問 1
What does the passage say about Van Gogh's life?
- He was rich and famous throughout his whole life.
- He stopped painting because of his illness.
- He painted only one work in ten years.
- He was often very poor and sold only one painting while alive.
poor, sold only one painting
貧しく、1枚しか売れなかった
「He was often very poor and sold only one painting while alive.」を表す読解フレーズ。ゴッホの生涯の文脈で頻出。
「He was often very poor and sold only one painting while alive.」
正解A Difficult Life "During his life, he sold only one painting and was often very poor ... yet he never stopped painting" より、生涯 = 貧しく1枚しか売れなかったが描き続けた。only one = 「たった1枚」、yet = 「それでも」(逆接)、never stop + 動名詞 = 「決して〜をやめない」。
「He was rich and famous throughout the whole of his life.」
= 生涯裕福で有名 ━ 本文 "often very poor" + 1枚のみ ━ 正反対。
「He painted only one single work in the last ten years.」
= 10年で1作のみ ━ 本文 "more than 2,000 works" ━ 売れたのが1枚で作品数は2000超。
「He stopped painting completely because of his illness.」
= 病で描くのをやめた ━ 本文 "never stopped painting" と矛盾。
| パターン | 意味 | 例 |
|---|---|---|
| be poor | 貧しい | he was often very poor |
| sell only one ~ | 1枚しか売れない | sold only one painting |
| while alive | 生きている間 | while alive |
| yet + 文 | それでも〜 | yet he never stopped |
| never stop + 動名詞 | 決して〜をやめない | never stopped painting |
He sold only one painting while alive.
存命中に1枚しか売れなかった。
Yet he never stopped painting.
それでも描くのをやめなかった。
He created more than 2,000 works.
2000点以上を生み出した。
生涯設問の鉄則 ―― 数字の正確な読解が鍵: 売れた数 (1枚) と 制作数 (2000超) を混同しない。yet = 「それでも」の逆接、never stop + 動名詞 は『決して〜をやめない』。準2級では『売却数 vs 制作数』のような数字の誤誘導に注意。