第２回

第１問　１
These shoes don’t fit me. Do you have a smaller pair?

第１問　２
Satoshi held the door of the room open for Miho and said, “After you.”

第１問　３
If it were not for his bad temper, John would have a lot more friends.

第１問　４
I heard a rumor that Emily is leaving this school. If that’s true, I will miss her.

第１問　５
Jim should have finished his assignment yesterday. If he had, he could have come to our party.

第１問　６
Working late, he almost missed the last train home.

第１問　７
Karen finished eating earlier than Edward since she only ordered soup.

第２問　８
M： How can I get to Richmond Station? W： Take the train from Paddington. Then change trains at Hammersmith. M： How many stops is it from Paddington? W： It’s the second station. Richmond is the third station from Hammersmith. Q： Which station is Richmond Station?

第２問　９
M： What do you want to eat for breakfast? W： I usually have toast, milk, and an egg, but I’m not so hungry this morning. M： You should eat something. W： OK, I’ll have some tea with milk. Q： What will the woman have for breakfast?

第２問　１０
M： Can I show you a picture of my dog? W： How cute! Look at his long body and big ears. M： I love watching him running around with his short legs. W： It’s interesting that he has no tail. Q： What does the dog look like?

第２問　１１
M： How about buying one of these handkerchiefs for Sue? W： Yeah, she’d like this one with a cat in the corner. M： And how about putting her name above it? W： That’s a good idea. Q： Which handkerchief are the man and the woman going to get?

第３問　１２
M： Where shall we go for our summer vacation? W： We live in a modern city in Australia. I want to visit a place with ancient ruins. M： I’d rather go to some place where we can relax on a beach. W： But that sounds so boring. Don’t you want to experience another culture? M： I guess you’re right.

第３問　１３
M： Did you have a nice weekend, Annette? W： Yes, I did, thanks. I had lunch at a restaurant with a friend and then we went to a museum together. How about you, Peter? M： On Saturday we had a barbecue at home and a lot of friends came. On Sunday I met my cousin, who has just come back from Florida.

第３問　１４
M： See you in the evening, Cathy. W： Bye ... Oh, you forgot your car keys, Steve. M： I’m taking a bus to work today. W： What’s wrong with the car? M： Nothing. I feel too tired to drive. W： Do you want me to drive you to work? M： I’d really appreciate that. Buses are often late.

第３問　１５
M： Jim and I are going fishing this morning. Why don’t you come with us, Yumiko? W： I’d love to, but I’d better not. I have a test tomorrow. M： We’re also going to the library in the afternoon to study. You can study then. W： Sorry, I have to go to a piano lesson in the afternoon.

第４問 A1 16 ～ 19
When I was a child I lived in France. One Friday my father picked me up from school. He tried to start the car. However hard he tried, it wouldn’t start. He said we should go home by taxi. Just as I was about to get into the taxi, he tried the engine again, and surprisingly it started immediately. Apologizing to the driver, we got back in our car and drove off. Half a block later, I found a ladybug flying around the door mirror. In Europe, ladybugs are said to be a sign of good luck.

第４問 A1 16 ～ 19

When I was a child I lived in France. One Friday my father picked me up from school. He tried to start the car. However hard he tried, it wouldn’t start. He said we should go home by taxi. Just as I was about to get into the taxi, he tried the engine again, and surprisingly it started immediately. Apologizing to the driver, we got back in our car and drove off. Half a block later, I found a ladybug flying around the door mirror. In Europe, ladybugs are said to be a sign of good luck.

第４問 A2 20 ～ 23
This is the Ultra Marathon of Sands, which is a race of about 200 kilometers with 6 stages in the Sahara Desert. There are some checkpoints in each stage except for the 6th stage. The number of checkpoints depends on the length of the stage. The stages between 20 and 35 kilometers each have two checkpoints. The stages of lengths over 35 up to 40 kilometers each have one additional checkpoint. We will set up one additional checkpoint for each additional 10 kilometers over 40.

第４問 A2 20 ～ 23

This is the Ultra Marathon of Sands, which is a race of about 200 kilometers with 6 stages in the Sahara Desert. There are some checkpoints in each stage except for the 6th stage. The number of checkpoints depends on the length of the stage. The stages between 20 and 35 kilometers each have two checkpoints. The stages of lengths over 35 up to 40 kilometers each have one additional checkpoint. We will set up one additional checkpoint for each additional 10 kilometers over 40.

第４問 B 24
① Hello, I’m Helen. I’m married with two children who are in elementary school. Our family lived in Sydney for three years while my husband taught at a college there. We all love animals, but we don’t need any pets. ② Good morning. My name is Joseph. I’m a father of a sixteen-year-old boy. We’ve moved a lot, but we’ve never been outside the country, partly because we’ve always had some pets to take care of. Our family loves animals! ③ Hi. I’m Miranda. I’m excited just to think about a Japanese student living with us. My husband and I are frequent travelers and we’ve been to Japan once. Oh, we have a cat, who is like our child. ④ Hi, there. My name is Richard. I often go abroad on business trips, but I’ve never been to Japan. I have a daughter, who is now a high school student. She’s allergic to cats, so we don’t have any pets.

第４問 B 24

① Hello, I’m Helen. I’m married with two children who are in elementary school. Our family lived in Sydney for three years while my husband taught at a college there. We all love animals, but we don’t need any pets.
② Good morning. My name is Joseph. I’m a father of a sixteen-year-old boy. We’ve moved a lot, but we’ve never been outside the country, partly because we’ve always had some pets to take care of. Our family loves animals!
③ Hi. I’m Miranda. I’m excited just to think about a Japanese student living with us. My husband and I are frequent travelers and we’ve been to Japan once. Oh, we have a cat, who is like our child.
④ Hi, there. My name is Richard. I often go abroad on business trips, but I’ve never been to Japan. I have a daughter, who is now a high school student. She’s allergic to cats, so we don’t have any pets.

第５問 1 25～ 32
Today a lot of people are concerned that automation and AI will take away jobs from human workers. Certainly, around 15 percent of the global workforce or about 400 million workers could lose their jobs by 2030. However, research predicts accelerating progress in technology will bring about additional labor demand of around 27 percent of the global workforce. Similar situations were seen in the early 1900s. When automation was introduced in factories, unskilled labor was automated. Workers, for example, who made cloth had to find other jobs. Meanwhile, automation made it possible to produce cloth more cheaply, and this led to more consumers, and then more products. Eventually more skilled workers were in demand. Some people say things are different this time partly because AI will replace not only blue-collar workers but also white-collar workers. In fact, unskilled labor is already giving way to technology. There are fewer cashiers and bank tellers. Rather than taking away jobs from humans, however, AI in the workplace is actually increasing the number of skilled workers across a wide range of industries from manufacturing to healthcare. The growth in AI is also opening up new opportunities in other areas like the game industry. How many of you had imagined that this industry would create so many jobs? There will always be jobs that humans can and should do even though automation and AI should substitute for some labor. What we should remember is that to survive in this transitional period, we have to consider what kind of labor will be required of humans and what skills we need to acquire.

第５問 1 25～ 32

Today a lot of people are concerned that automation and AI will take away jobs from human workers. Certainly, around 15 percent of the global workforce or about 400 million workers could lose their jobs by 2030. However, research predicts accelerating progress in technology will bring about additional labor demand of around 27 percent of the global workforce.
Similar situations were seen in the early 1900s. When automation was introduced in factories, unskilled labor was automated. Workers, for example, who made cloth had to find other jobs. Meanwhile, automation made it possible to produce cloth more cheaply, and this led to more consumers, and then more products. Eventually more skilled workers were in demand.
Some people say things are different this time partly because AI will replace not only blue-collar workers but also white-collar workers. In fact, unskilled labor is already giving way to technology. There are fewer cashiers and bank tellers. Rather than taking away jobs from humans, however, AI in the workplace is actually increasing the number of skilled workers across a wide range of industries from manufacturing to healthcare. The growth in AI is also opening up new opportunities in other areas like the game industry. How many of you had imagined that this industry would create so many jobs?
There will always be jobs that humans can and should do even though automation and AI should substitute for some labor. What we should remember is that to survive in this transitional period, we have to consider what kind of labor will be required of humans and what skills we need to acquire.

第５問 2 33
Now let’s look at the shift of skills that are required of workers. Advanced technological skills include computer programming, and among the social and higher cognitive skills are creativity and critical thinking. You know what physical and manual skills are. So, what can we learn from all this?

第６問 A 34 ～ 35
Hiroshi：Emily, I lost my confidence in English pronunciation today. Emily：Why, Hiroshi? Your English is very good. What happened? Hiroshi：Well, I’m working part-time at a shop that sells bags. Today, a foreign customer came up to me and asked me about a suitcase. She said, “Is this on sale?” But my answer confused her. Emily：What did you say? Hiroshi：I said, “That’s right,” but it seems to have sounded like “That’s light.” So, she lifted the suitcase and said, “No, it’s not light. This is too heavy for me.” Emily：I see. I know Japanese people have trouble with the “r” and “l” sounds. Hiroshi：How can I speak English with correct pronunciation? Maybe it’s too late for me to learn it. Emily：No, you just need a bit more practice. Hiroshi：Still, I wish I had started learning English when I was a little kid.

第６問 A 34 ～ 35

Hiroshi：Emily, I lost my confidence in English pronunciation today.
Emily：Why, Hiroshi? Your English is very good. What happened?
Hiroshi：Well, I’m working part-time at a shop that sells bags. Today, a foreign customer came up to me and asked me about a suitcase. She said, “Is this on sale?” But my answer confused her.
Emily：What did you say?
Hiroshi：I said, “That’s right,” but it seems to have sounded like “That’s light.” So, she lifted the suitcase and said, “No, it’s not light. This is too heavy for me.”
Emily：I see. I know Japanese people have trouble with the “r” and “l” sounds.
Hiroshi：How can I speak English with correct pronunciation? Maybe it’s too late for me to learn it.
Emily：No, you just need a bit more practice.
Hiroshi：Still, I wish I had started learning English when I was a little kid.

第６問 B 36 ～ 37
Professor Evans：In this country, there are pros and cons to early childhood education in English. I want you to express your opinion about whether it is beneficial to children or not. Kenji, what do you think? Kenji：Well, we should remember that children have a lot of other things to do. Starting to learn English early could mean that children have less time for other important activities such as interacting with each other and playing sports outside. Professor Evans：So, you are against the idea, aren’t you? Kenji：Yes, I am. Professor Evans：OK. What is your opinion, Mary? Mary：In general, learning English is a good thing for children. I’m afraid, however, that a lot of parents would send their children to an English conversation school in addition to a regular school if they could afford it. I think we should not do anything that may widen the economic gap between the rich and poor. Professor Evans：Let me clarify your point. You mean English education starting in early childhood is OK, but not at school, right? Mary：Yes. If children enjoy learning English, they can do so at home. Professor Evans：I see. Is there anyone who has a different opinion? Yes, Satoshi. Satoshi：I’m in favor of it. English often becomes one of the unpopular subjects at school for students. I think the main reason is that many of them are not well-prepared for it. English is a necessary skill for us in this globalized world. Schools should make every effort to support students more by teaching them English earlier. Professor Evans：Now we have two opposing opinions. Let’s discuss each of them in detail.

第６問 B 36 ～ 37

Professor Evans：In this country, there are pros and cons to early childhood education in English. I want you to express your opinion about whether it is beneficial to children or not. Kenji, what do you think?
Kenji：Well, we should remember that children have a lot of other things to do. Starting to learn English early could mean that children have less time for other important activities such as interacting with each other and playing sports outside.
Professor Evans：So, you are against the idea, aren’t you?
Kenji：Yes, I am.
Professor Evans：OK. What is your opinion, Mary?
Mary：In general, learning English is a good thing for children. I’m afraid, however, that a lot of parents would send their children to an English conversation school in addition to a regular school if they could afford it. I think we should not do anything that may widen the economic gap between the rich and poor.
Professor Evans：Let me clarify your point. You mean English education starting in early childhood is OK, but not at school, right?
Mary：Yes. If children enjoy learning English, they can do so at home.
Professor Evans：I see. Is there anyone who has a different opinion? Yes, Satoshi.
Satoshi：I’m in favor of it. English often becomes one of the unpopular subjects at school for students. I think the main reason is that many of them are not well-prepared for it. English is a necessary skill for us in this globalized world. Schools should make every effort to support students more by teaching them English earlier.
Professor Evans：Now we have two opposing opinions. Let’s discuss each of them in detail.