EigoPro 準1級 読解 — The Urban Heat Island

On a summer night, a city can be several degrees warmer than the countryside that surrounds it. This discrepancy, known as the urban heat island effect, is not a quirk of the weather but a predictable consequence of how cities are built. Concrete and asphalt absorb solar radiation throughout the day and release it slowly after dark, so that the streets remain stubbornly warm long after the sun has set. Buildings trap heat in narrow canyons, vehicles and air conditioners exhaust it directly into the air, and the vegetation that would otherwise cool the ground through evaporation has largely been paved over. The result is a thermal landscape engineered, however unintentionally, for discomfort. The consequences extend well beyond inconvenience. Elevated night-time temperatures deprive residents of the cooling respite that ordinarily follows a hot day, and the burden falls unevenly. Poorer neighbourhoods, which tend to have fewer trees and more paved surfaces, can be markedly hotter than affluent districts only a few kilometres away. During heatwaves, this disparity translates directly into illness and death, with the elderly and those without air conditioning most exposed. As climate change drives baseline temperatures upward, the heat island ceases to be a mere curiosity and becomes a genuine public-health hazard. Mitigation, encouragingly, is largely a matter of design rather than expensive technology. Planting trees and creating parks restores the evaporative cooling that pavement destroys; painting roofs white, or covering them with reflective coatings, can lower a building's surface temperature dramatically by bouncing sunlight back into the sky. So-called green roofs, blanketed in vegetation, insulate buildings while cooling the air around them. None of these measures is novel, and none requires a technological breakthrough. What they demand instead is foresight—a willingness to treat the thermal behaviour of a city as something to be planned, rather than an accident to be endured.

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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?

  • Rural areas are becoming as hot as cities because of widespread paving.
  • Climate change is the sole cause of the rising temperatures observed in modern cities.
  • The way cities are built makes them hotter, with real human costs, but thoughtful design can reduce the problem.
  • Air conditioning is the only practical way to protect city residents from extreme heat.
Phrase

a predictable consequence of how cities are built ... a willingness to treat the thermal behaviour of a city as something to be planned

準1級読解都市科学主旨把握
⚡ひとことで

本文は「都市は構造ゆえに暑くなり実害も大きいが、設計で緩和できる」という論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「The way cities are built makes them hotter, with real human costs, but thoughtful design can reduce the problem.」

正解

本文は (1) 都市が暑くなる仕組み (コンクリート・アスファルトの蓄熱、緑地の舗装) → (2) 実害 (夜間高温・貧困地区の不平等・熱波での病死) → (3) 緩和策は『高価な技術ではなく設計の問題』(植樹・白い屋根・緑化屋根) という三段構成。よって「都市の作り方が都市を暑くし、実際の人的被害があるが、賢明な設計で問題を減らせる」が主旨。

  • 「Climate change is the sole cause」

    = 気候変動が唯一の原因 ━ 本文は気候変動を baseline を押し上げる要因として挙げるが、暑さの主因は都市の構造であり『唯一の原因』とは言っていない。

  • 「Air conditioning is the only practical way」

    = エアコンだけが唯一の対策 ━ 本文はエアコンを熱排出源かつ持たない人が危険と述べ、緩和策は設計だと主張するので逆。

  • 「Rural areas are becoming as hot as cities」

    = 田舎も都市並みに暑くなっている ━ 本文は田舎が都市より涼しい対比を示しており、田舎が都市並みになるとは述べていない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
a predictable consequence of ~~の予測可能な帰結a predictable consequence of how cities are built
be paved over舗装で覆われるvegetation has largely been paved over
extend beyond ~~を超えて及ぶThe consequences extend beyond inconvenience.
a matter of ~~の問題であるMitigation is a matter of design.
treat A as BAをBとして扱うtreat the thermal behaviour as something to be planned
❝例文

  • The heat is a predictable consequence of how the city is built.

    その暑さは都市の作り方の予測可能な帰結だ。

  • Most of the green space has been paved over.

    緑地の大半が舗装で覆われてしまった。

  • Mitigation is largely a matter of design.

    緩和はおおむね設計の問題だ。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は第1段の問題提起と最終段の結論文を結ぶ。本文は『仕組み→実害→対策』の論説型で、結論は最終文の plan/endure の対比に集約される。

問 2

According to the passage, why do city streets stay warm after sunset?

  • Cities are built closer to the equator than the surrounding countryside.
  • Concrete and asphalt absorb heat during the day and release it slowly at night.
  • Vegetation in cities releases stored heat once the sun goes down.
  • Air conditioners are switched off at night, trapping warm air indoors.
Phrase

Concrete and asphalt absorb solar radiation throughout the day and release it slowly after dark

準1級読解都市科学詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

コンクリートとアスファルトが日中に蓄熱し、夜にゆっくり放熱するため街路が暖かい。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Concrete and asphalt absorb heat during the day and release it slowly at night.」

正解

第1段に Concrete and asphalt absorb solar radiation throughout the day and release it slowly after dark, so that the streets remain stubbornly warm long after the sun has set とある。これを言い換えた「コンクリートとアスファルトが日中に熱を吸収し夜にゆっくり放出する」が正解。

  • 「Air conditioners are switched off at night」

    = 夜にエアコンを切るから ━ 本文はエアコンを熱の排出源として挙げるだけで、夜に切ることが原因とは述べていない。

  • 「built closer to the equator」

    = 赤道に近い場所に建つから ━ 本文に緯度の記述はなく、田舎との差は構造の問題。

  • 「Vegetation in cities releases stored heat once the sun goes down.」

    = 植生が蓄えた熱を放出するから ━ 本文では植生はむしろ蒸発で『冷やす』もので、放熱源ではない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
absorb solar radiation日射を吸収するAsphalt absorbs solar radiation.
release heat slowly熱をゆっくり放出するIt releases heat slowly after dark.
remain warm暖かいままであるThe streets remain warm at night.
after dark日没後release it slowly after dark
trap heat熱を閉じ込めるBuildings trap heat in narrow canyons.
❝例文

  • Asphalt absorbs solar radiation all day.

    アスファルトは一日中日射を吸収する。

  • The pavement releases heat slowly after dark.

    舗装は日没後にゆっくり熱を放出する。

  • The streets remain warm long after sunset.

    街路は日没後もずっと暖かいままだ。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は本文の動詞句 (absorb / release) を保ちつつ throughout the day→during the day, after dark→at night のように同義語化した選択肢が正解になりやすい。

問 3

What does the passage say about how the heat island effect is distributed across a city?

  • The effect is spread evenly, so all neighbourhoods experience the same temperatures.
  • Wealthier districts suffer the most because they contain the tallest buildings.
  • Poorer neighbourhoods with fewer trees and more pavement can be significantly hotter than wealthier ones nearby.
  • Only city centres are affected, while residential areas remain cool.
Phrase

Poorer neighbourhoods, which tend to have fewer trees and more paved surfaces, can be markedly hotter than affluent districts

準1級読解都市科学詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

暑さは不均等で、緑が少なく舗装の多い貧困地区が裕福な地区より著しく暑い。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Poorer neighbourhoods with fewer trees and more pavement can be significantly hotter than wealthier ones nearby.」

正解

第2段に the burden falls unevenly. Poorer neighbourhoods, which tend to have fewer trees and more paved surfaces, can be markedly hotter than affluent districts only a few kilometres away とある。これを言い換えた「木が少なく舗装の多い貧困地区は近隣の裕福な地区より著しく暑くなりうる」が正解。

  • 「Wealthier districts suffer the most」

    = 裕福な地区が最も苦しむ ━ 本文は逆で、貧困地区の方が暑いと明言している。

  • 「The effect is spread quite evenly, so all neighbourhoods experience the very same temperatures.」

    = 均等に分布し同じ気温 ━ 本文は the burden falls unevenly と述べており正反対。

  • 「Only city centres are affected」

    = 中心部だけが影響を受ける ━ 本文は地区間の貧富による差を論じており、中心部限定とは述べていない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
the burden falls unevenly負担が不均等にかかるThe burden falls unevenly.
tend to have ~~を持つ傾向があるPoorer areas tend to have fewer trees.
markedly hotter著しく暑いmarkedly hotter than affluent districts
translate into ~~につながるThe disparity translates into illness.
most exposed最もさらされているthe elderly are most exposed
❝例文

  • The burden of heat falls unevenly across the city.

    暑さの負担は都市内で不均等にかかる。

  • Poorer areas tend to have fewer trees.

    貧しい地域は木が少ない傾向がある。

  • The disparity translates into illness during heatwaves.

    その格差は熱波の際に病気につながる。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

別段落の detail 設問は段落冒頭の主張文 (the burden falls unevenly) を手がかりに探す。『均等／逆方向』の選択肢は明示的記述と矛盾するため切れる。

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