N3 Reading · Test 32

The email from Ishida proposes giving Nakamura-san a flower bouquet (花束) and a commemorative gift (記念品) as a collective gesture from the department. Ishida asks colleagues to reply if they agree and mentions that payment details will follow later. This clearly indicates a plan for everyone to chip in and give presents together. Option 2, '中村さんにみんなでプレゼントをあげること' (giving a present to Nakamura-san together with everyone), captures this plan accurately.

• 1お別れ会 (a farewell party) is never mentioned in the email. The plan is about giving tangible gifts (flowers and a commemorative item), not organizing a party.
• 3The email does not say each person should individually buy something Nakamura likes. The plan is a collective gift (花束と記念品) from the group, and Ishida is merely asking if anyone knows what Nakamura likes so they can choose a good gift.
• 4The email asks colleagues for advice on what Nakamura likes, not Nakamura himself. There is no mention of asking Nakamura what he wants to receive.

• 差し上げる（さしあげる） — to give (humble form of あげる, used when the giver is of lower status than the recipient)
• 記念品きねんひん — commemorative gift / souvenir
• 賛成さんせい — agreement / approval
• 案あん — plan / proposal / idea

The article describes an advertisement for snacks that are sweet but also have a hint of salt flavor (甘さの中に、塩味も感じられるお菓子). The writer notes they have eaten salty-tasting sweet Japanese sweets (和菓子) before, but did not know Western sweets (洋菓子) also had similar ones. The writer then wants to try buying one. Since the ad is about Western sweets (洋菓子) that are sweet with a subtle salt flavor, option 4, '少し塩の味がする甘い洋菓子' (sweet Western sweets with a slight salty taste), is correct.

• 1塩辛くて甘くない和菓子 (salty and not sweet Japanese sweets) is wrong on two counts: the snacks are sweet (not 甘くない), and the writer already knows about 和菓子 — the new discovery is about 洋菓子.
• 2塩辛くて甘くない洋菓子 (salty and not sweet Western sweets) is wrong because the text explicitly says the snacks are not simply salty (そうではなくて) — they are sweet with a hint of salt.
• 3少し塩の味がする甘い和菓子 (sweet Japanese sweets with a slight salty taste) describes something the writer has already eaten before, not the new product they want to try buying.

• 塩辛しおからい — salty (strongly salty)
• 和菓子わがし — Japanese-style sweets
• 洋菓子ようがし — Western-style sweets / pastries
• 塩味しおあじ — salty taste / salt flavor

The question asks what Morita will do on the morning of August 4th. Looking at the memo: 花束 (flower bouquet) — '当日10点に取りに行く' (pick up at 10am on the day), and 会場で配る物 (items to distribute at the venue) — '当日11点から、会場ロビーで…封筒に入れる' (from 11am, put materials in envelopes in the lobby). Both 10am and 11am are in the morning (午前中), and both are tasks Morita will do herself (the flower pickup has no delegate named, and the envelope task is marked as done with Kimura). Option 4 correctly identifies these two morning tasks.

• 1司会を町村さんに頼む is already done (頼んだ, past tense), not a task for the morning of the 4th. The restaurant reservation must be done by the day before (前日まで), not on the morning of the 4th.
• 2ビデオカメラ will be brought by Yamada-san (山田さんに…持っていってもらう), not by Morita. 先生のお迎え is delegated to Toda-san (戸田さんに頼む), not Morita.
• 3パソコンの確認 must be done by the 1st (1日までに), not on the morning of the 4th. While the 資料準備 part is correct (11am), the first half makes this option wrong.

• 午前中ごぜんちゅう — in the morning (before noon)
• 当日とうじつ — on the day (in question)
• 確認かくにんする — to confirm / to check
• 封筒ふうとう — envelope

The writer jogs along a riverside path and finds it pleasant, but notes one disappointing thing (残念なこと): the path color is inconsistent (バラバラ) because the river passes through one city and two towns, each using different path colors. The writer laments that since a natural river flows continuously in the same way, the surroundings should also have been kept consistent to create one unified scenery. The main point is the disappointment about the path colors differing by municipality. Option 2, '川沿いの歩道の色が市や町によって違っているのは、残念だ' (It is disappointing that the riverside path colors differ depending on the city or town), captures this precisely.

• 1This contradicts the text. The writer explicitly says the changing path colors are 残念なこと (a disappointing thing), not 楽しい (fun/enjoyable).
• 3While the writer does say jogging while looking at scenery is pleasant (気持ちがいい), this is background context, not the main point (言いたいこと). The core message is the disappointment about the inconsistent path colors.
• 4The passage never mentions 人工的な川 (artificial river) or its flow being sad. The river is described as natural (一本の自然の川), and the writer's lament is about the man-made path colors, not the river itself.

• バラバラ（ばらばら） — inconsistent / scattered / not uniform
• 川沿かわぞい — along the river
• 残念ざんねん — disappointing / regrettable
• 景色けしき — scenery / view