■ 問題
第３問 次の問い(Ａ〜Ｃ)に答えよ。
Ｃ 次の会話は、「迷信」をテーマとして、日本のある大学において行われた
公開講座でのやりとりの一部である。[ 32 ]〜[ 34 ]に入れるのに最も適当な
ものを、それぞれ下の{1}〜{4}のうちから一つずつ選べ。
Moderator: The title of today's discussion is "Superstitions -- what they
are, and why people believe in them." Our guest speakers are Joseph Grant,
a university professor who lives here in Japan, and Lily Nelson, a visiting
professor from Canada. Joseph, can you explain what a superstition is?
Joseph: Superstitions are beliefs for which there is no obvious rational
basis. For example, there are various dates and numbers that people are
superstitious about. In many places, "Friday the 13th" is thought to be
unlucky. In contrast, 7 is known as "Lucky 7." A superstitious person
believes that actions such as choosing or avoiding certain numbers can
influence future events even though there is no direct connection between
them. Believing in superstitions is one of the ways humans can make sense
of a set of unusual events which cause someone to feel lucky or unlucky.
This seems to have been true throughout history, regardless of race or
cultural background.
Moderator: So, it is your view that [ 32 ].
{1} superstitions are traditionally based on certain dates and numbers
{2} superstitions can be used to explain strange happenings around us
{3} superstitious people believe race and culture are related to luck
{4} superstitious people tend to have identical beliefs regarding history
Joseph: That's right. Superstitions tend to come from a combination of
primitive belief systems and coincidence -- things that happened by chance.
Moderator: Could you tell us more about that.
Joseph: A primitive belief system develops from the natural human tendency
to look for patterns in the world around us. Noticing patterns allow us to
learn things quickly. However, sometimes chance or coincidental events are
mistaken for a pattern, like passing a series of tests using the same
pencil every time. The pencil is unrelated to passing the tests, but
becomes a "lucky" pencil because of the coincidental connection. So, we
may come to believe that one event causes another without any natural
process linking the two events. I experienced this myself when I was
called "Ame-otoko" or "Rain-man" by Japanese friends. By coincidence, I
was present on occasions when it was raining and so gained a "rainy
reputation." Rationally speaking, we know that nobody can make rain fall
from the sky, but our primitive belief system, combined with coincidence,
creates a superstition around the "Rain-man."
Moderator: How interesting! So, you are saying that [ 33 ].
{1} an "Ame-otoko" or "Rain-man" causes rain to fall from the sky
{2} coincidental events or chance patterns can create superstitions
{3} looking for patterns is in an unnatural action for humans
{4} primitive belief systems create coincidental events
Moderator: How about you, Lily? Do you agree with Joseph?
Lily: Yes, I do, especially regarding the notion of coincidence or chance.
In an attempt to better understand human behavior, an American psychologist
conducted a famous experiment called "Superstition in the Pigeon" on a
group of hungry birds. The pigeons were in cages and a feeding machine
automatically delivered small amounts of food at regular time intervals.
The psychologist observed that the pigeons began to repeat the specific
body movements that they had been making whenever the food was delivered.
He believed that the pigeons were trying to influence the machine to
deliver food by their repeated movements. He assumed that we humans also
do the same and try to influence future events by performing non-logical
actions, associate an action with an outcome even though there is no
logical connection.
Moderator: So, that psychologist thought from the experiment that [ 34 ].
{1} pigeons and humans both perform superstitious actions
{2} pigeons and humans both tend to influence machines
{3} the pigeons knew when the food would be delivered
{4} the pigeons' repeated actions influenced the food delivery
Lily: Yes, that's exactly right.
Moderator: Thank you, Joseph and Lily, for sharing your knowledge on
superstitions and why people are superstitious. Let's take a quick break
here before we move on with the discussion.
■ 解答・解説
2015年第３問Ｃは、インタービューを題材とした対話文でした。
要所要所で司会者がコメンテーターの発言をまとめ、そのまとめを選択肢から
選ぶ形式です。
内容がしっかりわかれば難しくはありませんが、文章がちょっと長めなので、
文意を誤解しない程度に速読していきたい問題です。
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Moderator: So, it is your view that [ 32 ].
司会者：つまり、あなたの考えは[ 32 ]ですね。
最初の問いでは、そこまでのJosephの発言をまとめています。
発言のまとめとなる選択肢は、
{1} superstitions are traditionally based on certain dates and numbers
{1} 迷信は伝統的に特定の日付や数字に基づく
{2} superstitions can be used to explain strange happenings around us
{2} 迷信は私達の周りの変わった出来事を説明するために使われる
{3} superstitious people believe race and culture are related to luck
{3} 迷信深い人々は、人種や文化を幸運と関連づける
{4} superstitious people tend to have identical beliefs regarding history
{4} 迷信深い人々は、歴史に関して一致した信念を持つ傾向がある
言葉の上っ面だけを見ると、どれも正しいように見えてしまうかも知れません。
しかし・・・
=========================== お知らせ２ ===============================
ＡＥ個別学習室(えまじゅく)では、生徒募集をしています。
・「やりなおしの中学英語を完成させる本」の著者、江間淳(代表)
・毎年江戸川取手中学にも合格者を出している、中学受験に強いＫ先生
・TOEICでも高得点を取得している北海道大学出身のＴ先生
などが授業を担当します。
今年度の受験にもまだまだできることはあります。
まずはお気軽にお問い合わせください。
詳しくは http://www.a-ema.com/j/ をご覧ください。
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■ 今回の高校レベルの単語・熟語など
≪32と選択肢まで≫
discussion：パネルディスカッションは公開討論会の一種。「議論、討論」
superstition：superは「超〜」の接頭辞。「迷信」
professor：teacherよりすごい感じがする。「教授」
explain：「説明する」の最も一般的な語。"account for"などの類義語。
belief：believeの名詞形。「信じること、信念、信仰」
obvious：簡単に言えば、形容詞のclearとだいたい同じ。「明かな」
rational：discussionはlogicalにrationalに行うべき。「理性的な、合理的な」
(以下略)
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解説の続きは、本日21時配信予定の
【高校英語】過去問攻略！センター英語
http://www.mag2.com/m/0001641009.html
に掲載します！
文法セクションはもちろん、第６問の長文まで、翻訳も行っている著者が、
全文訳・語句までイメージ重視＆論理的に解説します。
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