英語検定　２級(2021年第2回No.4)

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2-4		英語検定(２級)　筆記	2021年第2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。 Beards in History 　The hair that grows on a man’s face is called a beard. Hair usually starts growing on boys’ faces when they are teenagers and their bodies start producing certain chemicals. The scientist Charles Darwin suggested that men produce beards in order to be appealing to females, and many other scientists have supported this theory. Looking at history, however, it is clear that attitudes to beards have varied greatly from culture to culture. 　In many cultures, long beards have been seen as a sign of wisdom. In India, for example, religious leaders have often grown long beards. In ancient Israel, there were strict rules preventing men from shaving or cutting their beards. Many of the men in countries near Israel, though, shaved their faces or kept their beards very short. Some historians believe that the ancient Israelis kept their beards long so they would appear different from people in these other nations. 　What is perhaps more surprising is that attitudes to beards have not only varied from culture to culture but also from time to time. The ancient Romans, for example, never shaved their faces until about 100 B.C. Then, beards became unpopular, and for about three centuries, important Romans never had beards. However, beards suddenly became fashionable once more. A similar thing happened later in Europe. Beards became unpopular in the 17th century, and men shaved their faces until around the middle of the 19th century. From that time, men in Europe started to grow long beards again. 　In the 20th century, too, beards became unpopular in the 1930s, only to come back again in the 1960s. Recently, beards have become popular again among younger men in Europe and North America. This has led to the creation of “beard clubs.” These are groups of men who get together and compare their beards. Some of these clubs decided to start the World Beard and Moustache Championships (WBMC), which are held every two years. In 2017, the WBMC were held in Austin, Texas, and 738 competitors from 33 countries were involved. The event even included competitions for fake beards in which women could participate.
問30		Question: The scientist Charles Darwin (1) or (2) or (3) or (4) 答え： ( 30) (1) studied how attitudes to beards have changed in different cultures over time. (2) discovered that certain chemicals make hair grow on the faces of teenage boys. (3) had the idea that beards are a way for men to be more attractive to women. (4) supported a theory about beards that was suggested by a group of scientists.
問31		Question: According to some historians, what is one reason men in ancient Israel grew long beards? 答え： ( 31 ) (1) Because they did not want to look the same as men in nearby countries. (2) Because they did not agree with the rules about shaving their beards. (3) Because they hoped to appear wiser than other people in their community. (4) Because they were showing their respect for religious leaders in India.
問32		Question: What was surprising about ancient Romans' attitudes to beards? 答え： ( 32 ) (1) The Romans thought that important people should not be allowed to grow them. (2) Roman boys would never shave their faces until they had grown long beards. (3) Beards were unpopular for around 300 years before becoming popular again. (4) Their attitudes had an effect on fashions in Europe during the 17th century.
問33		Question: The World Beard and Moustache Championships (1) or (2) or (3) or (4) 答え： ( 33 ) (1) led to the creation of a number of beard clubs. (2) have special categories to allow women to take part. (3) are held every year in the city of Austin in Texas. (4) were canceled in the 1930s and returned in the 1960s.
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。 Ocean Treasure 　As economies grow, more goods are manufactured, so there is a constant need for metals. Changes in technology have further increased this demand. For example, computers and smartphones require rare metals such as gold. The amount of metal available on land, however, is limited. It is expensive for mining companies to dig deep into the ground to find metals. For these reasons, mining companies are now looking for metals under the sea. 　In the past, finding metals under the sea was considered to be too much of a challenge. In the last few decades, however, places where rare metals can be found have been discovered. These places are called “hydrothermal sea vents.” They are created when seawater flows deep inside the earth, where the rocks are very hot. The rocks are made of substances that contain metals. The water absorbs these substances. As the water gets hotter, it rises, pushes through the seafloor, and returns to the ocean. When the hot water mixes with the cold seawater, the substances in it are dropped on the seafloor. 　Because they are deep in the ocean, hydrothermal sea vents were not discovered until the 1970s. Scientists are interested in them not only because of the metals they contain, but also because of the amazing creatures found living near them. The water around the vents is very hot, dark, and full of powerful acids. In spite of these difficult conditions, bacteria and animals have adapted to live in these places. Unlike almost all other living things on the planet, these special creatures do not depend on energy from the sun. 　The conditions around the vents mean that mining near them is very challenging. The technology to mine close to the vents now exists, but it is still very expensive. There are other problems with deepsea mining, too. Scientists believe that sometime soon, companies will be able to afford to mine metals from the seafloor. However, mining around the vents would probably harm the creatures that live there. Consequently, although mining the seafloor for metals will become possible, governments and environmental groups might fight against it and perhaps even try to ban it.
問34		Question: Why are more companies looking for ways to get metals from the sea? 答え： ( 34 ) (1) Changes in technology have made it easy and cheap to do so. (2) The metals needed for manufacturing goods cannot be found on land. (3) There is more demand for certain kinds of metals which are hard to find. (4) They cannot dig any deeper into the ground to find rare metals.
問35		Question: Hydrothermal sea vents (1) or (2) or (3) or (4) 答え： ( 35 ) (1) began appearing in rocks on the seafloor during the last few decades. (2) are places where seawater heated by rocks under the seafloor comes out. (3) absorb substances containing metals and keep them deep inside the earth. (4) send up rocks from deep inside the earth and drop them on the seafloor.
問36		Question: What is one reason that scientists are interested in hydrothermal sea vents? 答え： ( 36 ) (1) They contain special metals that were only discovered recently. (2) They are full of powerful acids that are uncommon in the ocean. (3) Unusual animals that do not rely on the sun for energy live there. (4) The heat they create could be used as a source of energy.
問37		Question: What challenges will deepsea mining probably face in the future? 答え： ( 37 ) (1) Governments might fight each other for the best deepsea mining areas. (2) Scientists will have to work hard to invent the technology needed for it. (3) It will cost a lot of money to move the creatures living around the vents. (4) People might try to stop it because of possible damage to the environment.
問38		Question: Which of the following statements is true? 答え： ( 38 ) (1) Finding metals in the ocean was thought to be too difficult to do in the past. (2) New computers and smartphones use smaller amounts of rare metals than old ones. (3) Scientists discovered how to get metals from hydrothermal sea vents in the 1970s. (4) Some countries have made it illegal for companies to carry out deepsea mining.