英語Ｉ　２００５年度・夏学期・２年生期末試験問題

　以下の問題に答えなさい。[ ]内の数字は、それぞれの設問の答えをマークすべき解答欄の番号を示しています。なお、設問【E】から【H】は聞き取り問題です。朗読が始まる前に目を通しておくこと。

【 A 】　次の文章を読んで、設問に答えなさい。

The logic behind a certain kind of laughter can be described as follows: when a person strolls along a garden path of expectation and there is a sudden twist at the end that entails a complete reinterpretation of the same facts and the new interpretation has trivial rather than terrifying implications, laughter ensues.

But why laughter? Why this explosive, repetitive sound? To an ethologist, any stereotyped vocalization almost always implies that the organism is trying to communicate something to others in the social group.  Now what might this be in the case of laughter? I suggest that the main purpose of laughter might be to allow the individual to alert others in social group (usually kin) that ( イ ). The laughing person in effect announces her discovery that there has been a false alarm. This also explains why laughter is so notoriously (  ロ  ), for the value of any such signal would be amplified as it spread through the social group.

Although this model accounts for the evolutionary origin of laughter, it by no means explains all the functions of humor among modern humans. Once the mechanism was in place, however, (ハ) it could easily be exploited for other purposes. (This is common in evolution. Feathers evolved in birds originally to provide insulation but were adapted for flying.) The ability (  ニ  ) in the light of new information may have been refined through the generation to help people playfully juxtapose larger ideas or concepts ―that is, to be creative. This capacity for seeing familiar ideas from novel vantage points (an essential element of humor) could be an antidote to conservative thinking and (  ホ  ) to creativity. Laughter and humor may be a dress rehearsal for creativity, and if so, perhaps jokes, puns and other forms of humor should be introduced very early into our elementary schools as part of the formal curriculum.

Although these suggestion may help explain the logical structure of humor, they do not explain why humor itself is sometimes used as a psychological defense mechanism. Is it a coincidence, for example, that a disproportionate number of jokes deal with potentially disturbing topics, such as death or sex? One possibility is that (ヘ) jokes are an attempt to trivialize genuinely disturbing anomalies by pretending they are of no consequence; you distract yourself from your anxiety by setting off your own false alarm mechanism. Thus a trait that evolved to appease others in a social group now becomes internalized to deal with truly stressful situations and may emerge as so-called nervous laughter. Thus even as mysterious a phenomenon as “nervous laughter” begins to make sense in the light of some of the evolutionary ideas discussed here.

[ 1-2 ] 本文中のそれぞれの括弧内に補うのに最も適したものを選択肢から選びなさい。(教科書の原文どおりの表現とは限りません。)

[ 1 ]　（イ）

a) something has happened but it can be dealt with now that everyone understands the seriousness of the situation

b) something has happened but it has turned out not to be threatening

c) we should have saved our energy and resources to respond to a real threat

d) we should not be fooled by signals that appear to be trivial when something serious is going on

[ 2 ]　（ニ）

a) to arrive at the most amusing interpretation of an event

b) to create a new interpretation of an event

c) to discover the hidden message in an event and describe it

d) to justify one’s original interpretation of an event

[ 3-4 ]　それぞれの箇所で単語一語が隠されています。その単語の意味として最も適したものを選択肢から選びなさい。

[ 3 ]　（ロ）

a) being capable of transmission	b) being constantly downplayed
c) being continually unchanged	d) being easy to control in terms of volume	e) with many faces

[ 4 ]  （ホ）

a) an action demonstrating deep appreciation	b) an agent that stimulates a reaction
c) an inappropriate sign	d) excessive enthusiasm

[ 5-6 ] 下線部の意味に最も近いものを選択肢から選びなさい。

[ 5 ] 下線部 （ハ）

a) once people or animals start making use of it, the habit becomes difficult to remove, and so it remains over generations

b) one could use the mechanism for purposes other than that for which it was originally designed

c) one tends to expect it to be useful for more purposes than necessary, often resulting in disappointment

d) one would soon take advantage of its new function to replace the original

[ 6 ]下線部 （へ）

a) jokes are intended to minimize people’s estimation of threatening situations

b) jokes are used to enhance social ties among people when tackling disturbing issues

c) jokes convince people that they can change something bad into something good

d) jokes cure stress caused by alarming topics

【 B 】 以下の[ 7 ]-[ 11 ]の各文には、取り去るべき単語が１つずつ含まれています。太字になっている候補からその単語を１つずつ選び、下の記号に従ってマークしなさい。

[ 7 ] It makes perfect sense to call the experience regardless of stealth “emotional” even though we don’t normally think of it that way. [ 8 ] We’re quite accustomed to feeling music the emotional content of stealth when we have occasion to sneak around. [ 9 ] We make motions that alternate between jarring restraint and sudden overreaching, all after the while violating the normal pacing of physical movement. [ 10 ] And so we experience little since bouts of the pain of constriction and the pleasure of leaping. [ 11 ]       Given notice that we feel stealth by moving in certain ways with certain timings; when music follows similar patterns, it sounds stealthy, just as the pink panther’s slinking around looks stealthy.

[ 7 ]      a) sense        b) call                     c) regardless     d) of（最初） e) stealth            f) even

             g) though     h) don’t                  i) normally         j) of（２番目）k) it                   l) that

[ 8 ]      a) quite             b) accustomed  c) feeling            d) music             e) emotional      f) content

             g) of                  h) when              i) have                j) occasion         k) sneak             l) around

[ 9 ]      a) We                b) motions         c) that                 d) between        e) jarring            f) sudden

             g) all                  h) after               i) while               j) violating         k) normal            l) of

[ 10 ]   a) And               b) so                   c) we                   d) experience     e) little                    f) since

             g) of（最初） h) pain                i) of（２番目）j) and        k) of（３番目）           l) leaping

[ 11 ]    a) Given            b) notice            c) feel                 d) by                   e) in                    f) with

             g) certain          h) when              i) similar             j) it                      k) just                 l) around

【 C 】 下の文a)-f)は、あるパラグラフを構成する文の順序を入れ替えたものです。意味が通じるよう並べかえ、下記に従いマークしなさい。

[ 12 ]　→　[ 13 ] 　→　[ 14 ] 　→　[ 15 ] 　→　[ 16 ] 　→　[ 17 ]

a) By classical times, heights were very slowly on the rise again, but modern Greeks and Turks have still not

regained the heights of their healthy hunter-gatherer ancestors.

b) Many modern cases illustrate how improved childhood nutrition leads to taller adults:  for instance, we stoop to pass through doorways of medieval castles built for a shorter, malnourished population.

c) One straightforward example of what paleopathologists have learned from skeletons concerns historical changes in height.

d) Paleopathologists studying ancient skeletons from Greece and Turkey found a striking parallel.

e) The average height of hunter-gatherers in that region toward the end of the Ice Age was a generous five feet ten inches for men, five feet six inches for women.

f) With the adoption of agriculture, height crashed, reaching by 4000 B.C. a low value of only five feet three for men, five feet one for women.

【 D 】 次の文章を読んで、設問に答えなさい。

To appreciate the complexities of evolution in action, Fred Hoyle suggests that we consider the problems of a blind man confronted with one of those ( 18 ) infuriating multicolored Rubik’s Cubes. The man cannot see the results of his manipulations. He has [ 19 ] way of knowing whether he is getting nearer the solution or whether he is scrambling the cube still further. He acts at random and his [ 20 ] of producing a perfect and simultaneous color matching for all of the cube’s six faces is about 50,000,000,000,000,000,000 [ 21 ] 1.

But [ 22 ] that one of those teenage prodigies who can unscramble a cube [ 23 ] less than 23 seconds is available―and agrees to stand behind our beleaguered blind man. At each move of the cube, the young expert remains silent ( 24 ) as long as the move is in the right direction. But if a move does not advance the cube towards its solution, he simply and quietly whispers “No”, and the blind operator reserves the move just made and tries another one―and goes on doing so until the observer says “Stop”. If one minute is allowed for each successful move and an average of something like 120 moves are needed to reach the solution, even a blind man can do the task in a comparatively short time. The presence of the observer and the use of that one short word “No” at appropriate times, makes all the difference between a directed solution that takes just two hours―and a random one that could take 300 times the age of Earth.

The orthodox view of evolution is a little like this situation with the Rubik’s Cube. Mutations, which occur at random and in unpredictable directions, are represented as [ 25 ]. And natural selection, as it is exercised by the environment, is seen to operate on a mutating species in much the same way as [ 26 ].  But the analogy is incomplete and misleading, because even neo-Darwinian evolutionists insist that natural selection is unintelligent―it does not know the solution in advance. All it can do is make limited value judgements about isolated moves.

[ 18 ] 下線部(18)のinfuriating の説明として最も相応しいものを以下から選びなさい。

a) The word is used because the blind man is irritated at his inability to see the different colors of the Rubik’s Cube.

b) The word is used because the multicolored Rubik’s Cube symbolizes the Earth whose natural environment is hostile to human beings.

c) The word shows that we are furious at the helplessness of the blind man who needs an invisible hand to manipulate a giant Rubik’s Cube.

d) The word suggests that most people find the Rubik’s Cube puzzle extremely difficult to solve.

[ 19-23 ] 文章中の空欄[19]-[23]に入れるのにそれぞれ最も適切な語を下から選びなさい。なお、１つの語は一度しか使ってはいけません。

    a) ability        b) ask             c) at                d) beside        e) by               f) chance

    g) in                h) no               i) provided     j) so                k) suppose    l) to

[ 24 ] 下線部(24)の意味に最も近いものを１つ選びなさい。

a) only if the blind man stays on a path towards the correct solution

b) so long as the blind man doesn’t give up

c) while the blind man continues to manipulate the cube quickly

d) while the blind man keeps coming up with new manipulations

[ 25 ] 空欄[25]に入るべき最も適切なものを１つ選びなさい。

a) moves made by a blind man                                               b) moves made by a young expert

c) multicolored Rubik’s Cubes                                               d) strategies older than time itself

[ 26 ] 空欄[26]に入るべき最も適切なものを１つ選びなさい。

a) a blind man who does not know whether he is scrambling the cube correctly or not

b) a blind man who, helped by a young prodigy, unscrambles the cube in two hours

c) a young expert who unscrambles the cube instantly

d) a young observer who guides the blind man to the correct solution

[ 27 ] 本文の内容と一致するものを１つ選びなさい。

a) Fred Hoyle introduces the image of a Rubik’s Cube in order to show that there are many mutations that could have happened but did not.

b) Neo-Darwinian evolutionists would contest the validity of the analogy, asserting that nature does not operate with foresight.

c) The author thinks that the analogy used by Fred Hoyle is not convincing because there is a third element missing.

d) The orthodox view on evolution asserts that natural selection can envision the final pattern and acts accordingly.

＜以下は聞き取り問題です。朗読は２回ずつ流れます。＞

【 E 】 Listen to the passage and answer the following questions [28]-[31].

[28] Why is the Mock Turtle’s name humorous?

a) Because although the Mock Turtle exists only in Carroll’s book, its name is an echo of something in the real world.

b) Because any illustration of the creature must be amusing.

c) Because the name is an elaborate pun.

d) Because the word “mock” also means “green” and there is no such thing as a green turtle.

[29] According to the passage, the Mock Turtle loves to:

a) emotionally recollect his early life in school.

b) give an account of everything he ever learned at school, including how to tell the difference between similar sounding words.

c) make jokes using different words that express similar ideas.

d) make jokes using words with similar sounds but different meanings.

e) None of the above is correct.

[30] According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

a) The Mock Turtle is actually a tortoise that used to teach at a school in the sea.

b) The Mock Turtle went to school in the sea where his teacher was a tortoise.

c) The old sea turtle called himself “tortoise” as a joke.

d) None of the above is correct.

[31] Which of the following statement is most consistent with the passage?

a) Greek and Latin were two of the subjects studied by the Mock Turtle at school.

b) In Carroll’s day, children were taught to laugh and cry in the proper manner.

c) In his book, Carroll made up some school subjects with names that sounded like those actually taught in schools.

d) None of the above is consistent with the passage.

【 F 】 Listen to the passage and answer the following questions [32]-[35]. Note that the questions will be read shortly after the passage has finished.

[32]      a) It enables us to tell real multiples from those who are only pretending to suffer from the condition.

             b) It forces us to face up to a reality that is hard to accept.

             c) It is a result of passing trend among therapists.

             d) The number of people diagnosed as suffering from multiple personality is not the most important issue.

[33]      a) It forces patients to create characters that do not really exist.

             b) It only increases the suffering of patients.

             c) Its effectiveness does not verify the advocates’ view.

             d) Its popularity among the therapists is a cause of the increasing number of the multiples.

[34]      a) child abusers           b) the advocates          c) the mass media        d) the therapists

[35]      a) By accepting the words of those who claim to be multiples at face value.

             b) By carefully analyzing every character that appears and making sure it stays healthy.

             c) By devising a general theory on the cause of multiple personality.

             d) By maintaining a critical attitude and asking hard questions of any particular explanation.

【 G 】 The following statement is based upon the passage you are about hear. Listen to the passage carefully and fill in the blanks [36]-[40] with the correct expression from the following options.

The lecturer talks about different kinds of attention, centering on two categories. 　First, the lecturer explains the type of attention used when walking in the dark; our attention is spread [  36  ].  Then the lecturer proceeds to another sort of attention that [  37  ].  Attention has to be more broadly maintained in the former, while it has to be focused in the latter.  The lecturer notes that [  38  　], with examples [  39  ] the worlds of music and sport.  [  40  ], our scope becomes broader and broader.  The point is to unfocus our attention.

[36] a) effectively although we cannot see                         b) everywhere around us almost equally

         c) one or two meters ahead of us                                 d) sporadically back and forth

         e) to the area which seems most dangerous

[37] a) allows us to concentrate on many things simultaneously

         b) enables us to solve a highly intellectual problem instantly

         c) helps us to unfocus our attention while we are sleeping

         d) requires us to concentrate on many things simultaneously

         e) slows us down and makes us think about what we are doing

[38]  a) the type of attention achieved effortlessly cannot last very long

         b) the type of attention achieved with great effort can be maintained even when aging

         c) the type of attention employed for a special purpose can also be used for other purposes

         d) the type of attention used for a certain task may be applied for different purposes

         e) the type of attention used for the same task may change through experience

[39]  a) comparing     b) differing from         c) disputing                d) drawn from             e) preferring

[40]  a) Although we try to sharpen our focus                                b) As we get closer to the expert’s level

         c) As we prepare ourselves for the next challenge                                   d) No matter how hard we might try

         e) Only when we are absorbed in what we are doing

【 H 】 Listen to the passage and answer the following questions [41]-[45].

[41] At the American Robot Games, a team gets extra points when its robot

a) faithfully follows the lines laid out on the floor of the miniature rooms.

b) performs its task faster than the required time.

c) pushes its competitors off the circuit.

d) returns to the starting point after successful completion of the required work.

[42] What does the Club’s robot look like?

a) a circular metal frame with two wheels                         b) a metal car made of wires

c) a metal controller with a buzzer and batteries             d) a metal cylinder with a sonar

[43] Which of the following statements correctly reflects the situation at the test run of the Club’s robot?

a) It at least finishes the task in time.                                        b) It can only identify the object in the hallway.

c) It cannot complete the competition route on time.             d) It cannot find its target.

e) It does not move in a straight line.

[44] In what way does the Club want its robot to complete the mission?

a) By bringing the target object back to the starting point.  b) By hitting the target with a stream of air.

c) By knocking the target object down.                                   d) By painting a small mark on the target object.

e) By soaking the target with water.

[45] What happens on the day of the American Robot Games?

a) Thanks to a stroke of luck, the Club wins.                  b) The Club does not come last.

c) The Club withdraws from the competition.                 d) The Club’s robot wheels out from the starting area.

e) The outcome of the competition is not mentioned in this passage.