EigoPro 準1級 読解 — Sleep and Modern Life

For much of the industrial age, sleep was regarded as little more than wasted time—an inconvenient pause to be trimmed in the pursuit of productivity. That attitude has proved costly. Over the past two decades, sleep science has accumulated a formidable body of evidence showing that the hours we spend unconscious are anything but idle. During deep sleep, the brain consolidates memories, clears metabolic waste, and recalibrates the hormones that govern appetite and stress. Chronic deprivation, far from being a mark of dedication, quietly erodes the very faculties—judgement, attention, emotional control—on which modern work depends. The modern environment, however, seems almost engineered to keep us awake. Artificial light, and the blue glow of screens in particular, suppresses melatonin, the hormone that signals nightfall to the body. A culture that prizes busyness treats early rising as virtuous and late nights as ambitious, while the boundary between work and rest dissolves under the pressure of constant connectivity. The result is a population that is, by any historical measure, profoundly under-rested—yet largely unaware of the cumulative toll, because the effects of sleep loss are insidious rather than dramatic. What makes this neglect especially troubling is that the damage is not confined to feeling groggy the next morning. Epidemiological studies have linked persistent short sleep to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and a heightened risk of dementia in later life. Some researchers now argue that adequate sleep deserves to stand alongside diet and exercise as a pillar of public health. Yet sleep remains stubbornly unfashionable as a cause; it is hard to monetise rest, and harder still to persuade a sleepless society that doing less of something might be the most demanding discipline of all.

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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?

  • People who rise early are generally more productive than those who stay up late.
  • Sleep science has finally proven that eight hours of sleep is essential for everyone.
  • Sleep is a biologically vital process that modern life undermines, with serious consequences for health.
  • Screens and artificial light are the sole cause of every modern health problem.
Phrase

the hours we spend unconscious are anything but idle ... Chronic deprivation ... quietly erodes the very faculties ... on which modern work depends

準1級読解健康科学主旨把握
⚡ひとことで

本文は「睡眠は生物学的に不可欠だが現代生活がそれを蝕み、健康に重大な影響を及ぼす」という論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Sleep is a biologically vital process that modern life undermines, with serious consequences for health.」

正解

本文は (1) 睡眠は無駄ではなく記憶定着・老廃物除去・ホルモン調整を担う→ (2) 現代環境 (人工光・忙しさ礼賛) が睡眠を奪う→ (3) 慢性的睡眠不足は肥満・糖尿病・認知症等に繋がる、と展開する。よって「睡眠は生物学的に不可欠な営みだが現代生活がそれを蝕み、健康に深刻な結果をもたらす」が主旨。

  • 「Sleep science has finally proven that exactly eight hours of sleep is essential for everyone.」

    = 睡眠科学が万人に8時間必要と証明した ━ 本文は具体的な必要時間 (8時間) を一切示しておらず、言い過ぎ。

  • 「Screens and artificial light are the sole cause of every modern health problem.」

    = 画面と人工光があらゆる健康問題の唯一の原因 ━ 人工光は一因として挙がるだけで『あらゆる問題の唯一の原因』とは述べていない。

  • 「People who rise early are generally more productive than those who stay up late.」

    = 早起きの人は夜更かしより生産的 ━ 本文は早起き礼賛の文化を批判的に紹介しただけで、その主張を支持していない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
be regarded as ~~とみなされるSleep was regarded as wasted time.
anything but ~決して~ではないThe hours are anything but idle.
a body of evidence(一連の) 証拠a formidable body of evidence
erode the faculties能力を蝕むDeprivation erodes the faculties.
depend on ~~に依存するthe faculties on which work depends
❝例文

  • The hours we spend asleep are anything but idle.

    私たちが眠って過ごす時間は決して無為ではない。

  • A formidable body of evidence supports this claim.

    膨大な証拠がこの主張を裏付けている。

  • Chronic deprivation quietly erodes our judgement.

    慢性的な不足は静かに判断力を蝕む。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は『定義→原因→結果』の三段構成を一文に圧縮した肢を選ぶ。具体数値 (eight hours) を出す肢は本文にない誇張のことが多い。

問 2

According to the passage, what happens in the brain during deep sleep?

  • It shuts down completely so that no biological activity takes place.
  • It consolidates memories, removes metabolic waste, and readjusts hormones that regulate appetite and stress.
  • It permanently erases recent memories to make room for new ones.
  • It produces blue light that interferes with the release of melatonin.
Phrase

During deep sleep, the brain consolidates memories, clears metabolic waste, and recalibrates the hormones that govern appetite and stress.

準1級読解健康科学詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

深い睡眠中、脳は記憶を定着させ・老廃物を除去し・食欲とストレスを司るホルモンを調整する。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「It consolidates memories, removes metabolic waste, and readjusts hormones that regulate appetite and stress.」

正解

第1段に During deep sleep, the brain consolidates memories, clears metabolic waste, and recalibrates the hormones that govern appetite and stress とある。これを言い換えた『記憶を定着させ、代謝老廃物を除去し、食欲とストレスを調整するホルモンを再調整する』が正解。

  • 「It shuts down completely so that no biological activity takes place.」

    = 完全に停止し生物活動が起きない ━ 本文は睡眠中こそ脳が活発に働くと述べており正反対。

  • 「It produces blue light that interferes with the body's natural release of melatonin at night.」

    = メラトニン分泌を妨げる青色光を出す ━ 青色光はスクリーン由来で脳が出すものではない。情報の混同。

  • 「It permanently erases recent memories to make room for new ones.」

    = 新たな記憶のため最近の記憶を永久消去する ━ 本文は consolidate (定着) と述べており erase (消去) とは逆。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
consolidate memories記憶を定着させるSleep consolidates memories.
clear waste老廃物を除去するThe brain clears metabolic waste.
recalibrate hormonesホルモンを再調整するIt recalibrates key hormones.
govern appetite食欲を司るhormones that govern appetite
metabolic waste代謝老廃物clears metabolic waste
❝例文

  • Deep sleep consolidates the day's memories.

    深い睡眠はその日の記憶を定着させる。

  • The brain clears metabolic waste at night.

    脳は夜間に代謝老廃物を除去する。

  • These hormones govern appetite and stress.

    これらのホルモンは食欲とストレスを司る。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

列挙型の詳細設問は本文の動詞を同義語に置換した肢が正解 (consolidate→consolidate, clears→removes, recalibrates→readjusts)。逆方向の動詞 (erase, shut down) は誤答。

問 3

What does the passage identify as a reason sleep loss often goes unnoticed?

  • Most people sleep far more than historical records suggest they once did.
  • Doctors rarely warn patients about the dangers of short sleep.
  • The symptoms of sleep loss are too dramatic for people to take seriously.
  • Its effects build up gradually and quietly rather than appearing all at once.
Phrase

largely unaware of the cumulative toll, because the effects of sleep loss are insidious rather than dramatic

準1級読解健康科学詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

睡眠不足の影響は劇的ではなく静かに蓄積するため、人々はその代償に気づきにくい。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Its effects build up gradually and quietly rather than appearing all at once.」

正解

第2段末に the effects of sleep loss are insidious rather than dramatic とあり、それゆえ largely unaware of the cumulative toll (累積的な代償に概ね気づかない) と述べる。『影響が一気に現れるのではなく徐々に静かに蓄積する』が正解。

  • 「Most people sleep far more than historical records suggest they once did.」

    = 歴史的記録より多く眠っている ━ 本文は歴史的に見て under-rested (寝不足) と述べており正反対。

  • 「Doctors rarely warn patients about the dangers of short sleep.」

    = 医師がほとんど警告しない ━ 医師の警告の有無は本文に記載がない。

  • 「The symptoms of sleep loss are too dramatic for people to take seriously.」

    = 症状が劇的すぎて真剣に受け止められない ━ 本文は dramatic ではなく insidious と明言しているので逆。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
be unaware of ~~に気づいていないunaware of the toll
the cumulative toll累積的な代償the cumulative toll of stress
A rather than BBというよりAinsidious rather than dramatic
under-rested休息不足のa profoundly under-rested population
by any measureどう見てもby any historical measure
❝例文

  • The effects are insidious rather than dramatic.

    その影響は劇的というより静かに進行する。

  • Few people are aware of the cumulative toll.

    累積的な代償に気づく人はほとんどいない。

  • The society is, by any measure, under

    rested. — その社会はどう見ても休息不足だ。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

『なぜ気づかないか』を問う設問は本文の理由節 (because ...) を直接探す。insidious=静かに進む、を dramatic に置き換えた肢は本文と矛盾する罠。

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