N2 Vocabulary · Test 118

きっかけ (契機) means 'opportunity / chance / trigger'. The grammar pattern 〜をきっかけに means 'taking ~ as an opportunity / using ~ as a trigger'. The sentence means 'Taking my hospitalization due to illness as an opportunity, I decided to quit smoking.' This fits perfectly.

• 2はじめ (始め) means 'beginning / start'. をはじめに is not a standard grammar pattern for 'taking X as an opportunity.'
• 3おかげ (お陰) means 'thanks to / because of (a positive cause)'. The correct pattern is おかげで, not をおかげに. Also, quitting smoking after being hospitalized is framed as a trigger, not gratitude.
• 4こころあたり (心当たり) means 'having a clue / a hunch / a vague recollection'. It does not fit the pattern 〜を〜に meaning 'taking X as an opportunity'.

• きっかけ — opportunity, chance, trigger
• 〜をきっかけに — taking ~ as an opportunity
• おかげ — thanks to, because of
• 心当こころあたり — clue, hunch, vague recollection

まごまご (戸惑う様子) means 'being confused / being at a loss / wandering around not knowing what to do'. まごまごしている describes someone who has gotten off at an unfamiliar station and doesn't know which way to go. The sentence means 'While I was wandering around confused at a station I got off at for the first time, a stranger kindly guided me.' This fits perfectly.

• 1ぶつぶつ means 'muttering / grumbling'. ぶつぶつしている describes someone complaining under their breath, not someone who is lost and needs directions.
• 3はきはき means 'clearly and crisply / speaking with energy and clarity'. It describes confident, clear speech—the opposite of being lost and confused.
• 4もともと means 'originally / from the start'. It is not an onomatopoeia describing a state of confusion and does not fit 〜していたら (while I was ~).

• まごまご — being confused, at a loss, wandering around not knowing what to do
• ぶつぶつ — muttering, grumbling
• はきはき — clearly and crisply, speaking with energy
• もともと — originally, from the start

解釈 (かいしゃく) means 'interpretation'. The sentence says 'This law is interpreted differently depending on the scholar' (学者によって解釈がちがっている). Laws are subject to interpretation, and scholars naturally differ in how they interpret them, so 解釈 is the correct choice.

• 1解散 (かいさん) means 'dissolution / breaking up (of an organization, parliament, etc.)'. A law is not 'dissolved' by scholars, so this does not fit.
• 2解決 (かいけつ) means 'resolution / solving (a problem)'. A law is not 'solved' by scholars, and 解決がちがっている is not a natural expression.
• 3解放 (かいほう) means 'liberation / release / setting free'. A law is not 'liberated' by scholars, so this is contextually wrong.

• 解釈かいしゃく — interpretation
• 解散かいさん — dissolution, breaking up
• 解決かいけつ — resolution, solving
• 解放かいほう — liberation, release, setting free

The correct answer is 1. いわば (言わば) means 'so to speak' or 'as it were,' and is used when making a metaphorical comparison. The phrase '心に栄養を与える' (giving nutrition to the mind) is a metaphor, so いわば fits perfectly: 'Reading is, so to speak, giving nutrition to the mind.'

• 2いわゆる (所謂) means 'so-called' and is used to introduce a well-known term or category (e.g., いわゆる「ガリ勉」). It does not introduce a metaphorical rephrasing, so it doesn't fit here.
• 3たとえ (例え) means 'even if' and is typically used with 〜ても (たとえ〜ても). It cannot be used as a parenthetical adverb in this sentence structure.
• 4たいして (大して) means 'not particularly' and is always used with a negative predicate (たいして〜ない). It is completely out of place here.

• いわば — so to speak, as it were (used for metaphorical statements)
• いわゆる — so-called (introduces a well-known term/category)
• たとえ — even if (used with 〜ても)
• たいして — not particularly (used with negative)

The correct answer is 4. いねむり (居眠り) means 'dozing off' or 'nodding off to sleep.' The context is 'I stayed up late last night, so during class I ended up ___.' Dozing off in class is the natural consequence of staying up late, making いねむり the perfect fit.

• 1しゃっくり means 'hiccups.' While you might get hiccups, it is not a natural consequence of staying up late, so it doesn't fit the causal relationship.
• 2めまい (眩暈) means 'dizziness.' Dizziness is not a typical or expected result of staying up late in this context.
• 3はきけ (吐き気) means 'nausea.' Nausea is not a typical consequence of staying up late and doesn't fit the classroom context naturally.

• いねむり — dozing off, nodding off to sleep
• しゃっくり — hiccups
• めまい — dizziness
• はきけ — nausea

不満 (ふまん) means 'dissatisfaction, complaints.' The sentence lists negative things—low salary and uninteresting work—then says 'I have a lot of 不満 (complaints) about this company.' 不満がある ('have complaints/dissatisfaction') is a standard collocation that fits perfectly.

• 1期待 (きたい) means 'expectation, hope.' The context is entirely negative (low pay, boring work), so saying 'I have a lot of expectations' contradicts the sentence's tone.
• 3目標 (もくひょう) means 'goal, objective.' 'I have a lot of goals about this company' does not fit the context of complaining about salary and work.
• 4対策 (たいさく) means 'countermeasure, measure.' 'I have a lot of countermeasures about this company' is not a natural collocation and does not fit the context.

• 不満ふまん — dissatisfaction, complaint
• 期待きたい — expectation, hope
• 目標もくひょう — goal, objective
• 対策たいさく — countermeasure, measure
• 給料きゅうりょう — salary, wages

そこで means 'so, therefore, then' and is used to connect a situation to a deliberate action taken in response. 'My friend who had gone abroad came back. So, I decided to throw a party.' The speaker hears/learns of the friend's return and consciously decides to act—this is exactly the function of そこで.

• 2つまり means 'in other words, that is to say.' It rephrases or summarizes the preceding statement, which does not fit here—the party is a new action, not a restatement.
• 3ただし means 'however, but (with a condition).' It introduces a restriction or exception, which contradicts the logical flow here.
• 4すると means 'then, thereupon' and typically describes what happened next as a natural/automatic consequence rather than a deliberate decision. Since 開くことにした is a conscious choice, そこで is more appropriate than すると.

• そこで — so, therefore (connecting a situation to a deliberate action)
• つまり — in other words, that is to say
• ただし — however, but (with a condition)
• すると — then, thereupon (natural consequence)
• パーティーを開く（パーティーをひらく） — to throw/hold a party

一度 (いちど) means 'once, one time.' The sentence says 'That restaurant has a reputation for being cheap and delicious, so I'd like to try going once.' 一度行ってみたい ('want to try going once') is a very common fixed expression expressing a desire to experience something at least one time.

• 1一方 (いっぽう) means 'one side' or 'on the other hand.' It does not fit before 行ってみたい.
• 2一部 (いちぶ) means 'one part, a portion.' 'A portion going' makes no sense in this context.
• 3一時 (いちじ) means 'one o'clock, a moment, or temporarily.' None of these meanings fit naturally before 行ってみたい.

• 一度いちど — once, one time
• 一方いっぽう — one side; on the other hand
• 一部いちぶ — one part, a portion
• 一時いちじ — one o'clock; temporarily; a moment
• 評判ひょうばん — reputation, rumor

おのおの（各々）means 'each' or 'respectively.' The sentence means 'The students each wrote an essay about a theme they were interested in.' おのおの fits perfectly as it indicates the students acted individually, each choosing their own theme.

• 2われわれ（我々）means 'we/us.' It is a first-person plural pronoun and does not fit grammatically or semantically — the students are being described by a narrator, not speaking as 'we.'
• 3からがた is not a recognized word in standard Japanese. It is a plausible-looking distractor designed to resemble a pronoun-like term, but it has no valid meaning here.
• 4ひとびと（人々）means 'people' in general. It is too broad and does not fit with the specific subject 学生たち (students), nor does it convey the 'each' nuance needed.

• おのおの — each, respectively
• われわれ — we, us
• ひとびと — people (in general)

はやって（流行って）is the te-form of はやる（流行る）, meaning 'to be prevalent/going around.' The sentence means 'The cold that is going around now causes a high fever.' This is the standard expression for a disease/illness that is currently spreading.

• 1かたよって（偏って）means 'being biased/uneven.' Illnesses do not 'be biased,' so this does not collocate with 風邪.
• 2つながって（繋がって）means 'being connected/linked.' While one could imagine a metaphorical connection, 風邪がつながる is not a natural expression for a spreading illness.
• 4やとって（雇って）means 'hiring (someone).' This makes no sense with 風邪 (a cold).

• はやる — to be popular, to be prevalent (of illness/trend)
• かたよる — to be biased, to lean to one side
• つながる — to be connected, to be linked
• やとう — to hire, to employ