N2 Vocabulary · Test 30

「やや」(yaya) means 'somewhat' or 'a little,' indicating a small degree of change. 「少し」(sukoshi) also means 'a little' and is the closest in meaning. The sentence says 'I think it will become a little cooler tomorrow than today.'

• 1「絶対」(zettai) means 'absolutely/definitely.' This expresses certainty, not degree, so it does not match 「やや」.
• 2「もっと」(motto) means 'more.' While it relates to comparison, it implies a larger degree of change than the modest 「やや」.
• 3「たぶん」(tabun) means 'maybe/perhaps.' This expresses uncertainty/probability, not degree, so it does not match.

• やや — somewhat; a little; slightly
• 少すこし — a little; slightly; a small amount
• 絶対ぜったい — absolutely; definitely
• もっと — more
• たぶん — maybe; perhaps

「テンポ」(tenpo) refers to the tempo or pace/speed of music. 「速さ」(hayasa) means 'speed,' which is the closest paraphrase. The sentence says 'I think songs with about this tempo are easy to sing.'

• 2「長さ」(nagasa) means 'length (in time or physical size).' Tempo is about speed, not duration.
• 3「高さ」(takasa) means 'height' or 'pitch.' This relates to tone, not tempo.
• 4「明るさ」(akarusa) means 'brightness' or 'cheerfulness.' This describes mood, not tempo.

• テンポ（てんぽ） — tempo; pace (of music)
• 速はやさ — speed; fastness
• 長ながさ — length
• 高たかさ — height; pitch
• 明あかるさ — brightness; cheerfulness

「妙な」(myō na) means 'strange; odd; peculiar.' 「変な」(hen na) also means 'strange; weird,' making it the closest paraphrase. The sentence says 'Yesterday I heard a strange story.'

• 1「うれしい」(ureshii) means 'happy/glad.' This is a positive emotion, unrelated to 'strange.'
• 3「なつかしい」(natsukashii) means 'nostalgic.' This is a sentimental feeling, not 'strange.'
• 4「嫌な」(iya na) means 'unpleasant/disagreeable.' While a strange story might be unpleasant, the core meaning of 「妙な」 is 'strange,' not 'disagreeable.'

• 妙みょうな — strange; odd; peculiar
• 変へんな — strange; weird; odd
• うれしい — happy; glad
• なつかしい — nostalgic; longing
• 嫌いやな — unpleasant; disagreeable

「ささやく」(sasayaku) means 'to whisper,' i.e., to speak in a low, soft voice. 「小声で」(kogoe de) means 'in a small/low voice,' which is the closest paraphrase. The sentence says 'Takahashi spoke as if whispering.'

• 1「急いで」(isoide) means 'hurriedly/in a rush.' This is about speed, not voice volume.
• 2「ゆっくり」(yukkuri) means 'slowly.' This is about pace, not volume.
• 3「大声で」(ōgoe de) means 'in a loud voice.' This is the opposite of whispering.

• ささやく — to whisper; to murmur
• 小声こごえで — in a low/soft voice
• 急いそいで — hurriedly; in a rush
• ゆっくり — slowly; leisurely
• 大声おおごえで — in a loud voice

「かつて」(katsute) means 'formerly; once; in the past.' 「以前」(izen) also means 'before; previously; formerly,' making it the closest paraphrase. The sentence says 'Mr. Suzuki once lived in France.'

• 1「確か」(tashika) means 'certain/sure' or 'if I remember correctly.' This expresses certainty or recollection, not a time reference.
• 2「主に」(oshu ni / omo ni) means 'mainly; primarily.' This expresses emphasis/frequency, not past time.
• 4「しばらく」(shibaraku) means 'for a while; temporarily.' This refers to a duration, not the fact of having lived there in the past.

• かつて — formerly; once; in the past
• 以前いぜん — before; previously; formerly
• 確たしか — certain; if I remember correctly
• 主おもに — mainly; primarily
• しばらく — for a while; temporarily

作成 (さくせい) means 'to create/prepare (documents, materials, data, etc.)'. It is used for producing written or digital content. Option 2, '会議の資料を作成しておいてください' (Please prepare the meeting materials by this week), is the correct usage — 資料 (materials/documents) is a typical object of 作成.

• 1話す機会 (opportunities to speak) are not 'created' with 作成. You would use 作る or 増やす here. 作成 is for documents/data, not abstract opportunities.
• 3果物 (fruit) is grown/produced, not 'created' with 作成. You would use 生産される or 育てられる.
• 4会社 (a company) is established with 設立 (せつりつ) or 作る, not 作成. 作成 is specifically for documents and materials, not organizations.

• 作成さくせい — to create/prepare (documents, materials, plans, data, etc.)

いったん (一旦) means 'once; temporarily; for the time being'. It often describes doing something once and then doing something else, or returning somewhere temporarily before going out again. Option 3, '会社にいったん戻ったが、すぐにまた出かけた' (He returned to the office once/temporarily, but immediately went out again), perfectly captures this 'temporarily returning' nuance.

• 1'いったんも行ったことがない' is wrong. The correct expression is 一度も (いちども) + negative = 'not even once'. いったんも is not used this way.
• 2'いったんしか会っていない' should be 一度しか (いちどしか) + negative = 'only once'. いったんしか is not standard.
• 4'一週間にいったん' (once a week) should be 一週間に一度 (いちど). いったん does not express frequency like 'once per period'.

• いったん — once; temporarily; for the time being (doing something once, then doing something else)

思いつく (おもいつく) means 'to come up with (an idea); to hit upon'. It is used when a new idea or plan suddenly enters your mind. Option 2, '散歩している時に思いついた' (I came up with this idea while walking), is the correct usage — アイデア (idea) is the classic object of 思いつく.

• 1Imagining your future successful self is 想像する (そうぞうする) or 思い描く (おもいえがく), not 思いつく. 思いつく is for new ideas, not visualizing a scenario.
• 3Thinking 'this person could become a close friend' is simply 思った (おもった) or 感じた (かんじた). 思いつく is not used for impressions or feelings about people.
• 4Recalling student days is 思い出す (おもいだす) or 懐かしむ (なつかしむ), not 思いつく. 思いつく is for generating new ideas, not retrieving memories.

• 思おもいつく — to come up with (an idea); to think of (something new)

中断 (ちゅうだん) means 'to suspend/interrupt (an ongoing activity)'. It implies something was in progress and was temporarily stopped, often with the possibility of resumption. Option 4, '雨が強くなって試合が中断されているが、再開は難しいだろう' (The match has been suspended due to heavy rain, but resumption is probably difficult), is correct — a match (試合) in progress can be 中断される, and 再開 (resumption) is the natural counterpart.

• 1An event that is cancelled because of insufficient participants should be 中止 (ちゅうし, cancellation), not 中断. 中断 implies something already started was paused; here the event hasn't started yet.
• 2中断 cannot describe trees. The sentence seems to intend 中断 as 'broken/snapped,' but that would be 折れた (おれた) or 千切れた (ちぎれた). 中断 is only for activities/events.
• 3Quitting a company to change jobs is 退職する (たいしょくする) or 辞める (やめる), not 中断する. 中断 is for pausing an ongoing activity, not leaving a job.

• 中断ちゅうだん — suspension, interruption (of an ongoing activity, often temporary)

たくましい (逞しい) means 'robust, strong, resilient' and is often used to describe a person who is physically/mentally tough and endures hardship. Option 1, 'どんな苦労にも負けずに、たくましく生きてきた' (They have lived strongly/toughly, never defeated by any hardship), is the correct usage — たくましく describes enduring life's difficulties with strength.

• 2A string/rope (ひも) being thick and strong would be 太い (ふとい) or 丈夫な (じょうぶな). たくましい is not used for inanimate objects like string.
• 3Experience (経験) being rich/extensive is 豊富 (ほうふ) or 深い (ふかい). たくましい does not describe the depth or amount of experience.
• 4This option appears to describe sunlight becoming strong (日差しが強くなった), but たくましい is not used for sunlight — you would say 強くなった (つよくなった) or きつくなった. Note: 'ざしが' appears to be a transcription issue for '日差しが (ひざしが)', but this does not affect the answer since the usage of たくましい is wrong regardless.

• たくましい — robust, strong, resilient (used for people who are physically/mentally tough)