N4 Vocabulary · Test 32

Option 4 is correct. きびしい (kibishii) in the context of 時代 (じだい, era/times) means 'harsh, severe, difficult.' 「きびしいじだいはもうすぎました」= 'The harsh times have already passed.' たいへんな (taihenna) means 'difficult, tough, hard,' which is the closest paraphrase among the choices. 「たいへんなじだいでした」= 'It was a tough era.'

• 1じゆうな (jiyuuna) means 'free.' A きびしい (strict/harsh) era is closer to the opposite of a free era, not a paraphrase of it.
• 2しずかな (shizukana) means 'quiet.' きびしい does not mean quiet; these are unrelated concepts.
• 3にぎやかな (nigiyakana) means 'lively/bustling.' This is unrelated to きびしい (harsh/severe).

• きびしい — strict, severe, harsh, difficult
• じだい — era, times, period
• たいへんな — difficult, tough, hard

Option 1 is correct. だめ (dame) means 'no good / not possible / not allowed.' 「あしたはだめです。よていがあります。」means 'Tomorrow won't work. I have plans.' This is the most natural and standard usage of だめ as an adjective meaning 'not possible / inconvenient.'

• 2だめ is not a noun that can be 'fixed' (なおる). You cannot say 「だめがなおる」. This treats だめ as a concrete thing/condition that can be repaired, which is incorrect.
• 3While だめにする (to ruin/waste something) is a valid expression, the phrase 「時間をだめに使ってしまった」is unnatural. だめにする already means 'to waste/ruin,' so combining it with 使う is redundant. The natural expression would be 「時間をむだに使ってしまった」(むだに = wastefully) or 「時間をだめにした」.
• 4だめ does not mean 'short / lacking.' The sentence tries to say 'I was 2000 yen short,' but だめ doesn't carry that meaning. You would need a different expression like たりない (insufficient).

• だめ — no good, not possible, not allowed, useless

Option 2 is correct. おかげさまで (okagesama de) means 'thanks to you' and is used to express gratitude, especially when responding to someone's inquiry about your health or well-being. A「おげんきですか。」(Are you well?) B「ええ、おかげさまで。」(Yes, thanks to you (I'm fine).) This is the textbook-standard usage.

• 1おかげさまで is not used in response to an apology (ごめんなさい). The natural response to an apology would be 「いいえ、かまいません」or similar.
• 3おかげさまで does not fit as a response to 「それはいけませんね」(That's too bad). There is nothing to be thankful for in this context.
• 4おかげさまで is not used as a response to someone thanking you (ありがとうございました). The natural response would be 「いいえ」or 「どういたしまして」. Saying 'thanks to you' when someone thanks you is illogical.

• おかげさまで — thanks to you (used to express gratitude, especially regarding one's well-being)

Option 2 is correct. かたづける (katadzukeru) means 'to tidy up, to put in order, to clean up.' 「毎日へやをかたづけなさい」(Tidy up your room every day) is a perfectly natural sentence. へや (room) is a typical object of かたづける.

• 1You do not かたづける a face (かお). Washing one's face is かおをあらう. かたづける is for organizing/tidying spaces or things, not body parts.
• 3カーテン (curtains) are opened/closed (あける/しめる), not 'tidied up' with かたづける. Curtains are not objects you organize or put away in this sense.
• 4きょうみ (interest) is an abstract concept and cannot be the object of かたづける. This combination is nonsensical.

• かたづける — to tidy up, to put in order, to clean up

むかえる (mukaeru) means 'to go to meet someone; to welcome someone (by going to pick them up).' Option 3 says '友だちむかえにくうこうへいきました' (I went to the airport to meet (pick up) a friend). The pattern むかえにいく (go to meet/pick up) is a standard usage, making this the correct answer.

• 1ひる (day) and よる (night) are time periods. While むかえる can metaphorically mean 'to welcome/approach (a time),' saying 'day welcomed night' (ひるがよるをむかえました) is not a natural Japanese expression and is not the usage tested at this level.
• 2You don't 'むかえる a taxi from the station.' You would call/summon a taxi (タクシーをよぶ) or catch one (タクシーにのる). むかえる is for meeting people, not vehicles.
• 4You don't 'むかえる a PC.' パソコン is an object, not a person to be welcomed or picked up. This is nonsensical.

• むかえる — to go to meet (someone); to welcome; to pick up (a person)
• くうこう — airport
• えき — station
• ひる — day; daytime
• よる — night