【ウェブで】令和元年(２０１９)センター試験問題５解答解説【学ぼう】

【第５問】
次の文章を読み、下の問い(問１～５)の[マーク４１]～[マーク４５]に入れるのに最も適当なものを、それぞれ下の①～④のうちから一つずつ選べ。(配点 30)　(現記事　スマホ版センター試験)



"Christine, come and help me in the garden. I want to plant all of the seeds today.” My father was calling to me. “I'm busy,” I said. My father was loves his garden, but at that time I didn't understand why working in the dirt excited him so much. 

By the end of April, his plants had come up in neat rows, and he put wooden stakes marked with the name of the vegetable on each row. Unfortunately, in early May, my father was seriously injured in an accident. He was in the hospital for about two months and during that time he often asked me about his garden. Even after he came home, he had to stay in bed for a while. My mother had several business trips so she couldn't take care of the garden. I didn't want my father to worry, so without being asked, I said that I would take care of his garden until he recovered. I assumed that the little plants would continue to grow as long as they had water, and luckily it rained fairly often so I didn't think much about the garden. 

One Saturday morning in July, my father said to me, "Christine, I think that the vegetables should be about ready to be picked. Let's have a salad today!" I took a bowl and went out to the garden. I looked at the leaf lettuce and was upset to see that many of the leaves had been half eaten. There were hundreds of bugs all over them! I tried to get them off, but there were just too many. I looked at the carrots next, but they didn't look healthy. I pulled up a carrot, but it was tiny and looked like something had taken small bites from it. 

I panicked for a moment, but then thought of a good idea. I got my wallet, quietly went out the door, and rode my bicycle to the nearest store to buy some vegetables. I went back home and cut them up to make a salad for my father. 

When I gave it to him, he said, “Oh, Christine, what a beautiful salad! I can't believe the carrots are this big already. The lettuce is so crisp and delicious. You must be taking very good care of my garden.” My father looked happy, but I felt a little bit guilty. 

I went back to the kitchen and was cleaning up when my mother came home from her most recent business trip. She saw the bag from the supermarket. I was embarrassed when she looked at me. So, I confessed, “Dad wanted a salad, but the garden was a disaster. I didn't want to disappoint him so I went to the store.” She laughed but promised to make time to help me in the garden, and we worked hard for the next few weeks.　We made a mixture of water with chopped-up fresh hot peppers and then sprayed it on the vegetables. I thought this was a great idea because the spray is not harmful to humans or animals, or even the bugs. They simply don't like the spicy water. The bug-free vegetables grew quickly, and finally I was able to pick some. 

I carefully made a salad and took it to my father. He looked at it with a hint of a smile. "Christine, the carrots are smaller in this salad, but they taste better.” I realized that he had known all along about my shopping trip. I smiled back at him. 

Now, I better understand how putting a lot of effort into caring for something can help you appreciate the results more, however small they may be. Perhaps this was one of the reasons for my father's love of gardening. 

In a few days he'll be back in the garden. I'll be right beside him helping him in any way I can. 



問１　Christine originally said she would do the gardening because she [マーク４１]. 

①knew it was important to her father 
②wanted to improve her gardening skills 
③was asked by her father to do it 
④was interested in growing vegetables 


問２　Which of the following was a problem in the garden? [マーク４２]

①Animals often dug in the garden. 
②Insects ate the lettuce and carrots. 
③The plants were given too much water. 
④The vegetables were marked incorrectly.



問３　Christine could secretly make the salad from store-bought vegetables because [マーク４３] 

①her father couldn't see the garden's progress 
②her father was in the hospital at that time 
③her mother helped her to buy the vegetables 
④her mother helped her to make a spray 


問４　Which of the following is closest to the meaning of the underlined word bug-free? [マーク４４]

①All bugs have been killed.
②Bugs can do what they like.
③No bugs can be found.
④The bugs don't cost any money.



問５　What did Christine learn through her experience of gardening?　[マーク４５] 

①Always prepare for a rainy day. 
②Don't be disappointed by bugs. 
③Hard work can be rewarding. 
④Working alone produces results. 


 

【第５問　解答】
[マーク４１]　①
[マーク４２]　②
[マーク４３]　①
[マーク４４]　③
[マーク４５]　③

【第５問　解説】
物語の内容を読み取る問題

解法
①設問に目を通して、何が問われているかを先に把握するようにする。
②登場人物、場所、時間の経過等に注意して日付ごと(パラグラフごと)に読む。全訳を求められているわけではないので、設問に関わりのある部分を重点的にピックアップして読む感覚でよい。
③選択肢を消去法で減らしていく。本文の選択肢で述べている内容に該当する本文の箇所があっても、当然のことながら正解とは限らない。×になる根拠を探すように努めること。
④物語でテーマや表題を問われた場合は物語の「オチ」(特に何かの謎が解けた場合や新しい情報が出てきた場合など)に注目すること。今年の問題では最後から2つめのパラグラフ(Now, I better …)にクリスティンが庭仕事の経験から学んだことが分かる。