N3 Reading · Test 24

The sentence presents two alternative possibilities: 'Are my seniors and friends wrong? (19), is what I learned wrong?' それとも (soretomo) is a conjunction used to connect two alternative questions, meaning 'or' in the sense of offering a choice between two options. It perfectly links the two parallel questions ending in でしょうか.

• 1ところで (tokorode) means 'by the way' and is used to change the topic entirely. It does not connect two alternative questions.
• 2ところが (tokoroga) means 'however' and expresses a contrary expectation. The two clauses here are not in contrast; they are alternatives.
• 3それなら (sorenara) means 'in that case / if so.' It would imply the second sentence follows logically from the first, but here the two are parallel alternatives, not conditional.

• それとも — or (connecting two alternative questions)
• ところで — by the way (topic change)
• ところが — however, but (contrary expectation)
• それなら — in that case, if so

The sentence means 'One afternoon at school, I was greeted with おはよう by my senior.' The writer is the recipient of the action — the senior said おはよう to them. This requires the passive form 言われました (iwaremashita), 'was said to (me).' The particle に marks the agent (先輩) who performed the action of speaking.

• 1言いました (iimashita) is the active form 'I said.' This would mean the writer said おはよう to the senior, but the context shows the writer was surprised to hear the senior use it — the senior is the one who spoke.
• 2言わせました (iwasemashita) is the causative form 'I made (someone) say.' The writer did not force the senior to say anything.
• 4言えました (iemashita) is the potential form 'was able to say.' This would mean the writer was able to say おはよう, which doesn't fit the context of receiving the greeting.

• 言いわれる — to be told, to be said to (passive of 言う)
• 言いう — to say
• 言いわせる — to make someone say (causative)
• 言いえる — to be able to say (potential)

The sentence means 'I noticed that there were friends around me who also said おはよう even at noon or night.' The pattern 気がつく (ki ga tsuku) means 'to notice / to realize.' Here, 気がついたのです means 'I came to notice / I realized,' with のです adding an explanatory tone. The に before 気が marks what was noticed.

• 2ついたからです (tsuita kara desu) means 'because I noticed.' The から would indicate a reason/cause, but the sentence is simply stating what the writer realized, not giving a reason for something.
• 3ついたせいです (tsuita sei desu) means 'it was the fault of noticing / because of noticing (with negative connotation).' せい attributes blame or a negative outcome, which is inappropriate here — noticing something is not a negative event.
• 4ついたおかげです (tsuita okage desu) means 'thanks to noticing.' おかげ expresses gratitude for a positive result caused by something, but the sentence is simply reporting a realization, not expressing gratitude.

• 気きがつく — to notice, to realize
• 〜のです — explanatory ending; it is that...
• 〜せい — because of (negative cause/blame)
• 〜おかげ — thanks to (positive cause)

The sentence means 'Indeed, that senior also worked at a convenience store.' その (sono) refers back to the senior already mentioned earlier in the passage — the one who said おはよう in the afternoon. その先輩 = 'that senior (the one I just talked about).' This connects the general explanation about convenience store workers to the specific senior mentioned earlier.

• 1以下の (ika no) means 'the following' and is used to introduce something that appears below in the text. There is no list or further description of the senior coming below.
• 3留学した (ryūgaku shita) means 'studied abroad.' 留学した先輩 would mean 'the senior who studied abroad,' but the senior is Japanese, not a study-abroad student.
• 4驚いた (odoroita) means 'was surprised.' 驚いた先輩 would mean 'the senior who was surprised,' but it was the writer who was surprised, not the senior.

• その — that (referring to something previously mentioned)
• 以下いかの — the following (below)
• 留学りゅうがくした — studied abroad
• 驚おどろいた — was surprised

The sentence means 'And I learned (came to know) that there are uses different from what I learned in the classroom.' 知りました (shirimashita) is the past tense of 知る (to know / to learn / to become aware of), indicating a newly acquired understanding. This fits perfectly: the writer newly discovered something they did not know before.

• 1知ったのでしょう (shitta no deshō) means 'probably came to know.' のでしょう expresses conjecture/supposition, but the writer is stating a fact about their own experience, not guessing.
• 2知るはずです (shiru hazu desu) means 'should know / is expected to know.' はず expresses expectation, but the writer is reporting what they actually learned, not what they should know.
• 3知っていました (shitte imashita) means 'already knew (had known).' This implies prior knowledge, but the writer just discovered this — it was new information, so the ongoing-state past form is inappropriate.

• 知しる — to know, to learn, to become aware of
• 〜のでしょう — probably... (conjecture)
• 〜はずです — should be, is expected to
• 知しっていた — had already known (past ongoing state)