EigoPro 準1級読解 — The Loss of the Night Sky

For nearly all of human history, the night sky was a familiar companion: a canopy of thousands of stars under which our ancestors navigated, told stories, and measured the turning of the seasons. Today, more than four-fifths of the world's population live beneath a sky so brightened by artificial illumination that the Milky Way has become invisible to them. This relentless brightening, known as light pollution, is among the most pervasive forms of environmental change—and one of the most easily overlooked, precisely because it arrives as a by-product of the comforts of modern life. The consequences extend far beyond the loss of a beautiful view. Countless species have evolved to read the cues of natural darkness, and artificial light scrambles those signals. Newly hatched sea turtles, which instinctively crawl toward the brightest horizon, now stumble inland toward streetlamps instead of the moonlit sea. Migrating birds, disoriented by floodlit skyscrapers, collide with glass in their millions each year. Even the synchronized flashing of fireflies, a courtship ritual refined over millennia, falters when drowned out by the glow of suburbs. For these creatures, the night is not merely darker; it has been rewritten. Humans, too, pay a price. The hormone melatonin, which regulates our sleep and is suppressed by exposure to light, evolved to flow freely in darkness. Chronic nighttime illumination disrupts this rhythm, and a growing body of research links it to insomnia, mood disorders, and elevated risks of certain diseases. The remedy, encouragingly, is neither costly nor complicated. Unlike carbon emissions, light pollution vanishes the instant the source is switched off. Shielded fixtures that direct light downward, warmer bulbs, and motion sensors that dim empty streets can restore much of the darkness without sacrificing safety. What is required is not technological breakthrough but the simple recognition that darkness, too, is a resource worth protecting.

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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?

Light pollution is harmless to humans but devastating to nocturnal animals.
Light pollution is a widespread but easily reversible threat that harms both wildlife and human health.
Artificial lighting must be abolished entirely to protect migrating birds and sea turtles.
The disappearance of the Milky Way is the most urgent environmental problem facing humanity.

Phrase

light pollution ... one of the most easily overlooked ... darkness, too, is a resource worth protecting

準1級読解環境ジャーナリズム主旨把握

⚡ひとことで

本文は「光害は広範だが簡単に元に戻せる問題で、野生動物と人間の双方を害する」という論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Light pollution is a widespread but easily reversible threat that harms both wildlife and human health.」

正解

本文は (1) 光害は最も pervasive で見過ごされやすい環境変化→ (2) 野生動物 (ウミガメ・鳥・ホタル) への害→ (3) 人間 (メラトニン・睡眠) への害→ (4) しかし switch off するだけで消える reversible な問題、という構成。よって「広範だが容易に元に戻せる脅威で、野生動物と人間の健康の双方を害する」が主旨。

「The disappearance of the Milky Way is the most urgent environmental problem facing humanity.」
= 天の川の消失が人類最大の環境問題 ━ 本文は light pollution を『最も見過ごされやすい』形態とは述べるが『人類最大の喫緊課題』とは言っておらず、view の喪失は問題の一部に過ぎないと明言する。
「Artificial lighting must be abolished entirely」
= 人工照明を完全に廃止すべき ━ 本文は遮光器具・暖色電球・人感センサーで『安全を犠牲にせず』解決できると述べており、全廃という極端な主張はしていない。
「Light pollution is harmless to humans but devastating to nocturnal animals.」
= 人間には無害だが動物には壊滅的 ━ 第3段で人間も melatonin 抑制・不眠・気分障害などの代償を払うと明言しており、人間に無害という点が誤り。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
a by-product of ~	~の副産物	a by-product of modern comforts
be overlooked	見過ごされる	easily overlooked
extend far beyond ~	~をはるかに超えて及ぶ	consequences extend far beyond the view
pay a price	代償を払う	Humans, too, pay a price.
worth protecting	保護する価値がある	a resource worth protecting

❝例文

Light pollution is a by
product of modern life. — 光害は現代生活の副産物だ。
The consequences extend far beyond the loss of a view.
その影響は景観の喪失をはるかに超えて及ぶ。
Darkness, too, is a resource worth protecting.
暗闇もまた保護する価値のある資源だ。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は本文の論理展開全体 (広範さ＋害＋可逆性) を一文で要約した選択肢を選ぶ。一点だけ強調する極端肢 (most urgent / abolish entirely) は誇張型の誤答。

問 2

According to the passage, why do newly hatched sea turtles crawl inland?

Predators near the shoreline force them to flee away from the water.
Streetlamps generate heat that the turtles are drawn to for warmth.
They instinctively move toward the brightest light, which is now artificial rather than the moonlit sea.
Floodlit skyscrapers block their view of the moon entirely.

Phrase

Newly hatched sea turtles, which instinctively crawl toward the brightest horizon, now stumble inland toward streetlamps

準1級読解環境ジャーナリズム詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

ウミガメは最も明るい方向へ本能的に進む→今は月の海でなく街灯が最も明るいため内陸へ。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「They instinctively move toward the brightest light, which is now artificial rather than the moonlit sea.」

正解

第2段でウミガメは『最も明るい地平線に本能的に這う (instinctively crawl toward the brightest horizon)』が、月明かりの海ではなく街灯 (streetlamps) へ向かって内陸へよろめくと説明する。よって『本能的に最も明るい光へ向かうが、それが今や月明かりの海ではなく人工光だから』が正解。

「The streetlamps generate a heat that the young turtles are drawn towards in search of warmth.」
= 街灯の熱に引かれる ━ 本文は熱ではなく『明るさ (brightest)』に向かう本能だと述べており、温かさは無関係。
「The predators waiting near the shoreline force them to flee away from the water entirely.」
= 捕食者から逃げるため ━ 捕食者への言及はなく、移動の原因は光の本能。
「The floodlit skyscrapers completely block out their view of the moon that hangs above them.」
= 高層ビルが月を遮る ━ 高層ビルは渡り鳥の例。ウミガメと結びつける記述はない。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
newly hatched ~	孵化したばかりの~	newly hatched turtles
crawl toward ~	~へ這う	crawl toward the horizon
stumble inland	内陸へよろめき進む	stumble inland toward streetlamps
instinctively V	本能的に~する	instinctively crawl
collide with ~	~に衝突する	birds collide with glass

❝例文

Newly hatched turtles instinctively crawl toward the brightest light.
孵化したばかりのカメは本能的に最も明るい光へ這う。
Disoriented birds collide with glass towers.
方向を見失った鳥がガラスの塔に衝突する。
The hatchlings stumbled inland instead of toward the sea.
その子ガメは海ではなく内陸へよろめき進んだ。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は本文の因果 (brightest → crawl) をそのまま追う。別の動物 (鳥のskyscraper) の情報を混ぜた選択肢はよくある引っかけ。

問 3

What does the passage say distinguishes light pollution from carbon emissions?

It affects animals but, unlike emissions, leaves humans unharmed.
It can only be reduced through expensive technological breakthroughs.
It poses no measurable risk to human health, unlike carbon emissions.
Its harmful effects can be eliminated immediately once the light source is turned off.

Phrase

Unlike carbon emissions, light pollution vanishes the instant the source is switched off.

準1級読解環境ジャーナリズム詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

炭素排出と違い、光害は光源を消した瞬間に消える=即時可逆。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Its harmful effects can be eliminated immediately once the light source is turned off.」

正解

第3段で『二酸化炭素排出と違い (Unlike carbon emissions)、光害は光源を消した瞬間に消える (vanishes the instant the source is switched off)』と対比する。よって炭素排出との違いは『光源を消せば害を即座に取り除ける』点。

「It poses no measurable risk at all to human health, unlike carbon emissions.」
= 人の健康に測定可能なリスクはない ━ 本文は不眠・気分障害・疾患リスク増を挙げており、健康リスクなしは誤り。
「It can only ever be reduced through expensive technological breakthroughs.」
= 高額な技術革新でしか減らせない ━ 本文は『技術的ブレークスルーではなく認識が必要』『費用も複雑さも要らない』と正反対のことを述べる。
「It affects the animals but, unlike emissions, leaves human beings unharmed.」
= 動物には影響するが人間は無傷 ━ 対比の論点は『可逆性』であり、人間への害は第3段で明示されている。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
unlike ~	~とは違って	Unlike carbon emissions
the instant (that) ~	~した瞬間に	vanish the instant it is off
switch off	(スイッチを)切る	switch off the source
without sacrificing ~	~を犠牲にせずに	without sacrificing safety
a growing body of research	蓄積しつつある研究	research links it to insomnia

❝例文

Unlike carbon emissions, the problem vanishes instantly.
炭素排出と違い、その問題は瞬時に消える。
Light pollution disappears the instant the source is switched off.
光害は光源を消した瞬間に消える。
We can restore darkness without sacrificing safety.
安全を犠牲にせず暗闇を取り戻せる。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

対比 (Unlike ...) を問う設問は、対比軸 (ここでは『可逆性』) を正確に拾う。健康・費用などの別論点にすり替えた選択肢が定番の誤答。

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EigoPro 準1級 読解 — The Loss of the Night Sky

この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

light pollution ... one of the most easily overlooked ... darkness, too, is a resource worth protecting

Newly hatched sea turtles, which instinctively crawl toward the brightest horizon, now stumble inland toward streetlamps

Unlike carbon emissions, light pollution vanishes the instant the source is switched off.

EigoPro 準1級読解 — The Loss of the Night Sky