N3 Reading · Test 49

The correct option is 1: 出してしまったのです. The sentence reads 「それで、ごみを分けずに出してしまったのです」('So, I ended up throwing out the trash without separating it'). The それで at the beginning marks a result/consequence: because she didn't understand the rules, the result was that she threw out unseparated trash. The pattern ～てしまったのです explains what actually happened, with a nuance of regret (しまった) and explanation (のです). This fits perfectly as a statement of fact leading into the next paragraph.

• 2出してしまったからです means 'because I ended up throwing it out.' This would make the sentence give a reason, but the sentence already starts with それで (so/therefore), which marks a result, not a reason. Using からです here would create a circular/unnatural structure.
• 3出してしまったかもしれません means 'I might have thrown it out.' This expresses uncertainty, but the writer clearly knows she did throw out the trash (the next paragraph describes the morning she did it). There is no room for speculation here.
• 4出してしまったからかもしれません means 'it might be because I threw it out.' This is doubly speculative and gives a reason, but the context calls for a straightforward statement of what happened, not a guess about causation.

• 分わけずに — without separating/dividing (from 分ける + ずに)
• 出だしてしまった — ended up throwing out/putting out (てしまう = completion + regret)
• それで — so, therefore, as a result

The correct option is 4: ところが. The sentence reads 「ごみを出しました。ところが、夕方帰宅すると、私のごみは回収されずに残っていました」('I put out the trash. However, when I came home in the evening, my trash had not been collected and was left behind'). ところが means 'however/contrary to expectation' and introduces a result that goes against what was naturally expected. She put out the trash expecting it to be collected, but contrary to that expectation, it was left behind. This contrast is exactly what ところが signals.

• 1また means 'again' or 'also.' There is no repetition or addition here; the sentence needs a contrastive connector, not an additive one.
• 2たとえば means 'for example.' The second sentence is not an example of the first; it is an unexpected outcome, so this does not fit.
• 3それに means 'besides/in addition/furthermore.' This adds information in the same direction, but the relationship here is contrastive (expected collection vs. actual non-collection), so it is wrong.

• ところが — however, contrary to expectation
• 回収かいしゅうされずに — without being collected (回収する + passive + ずに)
• 残のこっていました — was left behind/remained (残る)
• 帰宅きたくする — to return home

The correct option is 1: も. The sentence reads 「ごみの中には、もう一度資源として使える物もたくさんあります」('Among the trash, there are also many things that can be used as resources again'). The particle も (also/too) is natural here because the writer is adding a point: not only must trash be separated, but also (も) among the trash there are many reusable items. The も links this new information as an additional, relevant fact supporting the importance of separating trash.

• 2と (and) would require a parallel noun phrase before it (e.g., AとB). Here 使える物とたくさんあります is ungrammatical; と cannot connect 使える物 to たくさんあります in this way.
• 3だけ (only) would mean 'only the things that can be used as resources are numerous,' which is both unnatural and contradicts the inclusive message. The writer wants to say there are also many such items, not only them.
• 4より (than) is used for comparisons (AよりB). There is no comparison being made here, so より does not fit grammatically or semantically.

• 資源しげん — resources
• もう一度（もういちど） — once again, one more time
• 使つかえる — can be used, usable (potential form of 使う)

The correct option is 2: 分けるようにしています. The sentence reads 「それ以降は、きちんとごみを分けるようにしています」('Since then, I make sure to properly separate the trash'). ～ようにしています means 'I make it a habit to / I try to / I make sure to' do something, expressing an ongoing conscious effort or habit. This fits perfectly: after learning the rules, she has been consistently separating trash as a habit, which is reinforced by the next sentence (最近は…考えたりもします = 'Recently I also think about…').

• 1分けられることになります means 'it will be decided/arranged that I can separate.' This is too impersonal and sounds like a system decision rather than a personal habit. The writer is describing her own ongoing effort, not a rule being imposed.
• 3分けようと思っていました means 'I was thinking of separating.' This is past tense (思っていました) and expresses only intention, not actual ongoing action. The context (それ以降 + 最近) requires a current habitual action, not a past intention.
• 4分けられるだろうと思います means 'I think I would probably be able to separate.' This is speculative and about ability, not about actually doing it as a habit. It doesn't match the confident, factual tone of the passage.

• それ以降（それいこう） — since then, after that
• きちんと — properly, neatly, correctly
• ～ようにしています — to make a habit of doing ~, to try to do ~ consistently

The correct option is 3: 気がします. The sentence reads 「環境問題が少し身近になったような気がします」('I feel like environmental problems have become a bit closer/more personal to me'). 気がします means 'I feel (that) / I have the impression (that)' and expresses the speaker's current subjective feeling. This is the first-person writer's own impression, stated in the present tense, which perfectly matches the essay's concluding reflective tone.

• 1気がするそうです means 'I hear that (someone) feels…' (そうです = hearsay). This would report someone else's feeling, but the writer is describing her own feeling, so hearsay is inappropriate.
• 2気がしたのでしょうか means 'Did (someone) feel…?' This is a past-tense question, often used to guess about someone else's feelings. The writer is stating her own present feeling, not asking a question about the past.
• 4気がしたようです means 'It seems (someone) felt…' This describes a past feeling from an observer's perspective (ようです = conjecture based on observation). The writer should express her own current feeling directly, not describe a past feeling as if observing someone else.

• 気きがします — I feel that~, I have the impression that~ (気 + が + する)
• 身近みぢか — close to oneself, familiar, personal
• 深ふかく — deeply (from 深い)