N3 Reading · Test 31

The correct option is 1: 持ってきてくださったのです. The writer is recounting her own direct experience: her teacher brought natto to a party for the students. Since the teacher (a respected person) performed an action that benefited the writer, the respectful/benefactive pattern 〜てくださる is appropriate. 持ってきてくださった is the past tense of 持ってくる + 〜てくださる, and のです provides an explanatory tone ('the teacher brought it (and that is how I first saw natto)'). The sentence continues 'けれど、そのときは…食べられませんでした' ('but at that time I couldn't eat it'), confirming this was the writer's own firsthand experience.

• 2持ってきてくださったそうです uses そうです (hearsay: 'I heard that…'). This is inappropriate because the writer is describing her own direct experience at the party, not something she heard from someone else.
• 3持っていかれたと思います uses the passive 持っていかれた ('was taken') plus 思います ('I think'). This frames the event as a guess or inference, but the writer was actually present and saw the natto herself. Also, 持っていく ('take (away from here)') is the wrong directional verb for bringing something to a party the writer attended.
• 4持っていかれたはずです uses the passive plus はずです ('should be / must be the case'). Like option 3, this expresses a deduction about something the writer directly experienced, which is unnatural. It also uses the wrong directional verb 持っていく.

• 持もってくる — to bring (something toward the speaker/current location)
• 〜てくださる — someone (respected) does something as a favor for the speaker
• 〜そうです — I heard that… (hearsay)
• 〜はずです — it should be the case that… / must be

The correct option is 3: ところが. The previous paragraph ends with a negative experience — the writer could not eat natto because of its strong smell. The next paragraph describes a surprising turn of events: she tried natto spaghetti in Japan and found it had almost no smell and was delicious. ところが ('however / contrary to expectation') is the conjunction that marks this contrast and unexpected development.

• 1そのうえ means 'moreover / in addition' and is used to pile on more information in the same direction. Here the new paragraph contrasts with the previous one, so this does not fit.
• 2たとえば means 'for example.' There is no exemplification relationship here; the paragraph introduces a new, contrasting episode.
• 4ちなみに means 'by the way / incidentally' and is used to add a tangential side note. The paragraph is not a side note but a major turning point in the story.

• ところが — however; contrary to expectation
• そのうえ — moreover; in addition
• たとえば — for example
• ちなみに — by the way; incidentally

The correct option is 2: 頼むようになりました. The sentence describes a habit that developed after the writer discovered natto spaghetti was delicious: she started going to the restaurant 3–4 times a week and ordering it. 〜ようになる expresses a change of state or a new habit that came into being ('came to order / started ordering'). This fits the narrative of a gradual change in behavior.

• 1頼んだほうがいいです means 'you should order' and gives advice/recommendation. The writer is describing her own behavior, not advising someone.
• 3頼もうと思っています means 'I am thinking of trying to order.' This expresses future intention, but the context (週に3、4回行って) shows she already started doing it regularly, not that she merely intends to.
• 4頼まなければなりません means 'must order' and expresses obligation. There is no sense of obligation in the context; she orders it because she likes it.

• 頼たのむ — to order (food at a restaurant); to request
• 〜ようになる — to come to do ~; to reach the state where one does ~ (change of habit/state)
• 〜たほうがいい — had better do ~; it is advisable to do ~
• 〜なければならない — must do ~; have to do ~

The correct option is 4: そういうスパゲティ. The preceding sentences describe 'スパゲティ with flavors not found in Italy, such as plum-flavored and soy-sauce-flavored ones.' そういう ('that kind of') refers anaphorically to those unusual spaghetti varieties just mentioned. The sentence then says 'I tried eating that kind too,' which flows naturally into the next sentence: 'But after all, natto spaghetti was the most delicious.'

• 1スパゲティ is too generic. The writer is specifically referring to the unusual-flavored spaghetti just described (plum, soy sauce), not spaghetti in general.
• 2その店のスパゲティ ('that restaurant's spaghetti') shifts the focus to the restaurant. The preceding sentences are about types of spaghetti with flavors not found in Italy, not about the restaurant's entire menu.
• 3納豆スパゲティ is what the writer already knows and loves. The context is about trying OTHER types of spaghetti (plum, soy sauce), so inserting 納豆スパゲティ here would make the following 'でも、やはり納豆スパゲティがいちばんおいしかった' ('but after all natto spaghetti was the best') redundant and illogical.

• そういう — that kind of; such (refers back to something just mentioned)
• 梅うめ — Japanese plum (used as a flavoring)
• しょうゆ味（しょうゆあじ） — soy-sauce flavor

The correct option is 4: 作ってあげたいです. The writer says 'When I return to my country, I want to make natto spaghetti for my friends and family.' 〜てあげる means 'to do something for someone (as a favor),' and 〜たい expresses the writer's desire. 作ってあげたいです thus means 'I want to make it for them.' The following sentence 'みんなきっとびっくりするでしょう' ('everyone will surely be surprised') supports this: she plans to cook it for them herself.

• 1作ってもらえました means 'I was able to have someone make it (for me).' This is past tense and reverses the direction — it means the writer receives the favor, not gives it. She wants to cook for her family, not have them cook for her.
• 2作らせてやりました means 'I let/made them make it.' This is causative 〜させてやる (letting someone do something, with a condescending nuance) in the past tense. It does not fit the context of the writer wanting to cook for her family.
• 3作らせてくれます means 'someone will let me make it.' This is causative-receptive (someone permits the speaker to do something). The writer does not need permission from her family to cook for them; she simply wants to do it for them.

• 〜てあげる — to do something for someone (as a favor from the speaker)
• 〜てもらう — to have someone do something for the speaker
• 〜（さ）せてやる — to let someone do something (causative, giving permission/favor)
• 〜（さ）せてくれる — someone lets the speaker do something