EigoPro 準1級 読解 — The Economics of Happiness

For decades, gross domestic product reigned as the unrivalled measure of a nation's progress. A rising GDP signalled more goods, more services, and—it was assumed—more contentment among the citizens who produced and consumed them. Yet this comfortable equation has come under sustained attack. Economists now point to the so-called Easterlin paradox: beyond a certain threshold of income, further national wealth yields no corresponding rise in reported happiness. A country can grow steadily richer while its people grow no more satisfied, and sometimes considerably less so. The reasons are not mysterious. GDP counts every transaction as a gain, indifferent to whether it reflects genuine flourishing or mere expenditure. A devastating oil spill inflates GDP through the clean-up that follows; a sleepless commuter stuck in traffic burns fuel that registers as economic activity. Meanwhile the things people most prize—leisure, clean air, trust in their neighbours, time with family—leave no trace in the ledger because no money changes hands. The metric, in short, is blind to the very dimensions of life that make wealth worth having in the first place. Some governments have begun to act on this insight. Bhutan famously elevated "Gross National Happiness" to a guiding principle, and New Zealand now frames its national budget around wellbeing rather than output alone. Critics counter that happiness is hopelessly subjective, too slippery to anchor serious policy, and that any attempt to quantify it invites manipulation by whichever administration is in power. There is force in the warning. Still, the deeper lesson stands: a measure that ignores how citizens actually fare cannot, by itself, tell a government whether its people are thriving. To treat GDP as the destination, rather than one imperfect signpost among many, is to mistake the map for the territory.

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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?

  • Bhutan and New Zealand have proven that happiness can be measured with precision.
  • Economic growth inevitably makes the citizens of a nation less happy over time.
  • GDP is an incomplete gauge of progress because it overlooks much of what makes life worthwhile.
  • Governments should abandon GDP entirely and replace it with happiness surveys.
Phrase

a measure that ignores how citizens actually fare cannot, by itself, tell a government whether its people are thriving

準1級読解経済政策論説主旨把握
⚡ひとことで

本文全体は「GDPは進歩の不完全な尺度で、人生を価値あるものにする要素を見落とす」という論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「GDP is an incomplete gauge of progress because it overlooks much of what makes life worthwhile.」

正解

本文は (1) GDPが進歩の唯一の尺度として君臨してきた→ (2) Easterlin paradox と GDP の盲点 (余暇・きれいな空気・信頼などを数えない)→ (3) 各国の試みと批判→「GDPは不完全な道標の一つにすぎない」と結ぶ構成。第2段末の『wealth worth having の次元に盲目』と最終段の結論から、主旨は「GDPは不完全な尺度で、人生を価値あるものにする多くを見落とす」。

  • 「Economic growth inevitably makes the citizens of a nation less happy over time.」

    = 経済成長は必ず国民を不幸にする ━ 本文は『さらに満足が増えない、時には少し減る』と述べるだけで『必ず不幸にする』とは言っていない言い過ぎ。

  • 「Bhutan and New Zealand have proven that happiness can be measured with precision.」

    = 幸福を精密に測定できると証明した ━ 本文はむしろ批判者が『幸福は主観的で測りにくい』と警告し著者も一理あると認めており、精密測定の証明とは逆。

  • 「abandon GDP entirely and replace it with happiness surveys」

    = GDPを完全に廃止し幸福調査に置き換えるべき ━ 最終段で GDP を『不完全な道標の一つ』と位置づけており全廃ではない極論。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
reign as ~~として君臨するGDP reigned as the measure of progress.
come under attack攻撃にさらされるThe equation came under sustained attack.
be blind to ~~に盲目であるThe metric is blind to those dimensions.
worth having持つ価値のあるwhat makes wealth worth having
a measure of ~~の尺度an unrivalled measure of progress
❝例文

  • For decades GDP reigned as the unrivalled measure of progress.

    数十年間、GDPは進歩の比類なき尺度として君臨した。

  • The comfortable equation has come under sustained attack.

    その心地よい等式は持続的な攻撃にさらされてきた。

  • The metric is blind to the dimensions that make wealth worth having.

    その尺度は富を持つ価値あるものにする次元に盲目だ。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は最終段の結論文 (mistake the map for the territory) と第2段の問題提起を結ぶと速い。『言い過ぎ (inevitably / entirely)』の選択肢は本文の限定表現とズレる。

問 2

What does the passage say about the Easterlin paradox?

  • It proves that poorer countries are always happier than richer ones.
  • It shows that happiness rises in exact proportion to a nation's GDP.
  • It demonstrates that GDP can no longer be measured accurately.
  • Once income passes a certain point, additional national wealth brings no matching gain in reported happiness.
Phrase

beyond a certain threshold of income, further national wealth yields no corresponding rise in reported happiness

準1級読解経済政策論説詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

Easterlin paradox = 一定の所得を超えると、国富の増加に見合う幸福の上昇が起きない。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Once income passes a certain point, additional national wealth brings no matching gain in reported happiness.」

正解

第1段で Easterlin paradox を『a certain threshold of income を超えると further national wealth は corresponding rise in reported happiness を生まない』と定義する。これを言い換えた「所得が一定点を超えると、追加の国富は幸福の見合った上昇をもたらさない」が正解。

  • 「It shows that reported happiness always rises in exact proportion to a nation's overall GDP.」

    = 幸福はGDPに正比例して上がる ━ paradox はまさにこの比例関係が成り立たないことを示すので正反対。

  • 「It proves that the poorer countries are always a great deal happier than all of the richer ones.」

    = 貧しい国の方が常に幸福 ━ 本文は閾値超過後に上昇が止まると述べるだけで『貧国が常に幸福』とは言っていない言い過ぎ。

  • 「It demonstrates that a nation's own GDP can no longer be measured with any real accuracy at all.」

    = GDPはもはや正確に測れない ━ 測定の正確さではなく幸福との連動の話で本文にない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
a threshold of ~~の閾値beyond a threshold of income
yield a rise in ~~の上昇を生むyields no rise in happiness
a corresponding rise見合った上昇no corresponding rise
reported happiness申告された幸福度no rise in reported happiness
grow richerより豊かになるA country can grow steadily richer.
❝例文

  • Beyond a certain threshold, more income brings little extra happiness.

    一定の閾値を超えると、所得増は幸福をほとんど増やさない。

  • The country grew richer but its people grew no more satisfied.

    その国は豊かになったが、国民の満足はそれ以上増えなかった。

  • Further wealth yielded no corresponding rise in wellbeing.

    さらなる富は、それに見合う幸福の上昇を生まなかった。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は本文語の置換が正解 (threshold→a certain point, corresponding→matching)。『in exact proportion』のような強い語は paradox と矛盾するので外す。

問 3

According to the passage, why does an oil spill increase GDP?

  • GDP includes the environmental damage as a deduction from the total.
  • The clean-up that follows it counts as economic activity, since GDP records every transaction as a gain.
  • The disaster forces citizens to spend their savings on safer housing.
  • Oil spills directly raise the market value of a nation's natural resources.
Phrase

A devastating oil spill inflates GDP through the clean-up that follows

準1級読解経済政策論説詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

GDPは全取引を利得として数えるため、流出事故の後始末(支出)がGDPを押し上げる。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「The clean-up that follows it counts as economic activity, since GDP records every transaction as a gain.」

正解

第2段で『GDP counts every transaction as a gain』と述べ、その例として『A devastating oil spill inflates GDP through the clean-up that follows (後始末を通じてGDPを膨らませる)』を挙げる。よって正解は「後始末が経済活動として数えられるから」。

  • 「An oil spill directly raises the market value of all of a nation's own natural resources.」

    = 天然資源の市場価値を直接上げる ━ 本文は資源価値ではなく『後始末の支出』が計上されると述べており因果が違う。

  • 「A nation's GDP includes all of the environmental damage as a deduction from the yearly total.」

    = 環境被害を控除として含める ━ GDPは取引を gain として数え被害を控除しないので正反対。

  • 「The disaster forces all of the citizens to spend their own savings on much safer housing.」

    = 住民が貯蓄を安全な住宅に使わざるを得ない ━ 本文にない要素 (住宅・貯蓄の話は出ない)。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
inflate GDPGDPを膨らませるThe spill inflates GDP.
count A as BAをBとみなすGDP counts every transaction as a gain.
register as ~~として計上されるFuel burns and registers as activity.
the clean-up that followsその後の後始末the clean-up that follows the spill
change hands(金が)やり取りされるno money changes hands
❝例文

  • The disaster inflated GDP through the costly clean

    up. — その災害は高額な後始末を通じてGDPを膨らませた。

  • GDP counts every transaction as a gain.

    GDPはあらゆる取引を利得として数える。

  • Leisure leaves no trace because no money changes hands.

    余暇は金銭のやり取りがないので痕跡を残さない。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

原因設問は本文の動詞句 (inflates ... through the clean-up) を探す。『deduction (控除)』は GDP の counts-as-gain 原理と矛盾する罠。

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