英検2級長文のit・this・these・theyは何を指す？｜独自4長文20問・全解答と先行詞の根拠【全文和訳】

独自長文1｜公民館の案内を紙と電子の両方で用意する

A community center introduced a digital notice board near its entrance. It displayed workshop schedules and room numbers, and staff could update it within minutes. However, some older visitors said the text disappeared before they could finish reading it. The center slowed the display and provided printed schedules beside the screen. These changes helped visitors choose the format they preferred. At first, staff considered removing every paper sign. They eventually decided to keep a small number of printed notices. This decision reflected feedback from people who did not regularly use digital devices. Volunteers were asked to check both versions each morning. They wanted to prevent differences between the information on the screen and that on paper. A month later, fewer visitors asked for directions. The center did not claim that its notice board alone had caused this improvement. Staff had also placed clearer signs along the corridors. They planned to ask visitors which sources of information they actually used.

問1：What does the first It in ‘It displayed workshop schedules’ refer to?

1. The community center building
2. The digital notice board
3. The printed schedules
4. The corridor signs

問2：What does These changes refer to?

1. Removing all signs and closing rooms
2. Moving the workshops to another building
3. Replacing the volunteer team
4. Slowing the screen and adding printed schedules

問3：What does This decision refer to?

1. Keeping some printed notices
2. Removing all paper signs
3. Canceling the workshops
4. Replacing digital information entirely

問4：What does They in ‘They wanted to prevent differences’ refer to?

1. The corridors
2. The older visitors
3. The volunteers
4. The paper schedules

問5：Why did staff avoid crediting the display alone for fewer questions?

1. Clearer corridor signs were introduced as well
2. No visitor used either type of notice
3. All workshops were canceled
4. Digital messages were removed

長文1の全文和訳：公民館は入口近くに電子掲示板を導入した。そこには講座の日程と部屋番号が表示され、職員は数分で情報を更新できた。しかし高齢の来訪者の中には読み終える前に文字が消えるという人もいた。そこで表示速度を遅くし、画面の横に紙の日程表も置いた。これらの変更によって来訪者は好みの形式を選びやすくなった。 当初、職員はすべての紙の案内を撤去しようと考えていたが、最終的に少数の紙の掲示を残すと決めた。この決定は電子機器を日常的に使わない人の意見を反映している。ボランティアは毎朝、画面と紙の両方を確認するよう求められ、両者の内容の食い違いを防ごうとした。 1か月後、道案内を尋ねる来訪者は減った。ただし公民館は電子掲示板だけが改善の原因だとは主張しなかった。廊下にも分かりやすい標識を設置していたためだ。今後は来訪者が実際にどの情報源を使ったかを尋ねる予定だ。

独自長文2｜学校の共有パソコンと修理記録

A school began lending laptops to students who needed them for homework. Each student signed a short agreement before receiving one. It explained when the device had to be returned and how to report damage. Teachers also provided instructions about keeping personal files safe. After several weeks, some computers became difficult to use because their batteries no longer held enough power. Technicians inspected these devices and found that a few charging cables were damaged. They replaced the cables before lending the computers again. This reduced the number of interrupted study sessions, but staff still needed to check battery health regularly. Students suggested creating an online page showing when a laptop could be collected. The school adopted this suggestion and kept a printed version for families without reliable internet access. Such an arrangement required staff to update both versions whenever a reservation changed. Although it took additional time, teachers believed the system would be easier for families to understand.

問6：What does It in ‘It explained when the device had to be returned’ refer to?

1. A laptop battery
2. A technician
3. The short agreement
4. The school building

問7：What does these devices refer to?

1. All printers in the school
2. Laptops that had become difficult to use
3. New student textbooks
4. Only the damaged cables

問8：Who does They in ‘They replaced the cables’ refer to?

1. The students
2. The teachers
3. The families
4. The technicians

問9：What does this suggestion refer to?

1. Stopping laptop loans
2. Discarding all printed records
3. Creating an online collection-time page
4. Changing every battery every day

問10：Why was a printed version kept?

1. Some families lacked reliable internet access
2. Every family refused to use computers
3. The school stopped updating the webpage
4. The agreements prohibited online information

長文2の全文和訳：学校は家庭での宿題に必要な生徒へノートパソコンを貸し始めた。各生徒は受取前に短い同意書へ署名した。そこには返却期限と損傷を報告する方法が説明されていた。教師は個人ファイルを安全に保つ方法も指導した。 数週間後、一部のパソコンはバッテリーの電力が十分に保てず使いにくくなった。技術者がそれらの機器を点検すると、充電ケーブルが傷んでいるものがいくつかあった。技術者はパソコンを再び貸す前にケーブルを交換した。これにより学習が中断される回数は減ったが、職員は引き続きバッテリーの状態を定期的に確認する必要があった。 生徒はパソコンの受取時刻が分かるオンラインページを作るよう提案した。学校はその提案を採用し、安定したネット環境がない家庭向けに紙版も残した。こうした仕組みには、予約が変わるたび職員が両方を更新する作業が必要だった。時間は余計にかかったが、教師は家族にとって分かりやすい制度になると考えた。

独自長文3｜港町の公共返却箱を比較する

A town placed book-return boxes at two ferry terminals. Residents could return borrowed library books when the main library was closed. One box was used much more often than the other. Officials initially believed that the first terminal was simply more popular. However, the box at the second terminal was hidden behind a ticket machine. Some residents said they had never noticed it. The town moved the box closer to the entrance and added a large sign. This made the return service easier to find. After the change, its use increased, although the first box still received more books. The library director warned that the number of returned books did not reveal how many different residents used the service. Some people might return several books at once. To understand this, staff planned to count distinct borrowers without publishing personal details. They also intended to compare collection costs at the two locations. Such information would help officials decide whether additional boxes were worthwhile.

問11：What does it in ‘they had never noticed it’ refer to?

1. The ferry timetable
2. The library director
3. The main library building
4. The return box at the second terminal

問12：What does This in ‘This made the return service easier to find’ refer to?

1. Closing the main library
2. Moving the box and adding a large sign
3. Removing both return boxes
4. Raising the ferry ticket price

問13：What does its in ‘its use increased’ refer to?

1. The first box
2. The relocated second box
3. The ticket machine
4. The main library building

問14：What does this in ‘To understand this’ refer to?

1. The color of the large sign
2. The ferry’s travel speed
3. The difference between book counts and distinct users
4. The exact shape of the ticket machine

問15：What would Such information help officials decide?

1. Whether more return boxes are worth installing
2. Which novels students should read
3. How to change ferry engines
4. Whether every resident should return one book

長文3の全文和訳：町は二つのフェリー乗り場に図書返却箱を設置した。住民は本館の閉館中にも借りた本を返せたが、一方の箱はもう一方より多く使われていた。当初、担当者は最初の乗り場の方が単に人気があると考えた。 しかし二番目の乗り場の箱は券売機の後ろに隠れており、存在に気付かなかったという住民もいた。町は箱を入口近くに移して大きな標識を置き、返却サービスを見つけやすくした。変更後、その箱の利用は増えたが、それでも最初の箱の方が返却冊数は多かった。 図書館長は返却冊数だけでは異なる利用者が何人いたか分からないと注意した。一度に複数冊返す人がいる可能性があるからだ。これを理解するため職員は個人情報を公開せず、異なる借り手を数える予定だ。また二か所の回収費用も比較する。そのような情報を使って追加の返却箱に価値があるか判断する。

独自長文4｜科学部が同じ木の葉を観測する

Students at a science club recorded the size of leaves on several trees in the schoolyard. They measured twenty leaves from each tree in spring and repeated the activity in autumn. One tree appeared to have larger leaves in autumn. Some students claimed that it had grown faster because of extra fertilizer. Their teacher explained that the team had selected leaves from different branches on each visit. Some branches received more sunlight than others. This difference could have influenced the results. The students repeated the measurements using clearly marked branches and recorded weather conditions as well. They hoped these changes would make the comparison more reliable. After another month, the club wrote a short report. It stated that the data suggested a possible relationship between sunlight and leaf size, but did not prove that sunlight was the only cause. The teacher praised this cautious conclusion. She also reminded students to record their methods so that another class could repeat the study.

問16：What does it in ‘it had grown faster’ refer to?

1. The fertilizer itself
2. The school building
3. The science teacher
4. The tree with apparently larger autumn leaves

問17：What does This difference refer to?

1. Branches receiving different amounts of sunlight
2. The number of students in each class
3. The price of fertilizer
4. The difference between spring and winter holidays

問18：What does They in ‘They hoped these changes’ refer to?

1. The branches
2. The weather conditions
3. The students
4. The schoolyard trees

問19：What do these changes refer to?

1. Adding more fertilizer to every tree
2. Using marked branches and recording weather
3. Removing all the leaves
4. Publishing a report without measurements

問20：What does this cautious conclusion refer to?

1. All branches receive equal sunlight
2. Fertilizer is certain to make leaves larger
3. Leaf size never changes through the year
4. Sunlight may be related to leaf size but is not proven the only cause

長文4の全文和訳：科学部の生徒は校庭の数本の木で葉の大きさを記録した。春に各木から20枚ずつ測定し、秋にも繰り返した。一つの木では秋の葉が大きく見え、生徒の中には追加した肥料で成長が速まったからだと主張する人もいた。 教師は訪れるたび別の枝から葉を選んでいたと説明した。日光を多く受ける枝とそうでない枝があり、この違いが結果に影響した可能性がある。生徒は印を付けた枝を使って再測定し、天候も記録した。これらの変更で比較をより信頼できるものにしたかった。 さらに1か月後、部は短い報告書を書いた。データは日光と葉の大きさの関係の可能性を示すが、日光が唯一の原因だと証明していないと記した。教師はこの慎重な結論を褒め、別のクラスが研究を再現できるよう方法を記録することも勧めた。

20問の正答一覧

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

指示語を見抜くための7日間の練習

初日に20問を解き、翌日にthis・theseが指す「出来事」を日本語で書き出します。3日目にit・theyの単複をチェックし、4日目に先行詞を本文に戻して読み直します。5日目は4長文を解答を見ずに音読し、6日目に内容をそれぞれ3文でまとめます。7日目に誤答だけ再テストしてください。

よくある質問

itは必ず直前の名詞を指しますか？

いいえ。意味と文法に合う先行詞を、前後の文から確かめます。形式主語のitのように特定の名詞を指さない用法もありますが、ここでは長文の照応関係を中心に練習します。

thisとtheseはどう違いますか？

thisは単数の名詞や出来事のまとまり、theseは複数の名詞・変更などを指せます。文脈によってはthis decisionのように直前の判断全体を受けます。

公式の過去問ですか？

いいえ。慶英会が独自に作成した4長文・20問です。得点を公式CSEスコアに換算することはできません。

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公式試験形式の参考情報

日本英語検定協会「2級の試験内容」。この教材の英文・設問・訳は慶英会オリジナルです。