会において、大切なのは… = 'In modern society, what is important is…'. This is a formal written-style expression appropriate for the sentence's register.

• 1に加えて means 'in addition to / besides', which would require a preceding noun phrase that something is added to. 現代社会に加えて would mean 'in addition to modern society', which doesn't fit the meaning 'in modern society'.
• 3を基にして means 'based on ~'. 現代社会を基にして would mean 'based on modern society', which doesn't fit — the sentence is saying 'in modern society, what matters is…', not 'using modern society as a basis'.
• 4を込めて means 'with (emotion/feeling) put into ~', used with things like 愛を込めて ('with love'). It cannot take 現代社会 as its object here.

• 〜において — in, at, with regard to (formal; sets the context/situation)
• 多様（たよう） — diverse, varied
• あふれる — to overflow, to be full of
• 膨大（ぼうだい）な — enormous, massive

そのうち means 'eventually / in time / before long'. たくさん書けばそのうちうまくなるよ = 'If you write a lot, you'll eventually get better.' This fits the friend's encouraging advice perfectly.

• 1必ずしも means 'not necessarily' and is almost always used with a negative predicate (必ずしも〜ない). It cannot fit here since the predicate is the affirmative うまくなる.
• 2たとえ means 'even if' and requires a conditional form (たとえ〜ても). There is no ても clause here, so it is structurally impossible.
• 4さっき means 'a moment ago / just now', referring to the immediate past. It makes no sense with 書けば…うまくなる ('if you write a lot, you'll get better just now?').

• そのうち — eventually, in time, before long
• 必かならずしも — not necessarily (used with negative)
• たとえ — even if (used with 〜ても)
• さっき — a moment ago, just now

以上（after a plain past verb）means 'since / now that ~, (I will naturally ~)'. 自分でこの仕事を選んだ以上 = 'Since I chose this job myself (, I feel I should work hard to continue).' It expresses a sense of responsibility or natural consequence, which matches がんばって続けたいと思う.

• 2とたん（〜たとたん）means 'the moment ~ happened / just as ~', describing an instantaneous event right after the past action. 自分でこの仕事を選んだとたん would mean 'the moment I chose this job', which doesn't fit the ongoing sense of 'since I chose it, I want to keep trying.'
• 3あげくに means 'after doing ~ (for a while), in the end ~', usually implying a negative or troublesome process leading to a final outcome. 自分でこの仕事を選んだあげくに would mean 'after going through the trouble of choosing this job, in the end…', which is semantically off and carries the wrong nuance.
• 4かのように means 'as if ~'. 自分でこの仕事を選んだかのように would mean 'as if I had chosen this job myself', implying the speaker did NOT actually choose it — contradicting the sentence's meaning.

• 〜以上（いじょう） — since / now that ~ (expresses natural consequence or resolve)
• 〜たとたん — the moment ~ happened, just as ~
• 〜あげくに — after a long process of ~, in the end ~ (often negative outcome)
• 〜かのように — as if ~
• 夜勤（やきん） — night shift

The full sentence is: 結婚生活を送るうえで何が大切かといえば、相手への思いやりの気持ちを持つことだと思う。 The order is 1→4→3→2, so ★ = 3 (大切か). The structure is 「〜うえで何が大切かといえば、…」meaning 'If you ask what is important in living a married life, (it is) having a caring attitude toward your partner.' The key pattern is 〜うえで (in doing~/when doing~) + 何が大切か (what is important) + といえば (if you say/ask).

• 1うえで belongs first, right after 結婚生活を送る, forming 結婚生活を送るうえで. It cannot go in the ★ position.
• 2といえば comes last in the blank, after 大切か, forming 大切かといえば ('if you ask what is important'). It cannot go in the ★ position.
• 4何が comes second, right before 大切か, forming 何が大切か ('what is important'). It cannot go in the ★ position.

• うえで — in doing~ / when doing~ (after an action noun or V-る)
• といえば — if you say~ / speaking of~
• 思おもいやり — consideration, compassion, thoughtfulness for others

The full sentence is: 就職したときに買って以来ずっと使っていたかばんがとうとう壊れたので、買い換えることにした。 The order is 2→1→4→3, so ★ = 4 (使っていた). The structure is: 就職したときに買って以来 (since buying when I got a job) + ずっと使っていた (had been using all along) + かばんが (the bag) + とうとう壊れたので (finally broke, so). The key grammar is V-て以来 (since doing~) and ずっと〜ていた (had been ~ing continuously).

• 1ずっと comes second, modifying 使っていた to form ずっと使っていた ('had been using all along'). It cannot go in the ★ position.
• 2買って以来 comes first, right after 就職したときに, forming 就職したときに買って以来 ('since buying when I got a job'). It cannot go in the ★ position.
• 3かばんが comes last in the blank, as the subject of とうとう壊れた. It cannot go in the ★ position.

• 〜て以来（〜ていらい） — ever since~ (since the time one did~)
• とうとう — finally, at last (often for a negative outcome)
• 買い換える（かいかえる） — to buy a replacement, to buy something new to replace an old one

The full sentence is: 登山には不思議な魅力がある。登っているときはこんなに苦しいことは二度としたくないと思うのに、山を下りて何日かすると、なぜかまた登りたくなる。 The order is 3→2→1→4, so ★ = 1 (思うのに). The structure is: こんなに苦しいことは二度としたくないと思うのに ('even though I think I never want to do such a painful thing again'), 山を下りて何日かすると ('after a few days of descending the mountain'), なぜかまた登りたくなる ('for some reason I want to climb again'). The key grammar is 〜のに (even though~) connecting the two contrasting clauses.

• 2二度としたくないと comes second, after 苦しいことは, forming 苦しいことは二度としたくないと ('never want to do such a painful thing again'). It cannot go in the ★ position.
• 3苦しいことは comes first, after こんなに, forming こんなに苦しいことは ('such a painful thing'). It cannot go in the ★ position.
• 4山を下りて何日かすると comes last in the blank, before なぜかまた登りたくなる. It cannot go in the ★ position.

• 〜のに — even though~ (expresses contrast/contrary expectation)
• 二度と〜ない（にどと〜ない） — never again
• 魅力みりょく — charm, fascination, appeal

The full sentence is: 彫刻家川村たけるが作る動物の彫刻作品は、形はシンプルながら、今にも動き出しそうな生命力にあふれている。 The order is 3→4→1→2, so ★ = 2 (そうな). The structure is: シンプルながら ('while simple / although simple'), 今にも動き出しそうな ('looking as if it could start moving at any moment') + 生命力にあふれている ('overflowing with vitality'). The key grammar is 〜ながら (although~) and 〜そうな (looking like~ / appearing about to~), which modifies the noun 生命力.

• 1動き出し comes third, after 今にも, forming 今にも動き出し ('about to start moving at any moment'). It needs そうな after it, so it cannot go in the ★ position.
• 3ながら comes first, right after シンプル, forming シンプルながら ('although simple'). It cannot go in the ★ position.
• 4今にも comes second, before 動き出し, forming 今にも動き出しそうな ('about to start moving at any moment'). It cannot go in the ★ position.

• 〜ながら — although~ / while~ (expresses contrast)
• 今いまにも — at any moment, just about to
• 〜そうな — looking like~ / appearing as if about to~ (modifies a noun)
• 生命力せいめいりょく — vitality, life force

The full sentence is: ビジネスで成功できる人とできない人の違いは、どんなに大変な状況でもあきらめずに最後まで取り組めるかどうかにあると思う。 The order is 4→2→1→3, so ★ = 3 (にある). The structure is: 違いは〜にある ('the difference lies in~'), where the content is どんなに大変な状況でもあきらめずに最後まで取り組めるかどうか ('whether one can tackle things to the end without giving up, no matter how tough the situation'). The key pattern is 〜かどうかにある ('lies in whether or not~').

• 1かどうか comes third, after 取り組める, forming 取り組めるかどうか ('whether one can tackle~'). It cannot go in the ★ position.
• 2取り組める comes second, after 最後まで, forming 最後まで取り組める ('can tackle to the end'). It cannot go in the ★ position.
• 4最後まで comes first, right after あきらめずに, forming あきらめずに最後まで ('without giving up, to the end'). It cannot go in the ★ position.

• 〜かどうか — whether or not~
• 取り組む（とりくむ） — to tackle, to work on, to engage in
• 〜にある — lies in~ / exists in~ (used to state where the essence/difference is)
• あきらめずに — without giving up