英語検定　２級

　英語検定　２級(2021年第1回No.4)

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1-4 英語検定(２級)　筆記 2021年第1回(No.30～No.38) 各１０点 × ９問＝９０点満点
次の英文を読み、(30)から(33)の各質問に最も適切なものを、1～4 の中から一つ選びなさい。

In the Air

　In many of the world’s large cities, air pollution is a serious problem.
According toexperts, about 7 million people around the world die every year
from the effects of dirty air.
London, the capital city of the United Kingdom,
is one example of a city with this problem.
London is said to have some of the worst levels of air pollution in the world.
However, because much of this pollution cannot be seen,
few people are asking the government to take action to improve the situation.

　A man called Pierre Duquesnoy, though,
came up with a way to make people more aware of the problem.
Duquesnoy’s idea was to use a team of pigeons a bird common in many big cities
to measure levels of air pollution and send the results to a website.
At first, Duquesnoy thought about using drones,
but he was told that it was against the law to fly drones in London.
After that, he realized he could use pigeons instead.

　Over a million pigeons are estimated to live in London.
They are not popular with residents
because they make a mess on buildings and public places.
The pigeons that Duquesnoy decided to use were not ordinary pigeons,
but homing pigeons.
These pigeons have an amazing ability to find their way back from the place
where they are released to the place where they live,
so they have been used since ancient times for sending messages.
Duquesnoy used these pigeons
because he could be sure that they would return to their homes and not just fly away.

　With help from an expert, Duquesnoy put together a team of pigeons.
A small device was attached to the back of each pigeon.
These devices measure gases in the airand send the results to a website.
During the project, people could look at the website and see
where each pigeon was and the level of air pollution in that area.
The website had many visitors,
and they began to discuss Duquesnoy’s project and the problem of air pollution.
As a result, more people are saying that the government
should do more to clean up London’s air.

問30 Question:
In London in the United Kingdom, (1) or (2) or (3) or (4)

答え： ( 30)

(1) the government is looking at new ways to deal with pollution.

(2) the quality of the air is worse than in many other large cities.

(3) over a million people die every year from the effects of dirty air.

(4) a new kind of pollution has been damaging people's eyes.

問31 Question:
What is one reason that Pierre Duquesnoy decided to use pigeons for his project?

答え： ( 31 )

(1) Pigeons are not as affected by high levels of air pollution as other birds.

(2) Pigeons are cheap to use because they are common in many big cities.

(3) He found out that using drones in the city of London was not allowed.

(4) He thought that using birds would make more people interested in his project.

問32 Question:
What is special about the pigeons that Duquesnoy used?

答え： ( 32 )

(1) They are less likely to make a mess on buildings and public places.

(2) They can deliver messages to people living all over London.

(3) They have been used since ancient times to perform amazing tricks.

(4) They have the ability to find their way back to their homes.

問33 Question:
What has happened because of Duquesnoy's project?

答え： ( 33 )

(1) More people have started talking about the dangers of air pollution.

(2) Visitors to London have been using his devices to measure pollution.

(3) The government has promised to do more to clean up London's air.

(4) Experts have begun using pigeons to collect data about other problems.

次の英文を読み、(34)から(38)の各質問に最も適切なものを、1～4 の中から一つ選びなさい。

Building a Better Future

　Estonia is a country in northern Europe.
Before World War II, it was an independent country, but by the end of the war,
it was part of the Soviet Union.
In those days, there was a shortage of houses in many parts of the Soviet Union,
so the government built many apartment buildings.
These were meant to be temporary homes, and they were not designed or built well.
After the Soviet Union broke up in 1991,
Estonia and other countries became independent again.
Most of these countries have been destroying their old apartment buildings.

　Estonia, however, is turning its apartment buildings into environmentally friendly homes
that use energy efficiently.
The project began in 2016 with 17 apartment buildings in Tartu,
a city in the south of the country, and is known as SmartEnCity.
Estonia is now a member of the European Union (EU),
and it received financial help from the EU for the project.
The aim is not only to reduce the amount of energy consumed by the apartments,
but also to turn them into modern, goodlooking homes.

　Work on the 17 apartment buildings in Tartu has now been completed.
Changes have been made to prevent heat from escaping through the walls and windows.
A new, efficient heating system has been added.
Each apartment has a control panel which lets residents monitor
and control the amount of energy they consume.
As a result, the residents now use 80 percent less gas to heat their apartments.
Also, solar panels have been installed on the buildings,
and these produce three times more electricity than the residents need.

　Some critics said the project would be a waste of money.
However, so far, it seems to be working.
The EU paid for half of the cost,
and the rest was paid for by residents using money borrowed from banks.
The residents are spending less than they used to on energy bills,
so they have extra money to repay the loans.
Moreover, the work on the apartments has improved the way the city looks.
The Estonian government hopes to upgrade some of the other 6,000 old apartment buildings
in the country in a similar way.

問34 Question:
By the end of World War II, (1) or (2) or (3) or (4)

答え： ( 34 )

(1) there were empty apartment buildings in many parts of the Soviet Union.

(2) Estonia had lost its independence and become part of the Soviet Union.

(3) most people in Europe were living in temporary apartment buildings.

(4) many people in northern Europe had left their countries to find new homes.

問35 Question:
What is one of the goals of the SmartEnCity project?

答え： ( 35 )

(1) To teach people in Tartu how to make their homes environmentally friendly.

(2) To improve old apartment buildings so that they are more energyefficient.

(3) To provide financial help for poor people in a city in the south of Estonia.

(4) To reduce the amount of energy used to build houses in the European Union.

問36 Question:
What is the control panel in the apartments in Tartu for?

答え： ( 36 )

(1) It allows people to see and change how much energy they are using.

(2) It reduces the amount of heat escaping through the walls of the apartments.

(3) It controls the amount of electricity produced by the solar panels.

(4) It lets residents choose whether to use gas or electricity to heat their apartments.

問37 Question:
How are residents of the apartments helping to pay for the project?

答え： ( 37 )

(1) By helping to upgrade 6,000 similar apartment buildings.

(2) By using money that would have been spent on bills.

(3) By carrying out many of the improvements themselves.

(4) By working for the European Union to pay for half of the cost.

問38 Question:
Which of the following statements is true?

答え： ( 38 )

(1) The SmartEnCity project has helped to turn Tartu into a more attractive city.

(2) The European Union gave money to build 17 new apartment houses in Estonia.

(3) Countries decided to leave the Soviet Union because of housing shortages.

(4) Over 80 percent of gas consumption in Estonia is for heating private homes.