N3 Reading · Test 69

The sentence immediately before the underlined phrase explains why it is ぴったりの仕事 ('a perfect job') for this town: 葉はいくらでもあるし、軽くて簡単に集められる ('leaves are available in any amount, and they are light and easy to collect'). Combined with the fact that the town has many elderly people (お年寄りが多い), the job suits the town because the work material is abundant and the task is physically easy—ideal for elderly residents. Option 3, この町には、葉はいくらでもあり、お年寄りにも楽に集められるから ('because in this town leaves are available in any amount and can be easily collected even by elderly people'), captures this reasoning.

• 1この町には、料理に美しい葉を飾って出す日本料理店が多かったから ('because this town had many Japanese restaurants that decorate dishes with beautiful leaves') is wrong. The restaurants that USE the leaves are in the city (都会の店), not in this rural town. The town SUPPLIES the leaves.
• 2この町には、都会に葉を売りたいと考えているお年寄りが大勢いたから ('because this town had many elderly people who wanted to sell leaves to the city') is not stated. The idea came from a town office official (役所の人), not from the elderly residents themselves. The elderly people participate, but they did not originate the idea.
• 4この町には、森林が多く、昔から美しい葉を集めて売っていたから ('because this town has much forest and has been collecting and selling beautiful leaves since old times') is incorrect. While the town does have much forest (85%), the text says the idea to sell leaves as a product was newly thought up by the town official—this was not something done 昔から (since old times).

• ぴったり — perfectly fitting, just right
• 森林しんりん — forest
• お年寄り（おとしより） — elderly people
• いくらでも — as much as one wants, any amount

The passage explains that after starting this work, elderly people began using their heads and bodies (皆、頭や体を使うようになり), and jokes '忙しくて病気になる暇がない' ('so busy there's no time to get sick'). The writer then adds この仕事のおかげで、元気で過ごせるお年寄りも多いのだろう ('thanks to this work, many elderly people can probably stay healthy'). The writer's interpretation is that the active use of mind and body through work is what reduced hospital visits. Option 2, お年寄りが頭と体を使って、どんどん仕事をするようになったこと ('elderly people came to use their heads and bodies and do more and more work'), matches this reasoning.

• 1お年寄りがパソコンで調べて、自分で病気を治すようになったこと ('elderly people looked things up on the computer and started curing their own illnesses') is not supported. The computers are used to select orders, not for medical purposes.
• 3仕事が忙しくなって、お年寄りが病院に通う時間がなくなったこと ('work got busy and elderly people no longer had time to go to the hospital') takes the joke '忙しくて病気になる暇がない' too literally. The writer's actual interpretation, stated right after, is that the work keeps them healthy (元気で過ごせる), not merely that they lack time for doctor visits.
• 4収入が増えて、お年寄りが健康のためにお金をかけるようになったこと ('income increased and elderly people started spending money on their health') is not mentioned anywhere in the passage.

• 病院に通う（びょういんにかよう） — to go to the hospital regularly
• 減へる — to decrease
• 頭や体を使う（あたまやからだをつかう） — to use one's mind and body
• おかげで — thanks to (something)

The passage describes a rural town where a town-office official (役所の人) came up with the idea of selling the town's forest leaves as a product, and elderly residents cooperated by collecting the leaves. This new business was a great success. Option 2, 町の資源を利用した新しい仕事を考えだして、お年寄りと協力して成功した町 ('a town that thought up a new job utilizing the town's resources and succeeded by cooperating with elderly people'), accurately summarizes this: the town (via its official) devised a new business using local resources (forest leaves), and the elderly people participated, leading to success.

• 1お年寄りのアイデアで、町の資源を利用した新製品を作って成功した町 ('a town that succeeded by creating a new product using the town's resources based on the elderly people's idea') is wrong because the idea did not come from the elderly people—it came from a town office official (役所の人). Also, they are selling leaves (a natural resource), not really 'making a new product.'
• 3森林以外の少ない土地を利用して、お年寄りが新しい産業を始めた町 ('a town where elderly people started a new industry using the small amount of land other than forest') is incorrect. The business specifically USES the forest (85% of the town), not the non-forest land, and it was not the elderly who started it.
• 4町を有名にするために、お年寄りが自分たちで映画を作り始めた町 ('a town where elderly people started making movies themselves to make the town famous') is wrong. The passage says the town's story became famous and even became a movie (映画にもなっている), but this was a result, not a purpose, and the elderly people did not make the film themselves.

• 資源しげん — resources
• 協力きょうりょく — cooperation
• 役所やくしょ — government office, town hall
• 次第しだいに — gradually, little by little