N4 Reading · Test 21

The sentence is わたしたちはポチを家の中で（かっています）。The verb 飼う（かう）means 'to keep/raise a pet.' The pattern 〜ています indicates an ongoing state or continuing action — they are currently keeping Pochi inside the house. Since the dog was received a month ago and is still with them, this ongoing-state form is correct.

• 1かうでしょう means 'will probably buy.' This is wrong because (a) they already received the dog a month ago, so buying is not the issue, and (b) でしょう expresses speculation about the future, which does not fit a statement about their current situation.
• 3かっていますか is the question form 'Are you keeping (a pet)?' The sentence is a declarative statement, not a question, so adding か is grammatically incorrect here.
• 4かっていました is the past progressive 'was keeping.' This implies they no longer keep Pochi, but the rest of the essay clearly describes Pochi as still living with them, so past tense is wrong.

• 飼かう — to keep/raise (a pet)
• 〜ています — ongoing state or continuing action

The sentence is 先週は本当にこまりました。ポチが父のけいたいでんわをこわしてしまったからです。'I was really troubled last week. Because Pochi broke father's mobile phone.' The pattern 〜てしまう expresses completion of an action with a sense of regret or that something unfortunate happened. Pochi (marked by が) is the one who broke the phone (marked by を), and こわしてしまった conveys the writer's regret. This connects to からです ('because') perfectly.

• 1こわしたところだ means 'just broke it' using 〜ところだ ('just did'). While grammatically possible on its own, it does not fit naturally before からです in this context, and 〜ところだ emphasizes the immediacy of the action rather than the regret that the passage conveys.
• 2こわされている is the passive progressive 'is being broken.' With ポチが as the subject and けいたいでんわを as the object, a passive form is grammatically unnatural — Pochi is the agent who broke the phone, not someone having it broken.
• 4こわされた is the simple passive 'was broken.' In the pattern ポチが…をこわされた, this becomes a suffering passive meaning 'Pochi had (someone) break father's phone,' which reverses the roles — Pochi is the one who did the breaking, not the victim.

• 壊こわす — to break
• 〜てしまう — to do something completely; often conveys regret or that something unfortunate happened
• 携帯電話けいたいでんわ — mobile phone

The context is: 'I have no siblings, so I was always lonely. However, since keeping Pochi, （さびしくなくなりました）.' さびしくなくなりました means 'I stopped being lonely / became not lonely.' The 〜くなる pattern means 'to become (adjective),' and attaching ない before なる means 'to become not- (adjective).' This contrasts perfectly with the previous sentence about being lonely.

• 1さびしくなります means 'will become lonely.' This is the opposite of what the writer wants to say — getting Pochi should have cured the loneliness, not caused it.
• 3さびしくなるかもしれません means 'might become lonely.' Again this is the opposite meaning, and かもしれません (speculation) does not fit the writer's firsthand experience.
• 4さびしくなくなったそうです means 'I heard (someone) stopped being lonely.' The そうです here is hearsay ('I heard that…'), which is inappropriate because the writer is describing her own experience, not reporting someone else's.

• 寂さびしい — lonely
• 〜くなる — to become [i-adjective]
• 〜なくなる — to become not-[adjective]; to stop being

The sentence is それに、元気がないときは、そばに来てくれます。'In addition, when I'm not energetic, (Pochi) comes to my side.' The previous sentence describes Pochi coming to the door when the writer leaves. それに ('in addition / besides') adds another example of Pochi's companionship — when the writer is feeling down, Pochi comes close. This additive conjunction fits the flow of listing examples of Pochi's closeness.

• 2たとえば means 'for example.' The previous sentence (Pochi coming to the door) is not a general statement that needs an example to illustrate it, so たとえば does not fit the logical relationship.
• 3だから means 'therefore / so,' indicating cause and effect. There is no causal relationship between 'Pochi comes to the door when I leave' and 'when I'm not energetic, she comes to my side' — they are parallel examples, not cause and result.
• 4それなら means 'if so / in that case,' which requires a preceding condition or supposition. The previous sentence is a simple statement of fact, not a condition, so それなら is inappropriate.

• それに — besides, in addition, moreover
• たとえば — for example
• だから — therefore, so
• それなら — if so, in that case
• 元気げんき — energy, health, vigor

The sentence is ポチはわたしたちの大切な家族の一員です。'Pochi is an important member of our family.' は is the topic marker, which is the natural choice for this concluding declarative sentence. The essay has been about Pochi throughout, and this final sentence makes a general statement about Pochi as the topic: 'As for Pochi, (she) is an important member of our family.'

• 1が marks the subject with emphasis (exhaustive listing — 'Pochi (and not others) is…'). While not strictly ungrammatical, が would over-emphasize Pochi as the specific subject, which is unnecessary in this concluding summary statement. は is far more natural for a topic-comment sentence like this.
• 2で marks means, location of action, or a state. None of these fit here — the sentence is an equational statement (A is B), which requires は or が, not で.
• 3と means 'and,' so ポチとわたしたちの… would mean 'Pochi and our important family's member,' which breaks the sentence structure and does not produce the intended meaning 'Pochi is a member of our family.'

• 〜は — topic marker (as for ~)
• 大切たいせつ — important, precious
• 家族かぞく — family
• 一員いちいん — member (of a group)