N3 Reading · Test 18

The sentence is 「びっくりしたのは（　19　）だけではありません」('It wasn't only ( 19 ) that surprised me'). The preceding sentences describe two surprising things: the lid opening automatically and the warm seat. The following sentence then introduces yet another surprise: when standing up, water flushes automatically and the lid closes. The pattern 「～だけではありません」('it is not only ~') requires a word that summarises the already-mentioned surprises. 「それ」('that' / 'those things') is a pronoun that refers back to the previously described surprising events, making option 4 correct.

• 1「水」('water') has not yet been mentioned as something surprising at this point in the text. Water flushing is described in the sentence that follows the blank, so it cannot be what 'only' refers to.
• 2「トイレ」('toilet') is too broad. The narrator was not surprised by the toilet itself but by specific features of it (auto-opening lid, warm seat). Using トイレ would not accurately summarise the specific surprises already mentioned.
• 3「その家」('that house') makes no sense in context. The narrator was surprised by features of the toilet, not by the house.

• だけではありません — it is not only ~; not just ~
• それ — that; those things (refers to something already mentioned)
• びっくりする — to be surprised
• 自動的（じどうてき） — automatic(ally)

The sentence is 「こんなトイレが必要なのだろうかと（　20　）」('I wondered whether such a toilet was really necessary'). The entire passage is a past-tense narrative (びっくりしました、不思議でした), and the very next sentence says 「考えが変わりました」('my thinking changed'), confirming that the wondering happened in the past. Therefore the past-tense 「思いました」('thought / wondered') is the correct choice.

• 1「思っています」is present progressive ('I am thinking'), which does not fit a past-tense narrative describing a specific past event.
• 3「思ったところです」means 'I just thought' and is grammatically unnatural in this embedded quotation context (～と思う). The ところです pattern here does not fit smoothly.
• 4「思います」is present tense ('I think'), which does not match the past-tense narrative setting of the passage.

• その一方（いっぽう）で — on the other hand; at the same time
• 必要（ひつよう） — necessary; needed
• ～だろうか — I wonder if ~ (expresses doubt/curiosity)
• 思（おも）う — to think; to wonder

The sentence is 「温かいと安心して（　21　）」and reports what the grandmother said. The narrator is conveying hearsay — information learned from the grandmother — so the sentence must end with a hearsay expression. 「座れるのだそうです」('I heard that one can sit comfortably') combines the potential form 座れる ('can sit'), the explanatory の, and そうです ('I heard that'), perfectly conveying 'I heard that when it's warm, you can sit with peace of mind.'

• 1「座ってしまうからです」uses ～てしまう which implies regret or unintended completion, inappropriate for describing a positive experience of sitting on a warm seat. Also, ending with からです ('because') does not fit the hearsay context.
• 2「座るからです」('because one sits') uses the plain form rather than the potential form, missing the nuance of 'being able to sit comfortably.' It also ends with からです, which does not fit the hearsay reporting structure.
• 3「座れることだそうです」is grammatically awkward. While そうです can indicate hearsay, attaching it to ことだ ('it is the case that') is unnatural in this context. The explanatory の in option 4 is the natural connector.

• 安心（あんしん）して — with peace of mind; feeling secure
• 座（すわ）れる — can sit (potential form of 座る)
• ～のだそうです — I heard that ~ (hearsay with explanatory の)
• 腰（こし）を曲（ま）げる — to bend one's back

The sentence is 「私は、座るところが冷たくても気にならないし、ふたの開閉も大変ではありません。（　22　）、お年寄りには簡単なことではないでしょう。」The narrator states that for them, a cold seat and opening/closing the lid are not problems. Then the sentence shifts to say that for elderly people, these things are not so easy. This is a clear contrast between the narrator's own experience and that of elderly people, so 「しかし」('however') is the correct conjunction.

• 1「なぜなら」('because') introduces a reason, but the following clause is not a reason for the preceding statement — it is a contrasting point about elderly people.
• 2「ちなみに」('by the way; incidentally') is used to add supplementary related information, not to introduce a contrast. The relationship here is one of opposition, not supplementation.
• 4「また」('also; moreover') adds similar or additional information, but here the point is opposite: what is easy for the narrator is difficult for the elderly. A contrastive conjunction is needed.

• 気（き）にならない — doesn't bother one; one doesn't mind
• 開閉（かいへい） — opening and closing
• しかし — however; but
• お年寄（としよ）り — elderly people

The sentence is 「日本はお年寄りが多いので、こういうトイレ（　23　）作られたのでしょうか。」The verb 作られた is passive past ('were made/created'). In a passive sentence, the subject (the thing that was made) is marked by が. Thus 「こういうトイレが作られた」('such toilets were made') is the correct structure. The sentence means: 'Since Japan has many elderly people, were such toilets created?'

• 2「に」would mark the agent (by whom) in a passive sentence (e.g., 作られたに is ungrammatical here). While に can mark the agent of a passive verb, the sentence is asking whether such toilets were made (as the subject), not who made them. Using に would make the sentence ungrammatical.
• 3「で」can mark means or location ('made by means of / at'), but the intended meaning is that the toilets themselves were made (as the subject of the passive), not that they were made 'by means of' something.
• 4「から」can mark origin or cause, but it does not fit the passive structure こういうトイレ＿＿作られた. The toilets are the subject of the passive verb, requiring が.

• 作（つく）られる — to be made; to be created (passive of 作る)
• ～が — particle marking the subject of a passive sentence
• お年寄（としよ）り — elderly people
• ～のでしょうか — I wonder if ~ (softened question expressing curiosity)