N3 Reading · Test 1

The sentence says most people would laugh and say vending machines can't talk. The blank needs a conjunction showing contrast (however/but) followed by a statement affirming that talking vending machines really exist. Option 1 fits perfectly: ところが (however) + あるのです (they do exist). The structure あるのです uses the explanatory のです to assert a fact that contradicts the previous expectation.

• 2なぜなら means 'because/since' and gives a reason, but here we need contrast, not a reason. Also, あるからです ('because they exist') would require a preceding question or statement needing explanation, which doesn't fit here.
• 3でも ('but') could work as a contrast conjunction, but あるでしょうか ('do they exist?') turns it into a question. The passage is affirming that talking vending machines exist, not asking whether they do.
• 4たとえば means 'for example,' which doesn't fit the contrast needed here. あるとしましょう means 'let's suppose they exist,' which is hypothetical—wrong for a passage about something the author has actually experienced.

• ところが — however; but (expressing unexpected contrast)
• なぜなら — because; since (introduces a reason)
• たとえば — for example

The sentence says the machine looks like an ordinary drink vending machine, but (this) vending machine can talk. この ('this') correctly refers back to the specific vending machine introduced in the previous sentence ('わたしの家の近所には一台の自動販売機があります'). The contrast is between its ordinary appearance and its special ability.

• 1ある ('a certain/some') would mean 'a certain vending machine can talk,' which is grammatically possible but contextually wrong—the author is referring to the specific machine just introduced, not introducing a new general one.
• 2一台 ('one unit') is redundant since the previous sentence already specified 一台の自動販売機, and saying 一台自動販売機は lacks the particle の and sounds unnatural.
• 4ふつうの ('ordinary') contradicts the meaning—the sentence says it looks ordinary BUT can talk, so filling ふつうの would make it 'an ordinary vending machine can talk,' which is self-contradictory.

• この — this (referring to something near the speaker or just mentioned)
• ふつう — ordinary; normal

The sentence describes seeing the vending machine say 'お疲れさまでした' to people who bought drinks at night. 言っている ('is saying') in the pattern 言っているのを見た ('saw (it) saying') correctly describes the author witnessing the machine actively speaking those words. The subject of 言っている is the vending machine.

• 2言って帰る means 'say and then go home/return.' The vending machine does not go anywhere, so this is nonsensical in context.
• 3言われている is passive ('is being said'), which would mean someone/something is saying it TO the vending machine. But the vending machine is the one speaking to the customer, so passive is wrong here.
• 4言われて帰る combines passive with 'go home,' which is both grammatically wrong (the machine isn't being spoken to) and contextually wrong (the machine doesn't go home).

• 言いっている — is saying (te-form + iru for ongoing/completed action)
• 言いわれている — is being said (passive)
• お疲れさまでした（おつかれさまでした） — Thank you for your hard work (greeting used in workplaces/evenings)

The preceding sentence says in anime, machines talk and walk like humans. The following sentence says being spoken to by a vending machine felt like being in an anime world. ですから ('therefore/so') correctly connects these: BECAUSE machines in anime behave like humans, the author felt the real talking vending machine was like an anime world. This is a causal relationship.

• 1一方 ('on the other hand') expresses contrast between two parallel situations. Here there is no contrast—the anime reference explains why the author felt a certain way, so a contrast conjunction is wrong.
• 3それなのに ('despite that/even so') expresses that something happened contrary to expectation. But the anime comparison supports (not contradicts) the feeling of being in an anime world, so this is wrong.
• 4そのうえ ('moreover/in addition') adds more information on top of the previous statement. The relationship here is causal (because → therefore), not additive, so this doesn't fit.

• ですから — therefore; so (gives a conclusion based on the previous statement)
• 一方いっぽう — on the other hand (shows contrast between two things)
• それなのに — despite that; even so (contrary to expectation)
• そのうえ — moreover; in addition

The sentence says 'Even if someday a walking vending machine is made, I might not (be surprised) anymore.' The author has gotten used to the talking vending machine, so even a walking one wouldn't surprise them. おどろかない ('not be surprised') fits perfectly with the context of having become accustomed to surprising machines.

• 1信じない ('not believe') doesn't fit—the author already believes in talking vending machines (they've experienced one), so the issue isn't belief but surprise.
• 2言い返さない ('not reply back') doesn't fit the context. The sentence is about the author's emotional reaction to a hypothetical walking vending machine, not about whether they would reply to it.
• 3しゃべらない ('not talk') doesn't fit—the subject who might do the action is the author (私), and the author talking or not talking is irrelevant to the point about being used to surprising machines.

• おどろく — to be surprised; to be astonished
• 信しんじる — to believe
• 言い返す（いいかえす） — to reply; to talk back
• 慣なれる — to get used to; to become accustomed to