英検2級長文の比較対象がすり替わる？｜総数・割合・期間を見抜く独自4長文20問【全訳・全解答】

独自英文1｜駅前バスの乗車回数と乗客数

A town tested a new bus timetable for four weeks. Before the change, the bus company recorded 320 passenger journeys on a typical Friday. After the change, it recorded 400 journeys on a comparable Friday. Some officials said that the number of people using the bus had increased by the same amount. However, a passenger journey is not the same as a different passenger. A resident who takes the bus to work and back makes two journeys. Officials also noted that the company had added two extra buses during the trial. They could not tell whether the increase resulted from more passengers, more journeys per passenger, or the new timetable. To investigate, the town plans to compare passenger journeys per scheduled bus and to ask volunteers to count different riders without collecting their names. Officials want to understand the demand before extending the timetable to other routes.

問1：What increased from 320 to 400?

1. The number of different passengers
2. The number of buses operating all week
3. Passenger journeys on a comparable Friday
4. The number of villages served

問2：Why is a journey count different from the number of riders?

1. One rider can make more than one journey
2. Every rider is required to travel once
3. The timetable cannot be changed
4. Each bus has exactly one passenger

問3：What else changed during the test?

1. The fare doubled
2. All drivers were replaced
3. The town closed the railway station
4. Two extra buses were added

問4：Which comparison does the town plan to make?

1. Tickets sold per nearby shop
2. Journeys per scheduled bus
3. The cost of bicycles per family
4. Only the total number of new timetables printed

問5：Which conclusion is NOT justified by the passage?

1. The number of journeys rose
2. Exactly 80 new individuals started using the service
3. The test period lasted four weeks
4. Officials will examine demand further

本文の全文和訳：町は4週間、新しいバス時刻表を試した。変更前の通常の金曜日には乗車回数が320回で、変更後の条件が似た金曜日には400回となった。乗客の人数も同じだけ増えたと述べる担当者もいた。 しかし乗車回数は異なる乗客の人数と同じではない。一人が職場へ往復すると2回の乗車になる。試行中はバスも2便追加されていたため、人数が増えたのか、一人当たりの乗車回数が増えたのか、時刻表の変更によるのか判定できなかった。 町は一便当たりの乗車回数を比較し、個人名を集めずに異なる乗客数を数えるようボランティアに頼む予定だ。ほかの路線へ延長する前に需要を理解したいと考えている。

独自英文2｜図書館の貸出冊数と開館日数

A local library extended its weekend opening hours in May. It reported that 1,200 books were borrowed during May, compared with 900 in April. The director was pleased, and some residents believed the longer hours had caused a sharp increase in reading. The library had been closed for repairs for several days in April. It was open on more days in May. In addition, the May total included books borrowed for a school reading project. The number of books borrowed does not show how much time people actually spent reading them. Staff therefore decided to compare loans per opening day in months with similar school schedules. They also planned to ask borrowers whether longer weekend hours were helpful. The director said the service might be useful, but that the raw monthly totals were not enough to explain why the numbers differed.

問6：What did the library report for May?

1. Exactly 1,200 different readers
2. A total of 1,200 hours spent reading
3. A total of 1,200 books borrowed
4. Exactly 1,200 school projects

問7：Why are the April and May totals not directly comparable?

1. The number of days the library was open differed
2. The library had no books in April
3. The building moved to another town
4. All books had the same title

問8：What additional activity affected May’s total?

1. A swimming competition
2. A railway repair program
3. A film festival in another city
4. A school reading project

問9：What will staff compare more fairly?

1. Only the size of the library building
2. Loans per opening day in similar school periods
3. The price of books in different countries
4. The number of trees near the entrance

問10：Which claim would go beyond the evidence?

1. Reading time definitely increased by one third
2. May had more loans than April
3. May had more opening days
4. Longer hours might be helpful

本文の全文和訳：地域図書館は5月に週末の開館時間を延ばした。4月に900冊だった貸出冊数は5月には1,200冊となり、館長は喜んだ。開館時間の延長で読書が大幅に増えたと考える住民もいた。 しかし4月は修理で数日閉館しており、5月の開館日数は多かった。さらに5月の貸出には学校の読書活動で借りた本も含まれていた。貸出冊数だけでは実際に本を読む時間は分からない。 そのため職員は、学校の予定が似た月について開館日当たりの貸出冊数を比較し、週末の時間延長が役立つか借り手に尋ねる予定だ。館長は制度が役立つかもしれないが、月別総数だけでは差の理由を説明できないと述べた。

独自英文3｜気象観測の「雨の日」と測定日数

Students in a science club studied rainfall in two neighborhoods. Team A visited its measuring station on twenty days during a month. Team B visited another station on only ten days because several roads were closed. Team A recorded rain on eight of its observation days, while Team B recorded rain on six. At first, some students concluded that Team A’s neighborhood had been rainier because the team had observed rain on more days. The teacher reminded them that the teams had different numbers of observation days. Eight out of twenty observation days is a smaller share than six out of ten, although it does not prove that one location received more total rainfall. The students decided to install automatic gauges that could record data each day. They also planned to compare actual amounts of rainfall rather than only the number of rainy observations. This would make future comparisons between neighborhoods more meaningful.

問11：How many days did Team B actually observe?

1. Twenty days
2. Sixteen days
3. Thirty days
4. Ten days

問12：Why was the initial comparison misleading?

1. Both teams used the same station
2. The teams had different numbers of observation days
3. Team A never recorded rain
4. Team B measured only temperature

問13：Which statement matches the passage?

1. Team A recorded more total rainfall
2. Team B observed rain on eight days
3. Team B had a higher share of rainy observation days
4. Each group observed for twenty days

問14：What did the teacher avoid claiming?

1. That the share of rainy days proved total rainfall amounts
2. That Team A visited twenty times
3. That Team B recorded six rainy days
4. That automatic gauges could record daily data

問15：What new measure will students compare?

1. The price of measuring stations
2. Only the number of visitors
3. Actual amounts of rainfall
4. The names of nearby streets

本文の全文和訳：科学部は二地区の降雨を調べた。A班は1か月に20日測定したが、B班は一部道路が閉鎖されて10日しか測定できなかった。A班では観測日のうち8日、B班では6日に雨を記録した。 最初、生徒の一部は雨の日の数が多いA地区の方が雨が多いと結論づけた。しかし教師は測定日数が違うと指摘した。20日のうち8日は10日のうち6日より低い割合だが、それだけでどちらの地区の総雨量が多いかは証明できない。 生徒は毎日記録できる自動雨量計を設置し、雨を観測した日数だけでなく実際の降水量も比較することにした。これによって将来の地区間比較がより意味のあるものになると考えた。

独自英文4｜博物館の入場者数と公開日数

A small museum introduced a new audio guide for its history exhibition. The museum reported 480 visits in June and 600 in July. Several staff members thought the guide was responsible for bringing more people into the museum. However, July had five weekends, while June had four. The museum was also open for two additional evening events in July. Furthermore, some visitors attended the exhibition more than once, so the number of visits did not reveal the number of different individuals. The director said that monthly totals alone could not show whether the guide attracted new visitors. The museum plans to compare visits per opening day and ask whether visitors came specifically to use the guide. Staff also want to understand how often the audio equipment is used and how much it costs to maintain. They will consider these findings before purchasing more devices.

問16：What increased from June to July?

1. The number of different people proven to be new
2. The number of visits recorded
3. The ticket price for every visitor
4. The number of exhibits removed

問17：How did the museum’s opening opportunities differ?

1. June had more weekends
2. The museum closed throughout July
3. June offered every evening event
4. July had more weekends and two extra evening events

問18：Why could the visit count overstate the number of different people?

1. Some visitors came more than once
2. Every visitor used an audio guide
3. The museum collected no visit records
4. All staff members were visitors

問19：What denominator will the museum consider?

1. The number of trees in nearby parks
2. Only the total size of the building
3. Visits per opening day
4. The price of exhibition posters

問20：Which conclusion is not established yet?

1. There were 600 visits in July
2. The guide itself brought more new individuals
3. The guide was introduced
4. The museum will examine maintenance costs

本文の全文和訳：小さな博物館は歴史展示へ新しい音声ガイドを導入した。6月の来訪回数は480回、7月は600回となり、音声ガイドが新しい来訪者を呼んだと考える職員もいた。 しかし7月には週末が5回あり、6月は4回だった。さらに7月は夕方の催しで2日多く開館していた。展示を複数回訪れた人もいたため、来訪回数だけでは異なる個人の数は分からない。館長は月別総数だけでガイドの集客効果を測れないと述べた。 今後は開館日当たりの来訪回数を比べ、ガイドを使うために来たか尋ねる予定だ。また音声機器の使用頻度と維持費も確認し、追加機器の購入を判断する。

全20問の正答一覧

1C／2A／3D／4B／5B／6C／7A／8D／9B／10A／11D／12B／13C／14A／15C／16B／17D／18A／19C／20B

7日間の復習方法

初日に20問を解き、2日目に各文章の「増加・減少した数」を記録します。3日目には母数と期間を確認し、4日目は答えの根拠となる英語の単位へ下線を引きましょう。5日目に誤答選択肢がすり替えた対象を説明し、6日目には4文章をそれぞれ3文で要約、7日目には誤答を再テストしてください。

よくある質問

増加した割合を計算すれば正解できますか？

計算だけでは不十分です。何を数えたか、期間・母数が同じか、本文が原因まで証明したかを確認します。

冊数が増えたら読者も増えたのでは？

一人が複数冊を借りるため、冊数だけでは異なる利用者の人数は分かりません。本文に示されない情報を足さないでください。

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いいえ。慶英会独自の長文4題・20問で、公式CSEスコアへの換算はできません。

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