EigoPro 準1級読解 — The Ethics of Zoos

Few institutions divide opinion as sharply as the modern zoo. To their defenders, zoos are arks of conservation, sheltering endangered species and bankrolling fieldwork that would otherwise go unfunded. To their critics, they are little more than well-decorated prisons, where intelligent animals pace out their lives behind glass for the amusement of paying crowds. Both camps invoke the welfare of the animals; what they cannot agree on is whether captivity, however comfortable, can ever be justified. The conservationist case is not without merit. Captive-breeding programmes have rescued species such as the Arabian oryx and the California condor from the brink of extinction, and a fraction of ticket revenue does flow to habitat protection abroad. Yet the figures are sobering. Only a small minority of the species held in zoos are actually endangered, and fewer still are candidates for any realistic reintroduction to the wild. The remainder—the big cats, the elephants, the great apes—are crowd-pleasers first and conservation projects only incidentally. For these animals, a concrete enclosure is no substitute for a territory measured in square kilometres. Critics press a further point that is harder to dismiss. The behaviour of confined animals is frequently abnormal: the repetitive pacing, the head-bobbing, the self-harm that ethologists group under the term "zoochosis." Such symptoms suggest that even an enriched enclosure cannot satisfy needs that evolution shaped over millions of years. Defenders counter that the best modern zoos are unrecognisable from the bare cages of the past, and that the educational encounter with a living creature inspires a generation of conservationists in a way no documentary can. Perhaps the honest verdict is that zoos are neither villains nor saviours but a compromise—one whose terms we should continually renegotiate. The question is not simply whether zoos should exist, but which animals belong in them, under what conditions, and to what demonstrable end.

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この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

準1級 · 読解 · 全5問

問 1

What is the main idea of the passage?

Zoos have proven to be the single most effective tool for preventing species extinction.
The debate over zoos is essentially trivial since both sides ultimately agree.
Zoos are a contested compromise whose justification depends on which animals are kept and to what end.
Modern zoos should be shut down because confinement harms every animal they hold.

Phrase

zoos are neither villains nor saviours but a compromise—one whose terms we should continually renegotiate

準1級読解オピニオン主旨把握

⚡ひとことで

本文全体は「動物園は善でも悪でもなく、条件を絶えず見直すべき妥協」という論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Zoos are a contested compromise whose justification depends on which animals are kept and to what end.」

正解

本文は (1) 擁護派 vs 批判派の対立→ (2) 保全の功績は限定的→ (3) 監禁による異常行動→ (4) 結論「動物園は villain でも saviour でもなく compromise」と進む。最終段は which animals belong in them, under what conditions, and to what demonstrable end と問い直す。よって「どの動物をどんな目的で飼うかに正当性が依存する、論争的な妥協」が主旨。

「Zoos have proven to be the single most effective tool for preventing species extinction.」
= 種絶滅防止に最も有効な唯一の手段だと証明された ━ 本文は the figures are sobering とし保全効果を限定的と評価しており『最も有効』とは言っていない。
「Modern zoos should be shut down because confinement harms every animal they hold.」
= 全ての動物を害するので閉鎖すべき ━ 著者は neither villains nor saviours と中立的で、閉鎖を主張していない。
「The debate over zoos is essentially trivial since both sides ultimately agree.」
= 両者は結局合意するので議論は些末 ━ 冒頭で what they cannot agree on と明言しており、合意していない。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
divide opinion	意見を二分する	Few institutions divide opinion as sharply.
invoke the welfare of ~	~の福祉を引き合いに出す	Both camps invoke the welfare of the animals.
neither A nor B	AでもBでもない	neither villains nor saviours
renegotiate the terms	条件を見直す	terms we should continually renegotiate
to what end	どんな目的で	under what conditions, and to what end

❝例文

Few topics divide opinion as sharply as this one.
これほど意見を二分する話題は少ない。
Both camps invoke the welfare of the animals.
どちらの陣営も動物の福祉を引き合いに出す。
The result is neither a victory nor a defeat but a compromise.
結果は勝利でも敗北でもなく妥協だ。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は最終段の結論文を探すと速い。本文は neither A nor B but C 型で著者の立場 (C=compromise) が明示される。

問 2

According to the passage, what does it say about the species typically held in zoos?

The majority are endangered species awaiting imminent reintroduction to the wild.
Most are big cats, elephants, and apes selected purely for their conservation value.
Only a small minority are endangered, and fewer still could realistically be returned to the wild.
None of them contribute in any way to habitat protection abroad.

Phrase

Only a small minority of the species held in zoos are actually endangered, and fewer still are candidates for any realistic reintroduction to the wild

準1級読解オピニオン詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

動物園の種のうち絶滅危惧は少数派で、野生復帰の候補はさらに少ない。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Only a small minority are endangered, and fewer still could realistically be returned to the wild.」

正解

第2段で Only a small minority ... are actually endangered, and fewer still are candidates for any realistic reintroduction to the wild と述べる。これを言い換えた「絶滅危惧は少数派で、野生に現実的に戻せるのはさらに少ない」が正解。

「The majority are endangered species awaiting imminent reintroduction to the wild.」
= 大半が野生復帰間近の絶滅危惧種 ━ 本文は少数派 (a small minority) と明言しており正反対。
「Most are big cats, elephants, and apes selected purely for their conservation value.」
= 大型猫・象・類人猿が保全目的だけで選ばれた ━ 本文は彼らを crowd-pleasers first, conservation only incidentally とし『集客目的が主』と述べる。
「None of them contribute in any way to habitat protection abroad.」
= どれも海外の生息地保護に全く寄与しない ━ 本文は a fraction of ticket revenue does flow to habitat protection と一部寄与を認めており『全く』は言い過ぎ。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
a small minority of ~	~のごく一部	a small minority of the species
fewer still	さらに少ない	fewer still are candidates
on the brink of extinction	絶滅の瀬戸際	rescued from the brink of extinction
a fraction of ~	~のわずかな部分	a fraction of ticket revenue
be no substitute for ~	~の代わりにならない	a concrete enclosure is no substitute for a territory

❝例文

Only a small minority of the cases are serious.
深刻なのはごく一部の事例だけだ。
A fraction of the revenue flows to research.
収益のわずかな部分が研究に回る。
A cage is no substitute for the open savannah.
檻はサバンナの代わりにはならない。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は数量表現 (a small minority / fewer still / a fraction) に注目。『全て/全く』に置き換えた選択肢は言い過ぎで誤答になりやすい。

問 3

How does the passage describe the behaviour of confined animals?

They behave indistinguishably from their counterparts living in the wild.
Their abnormal behaviour disappears entirely in the best modern zoos.
They often show abnormal behaviours such as repetitive pacing and self-harm that experts call "zoochosis."
They become calmer and healthier than wild animals because of enriched enclosures.

Phrase

the repetitive pacing, the head-bobbing, the self-harm that ethologists group under the term "zoochosis"

準1級読解オピニオン詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

監禁動物は反復歩行・頭振り・自傷など『zoochosis』と呼ばれる異常行動を示す。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「They often show abnormal behaviours such as repetitive pacing and self-harm that experts call "zoochosis."」

正解

第3段で The behaviour of confined animals is frequently abnormal とし、repetitive pacing / head-bobbing / self-harm を挙げ、ethologists がこれを zoochosis と総称すると述べる。これを言い換えた選択肢が正解。

「They behave indistinguishably from their counterparts living in the wild.」
= 野生個体と見分けがつかないほど同じに振る舞う ━ 本文は frequently abnormal と述べており正反対。
「They become calmer and healthier than wild animals because of their newly enriched enclosures.」
= 豊かな飼育環境で野生より穏やかで健康になる ━ 本文は enriched enclosure でも進化的欲求を満たせないと述べており逆。
「Their abnormal behaviour disappears entirely in the best modern zoos.」
= 最高水準の現代動物園では異常行動が完全に消える ━ 本文は best modern zoos を擁護派の反論として挙げるが『異常行動が完全に消える』とは述べていない。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
be frequently abnormal	しばしば異常である	The behaviour is frequently abnormal.
group A under the term B	AをBという用語で総称する	group them under the term zoochosis
an enriched enclosure	豊かにした飼育場	even an enriched enclosure cannot satisfy
satisfy a need	欲求を満たす	cannot satisfy needs evolution shaped
be unrecognisable from ~	~とは様変わりしている	unrecognisable from the bare cages of the past

❝例文

The animal's behaviour was frequently abnormal.
その動物の行動はしばしば異常だった。
Ethologists group these symptoms under one term.
動物行動学者はこれらの症状を一語で総称する。
Even an enriched enclosure cannot satisfy such needs.
豊かな飼育場でさえそうした欲求は満たせない。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は段落を特定して照合する。第3段は批判側の論点。引用符付き専門用語 ("zoochosis") は答えの根拠になりやすい。

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EigoPro 準1級 読解 — The Ethics of Zoos

この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

zoos are neither villains nor saviours but a compromise—one whose terms we should continually renegotiate

Only a small minority of the species held in zoos are actually endangered, and fewer still are candidates for any realistic reintroduction to the wild

the repetitive pacing, the head-bobbing, the self-harm that ethologists group under the term "zoochosis"

EigoPro 準1級読解 — The Ethics of Zoos