N4 Reading · Test 1

The correct option is 2 (が). The sentence is 「国にいる母がいつも作ってくれたからです」(because my mother, who was in my home country, always made (food) for me). The particle が marks 母 as the subject of the relative clause 「いつも作ってくれた」. The structure is: (reason clause)からです = 'it is because...'. Here the reason the writer didn't cook much before coming to Japan is that their mother always cooked for them.

• 1は is the topic marker. While 母は could appear in a main clause, here 母 is the subject inside a subordinate/reason clause modifying the overall sentence. Using は here would sound unnatural because が is the standard particle for marking the subject within an embedded clause, especially before からです.
• 3に marks a destination, target, or recipient. 「母に作ってくれた」would mean 'made (food) for my mother,' which reverses the meaning — the writer's mother is the one who cooked, not the recipient.
• 4と means 'with' or 'and.' 「母といつも作ってくれた」would mean 'always made (food) together with my mother,' which contradicts the context: the writer did NOT cook; only the mother did.

• 作つくってくれた — made (it) for me (てくれる: someone does a favor for the speaker)
• 国くに — home country

The correct option is 4 (するようになりました). The context is: before coming to Japan the writer rarely cooked, but after coming to Japan they started cooking, and now they make various dishes. The grammar pattern V-るようになる means 'to come to do something / to reach the point of doing something,' indicating a change of state or habit. The past tense なりました matches the narrative context (the change already happened after arriving in Japan). 「料理をするようになりました」= 'I came to cook / started cooking.'

• 1しなくなります is present/future tense and also means 'will come to NOT do something' (negative change), which is the opposite of what the context requires — the writer started cooking, not stopped.
• 2しなくなりました means 'came to NOT do something' (negative change in the past). This contradicts the context: the writer began cooking after coming to Japan, not quit cooking.
• 3するようになります is the correct pattern but in present/future tense (なります). The passage describes something that already happened after coming to Japan, so past tense なりました is needed.

• するようになる — to come to do something; to reach the point of doing something (change of habit/state)
• 最近さいきん — recently

The correct option is 1 (教えてもらいます). The context is: the writer doesn't understand Japanese cooking well, so sometimes they have Japanese friends teach them. The pattern V-て + もらう means 'to have someone do something for me (I receive the favor),' and it takes に to mark the person who performs the favor. 「日本人の友だちに教えてもらいます」= 'I have my Japanese friend(s) teach me.' This fits perfectly because the writer is the one receiving the favor (learning), and 友だちに marks the giver of the favor.

• 2教えてくれます means 'they teach me' using くれる, but くれる requires the giver to be marked with が, not に. The sentence already has 友だちに, which is incompatible with くれる. To use くれる, the sentence would need to be 友だちが教えてくれます.
• 3習って means 'to learn' (not 'to teach'). 習う is what the student does, not the teacher. 「友だちに習ってもらう」is grammatically odd because it would mean 'I have my friend learn for me,' which doesn't make sense. The friend should teach (教える), not learn (習う).
• 4習ってくれます has the same verb problem as option 3 (習う = 'to learn,' not 'to teach'), and also has the に/くれる mismatch problem of option 2.

• 教おしえる — to teach
• 習ならう — to learn (from someone)
• 〜てもらう — to have someone do something for me (I receive the favor); takes に for the doer
• 〜てくれる — someone does a favor for me; takes が for the doer

The correct option is 3 (ですから). The context is: Japanese food tastes completely different from the food in the writer's country. (ですから) Therefore, at first the writer was surprised and thought it wasn't delicious. ですから means 'therefore / so' and connects a cause (the flavors are completely different) to its logical result (being surprised and thinking it wasn't tasty).

• 1でも means 'but / however.' This would indicate a contrast, but the relationship here is cause-and-effect, not contrast. The surprise and dislike are a direct result of the different flavors.
• 2それでは means 'well then / in that case.' It is used to move to a next step or conclusion in a conversation, not to express a logical cause-and-effect relationship between two statements in a narrative.
• 4すると means 'then / thereupon' and is used when one action triggers another in sequence (e.g., 'I opened the door. すると, there was a cat.'). Here, the second sentence is not an event triggered by the first; it is a logical consequence, so ですから is appropriate.

• ですから — therefore; so (indicates cause/reason)
• ぜんぜん — completely; entirely (used with negative: not at all)
• びっくりする — to be surprised

The correct option is 2 (思っています). The pattern V-volitional + と思っています means 'I am thinking of doing ~' and expresses the speaker's current intention or plan. 「作ってあげようと思っています」= 'I am thinking of making (Japanese food) for (my family).' The volitional form 作ってあげよう (let me make it for them) plus と思っています correctly conveys an ongoing intention about a future action (when the writer returns home).

• 1思うようです means 'it seems that (someone) thinks ~' (ようです = 'seems/looks like'). This pattern is used for reporting an observed state or hearsay-like impression, not for expressing the speaker's own intention. It also doesn't pair naturally with a volitional verb for expressing plans.
• 3思ったそうです means 'I heard that (someone) thought ~' (そうです = hearsay). This would mean the writer heard from someone else that they thought something, which makes no sense for expressing one's own intention.
• 4思っていました means 'was thinking ~' (past progressive). This would indicate the writer was thinking this in the past but implies the intention may no longer be current. The context is about a plan the writer currently holds for when they return home, so the present tense 思っています is correct.

• 〜（よ）うと思う（〜（よ）うとおもう） — to be thinking of doing ~; to intend to do ~ (volitional form + と思う)
• 〜てあげる — to do something for someone (giving a favor to another person)
• 帰かえる — to return (home/to one's country)