EigoPro 準1級 読解 — A History of Vaccination

Long before anyone understood what a virus was, people had stumbled upon a startling idea: that deliberately exposing the body to a small dose of a disease might protect it from a far worse encounter later. In parts of Asia and Africa, healers practised inoculation against smallpox for centuries, scratching matter from a sufferer's sores into the skin of the healthy. The procedure was risky—a minority of those inoculated died—yet it was demonstrably safer than catching smallpox by chance, and the practice eventually reached Europe. The decisive breakthrough came in 1796, when the English physician Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids who had contracted the mild disease cowpox seemed immune to smallpox. By inoculating a boy with cowpox and later exposing him to smallpox without ill effect, Jenner demonstrated a principle that the word "vaccine" still commemorates: vacca is Latin for cow. Crucially, Jenner could not explain why his method worked; the science of immunology would not mature for another century. What he offered was a reliable technique built on patient observation rather than theory—a reminder that practice has often outrun understanding in medicine. The twentieth century transformed vaccination from a single triumph into a systematic enterprise, conquering diphtheria, polio, and measles, and culminating in the global eradication of smallpox in 1980—the only human disease ever deliberately wiped out. Yet the pace of change accelerated dramatically with the arrival of mRNA technology. Rather than introducing a weakened pathogen, mRNA vaccines deliver genetic instructions that prompt the body's own cells to manufacture a harmless fragment of the virus, training the immune system in advance. Decades in the making, the approach was vindicated when mRNA vaccines were deployed against a novel coronavirus within a year of its emergence. The arc from Jenner's lancet to a strand of synthetic genetic code is a story not of sudden genius but of accumulated, often unglamorous, persistence.

5問合格 60%以上普通

新規登録 または ログイン が必要です

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?

  • Vaccination has advanced through centuries of accumulated effort, from early inoculation to modern mRNA technology.
  • Smallpox inoculation was so dangerous that it should never have been attempted.
  • mRNA vaccines have made all earlier methods of vaccination completely obsolete.
  • Edward Jenner single-handedly invented every form of vaccine still in use today.
Phrase

a story not of sudden genius but of accumulated, often unglamorous, persistence

準1級読解医学史主旨把握
⚡ひとことで

本文は「ワクチンは数世紀の積み重ねで、初期種痘→Jenner→mRNAへと発展した」という論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Vaccination has advanced through centuries of accumulated effort, from early inoculation to modern mRNA technology.」

正解

本文は (1) 数世紀前の種痘 (inoculation)→ (2) 1796年 Jenner の牛痘法→ (3) 20世紀の体系化と天然痘根絶→ (4) mRNA 技術、という時系列で発展を描く。最終文 a story not of sudden genius but of accumulated ... persistence がそれを総括する。よって「初期接種から現代の mRNA まで数世紀の積み重ねで進歩した」が主旨。

  • 「Edward Jenner single-handedly invented every single form of vaccine still in use anywhere today.」

    = Jenner が現存する全ワクチンを単独発明した ━ Jenner は牛痘法を示しただけで、mRNA など後世の技術は別。本文は『単独の天才ではない』と明言。

  • 「Smallpox inoculation was so dangerous that it should never have been attempted.」

    = 種痘は危険すぎて行うべきではなかった ━ 本文は種痘を『偶然の感染より明らかに安全』と評価しており、否定的結論は出していない。

  • 「mRNA vaccines have made all earlier methods of vaccination completely obsolete.」

    = mRNA が旧来法を完全に時代遅れにした ━ 本文は mRNA を発展の最新段階として描くが、旧来法を『全廃した』とは述べていない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
stumble upon an idea考えに偶然行き着くPeople had stumbled upon a startling idea.
be demonstrably safer明らかにより安全であるIt was demonstrably safer.
the decisive breakthrough決定的な突破口The decisive breakthrough came in 1796.
culminate in ~~に結実するculminating in the global eradication of smallpox
the arc from A to BAからBへの軌跡The arc from Jenner's lancet to synthetic code.
❝例文

  • People had stumbled upon a startling idea about immunity.

    人々は免疫に関する驚くべき着想に偶然たどり着いていた。

  • The story is one of accumulated persistence, not sudden genius.

    それは突然の天才ではなく積み重ねた粘り強さの物語だ。

  • Each era built on the discoveries of the one before.

    どの時代も前の時代の発見の上に築かれた。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は最終段の総括文を探す。本文は not A but B 構文 (not sudden genius but persistence) で著者の論旨が凝縮される。

問 2

According to the passage, why was early inoculation against smallpox still practised despite its dangers?

  • It was guaranteed to cause no deaths among those who underwent it.
  • It was the only medical procedure permitted in Asia and Africa.
  • It was demonstrably safer than risking a chance infection with smallpox itself.
  • It had been proven effective by the science of immunology.
Phrase

it was demonstrably safer than catching smallpox by chance

準1級読解医学史詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

種痘には死者も出たが、偶然天然痘にかかるよりは明らかに安全だった。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「It was demonstrably safer than risking a chance infection with smallpox itself.」

正解

第1段で種痘は risky で a minority ... died としつつ、yet it was demonstrably safer than catching smallpox by chance と続く。つまり危険を承知でも『偶然の天然痘感染より明らかに安全』だったから続けられた。これを言い換えた選択肢が正解。

  • 「It was guaranteed to cause no deaths among those who underwent it.」

    = 死者を一切出さないと保証されていた ━ 本文は a minority ... died と明記しており『死者ゼロの保証』とは正反対。

  • 「It had been proven effective by the science of immunology.」

    = 免疫学によって有効性が証明されていた ━ 免疫学は『あと1世紀成熟しなかった』とあり、当時の根拠は観察であって理論ではない。

  • 「It was the only medical procedure permitted in Asia and Africa.」

    = アジアとアフリカで唯一許された医療だった ━ 『唯一許された』という記述はない。地域は実践例として挙げられただけ。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
catch a disease by chance偶然病気にかかるcatching smallpox by chance
a minority of ~~のうち少数a minority of those inoculated died
be safer than ~~より安全であるdemonstrably safer than the alternative
practise inoculation種痘を行うHealers practised inoculation for centuries.
scratch matter into the skin膿を皮膚に擦り込むscratching matter into the skin of the healthy
❝例文

  • The procedure was risky, yet safer than the alternative.

    その処置は危険だったが、別の選択肢より安全だった。

  • A minority of those treated still died.

    治療を受けた者の少数はそれでも死んだ。

  • Healers practised the technique for centuries.

    施術者はその技術を何世紀も行ってきた。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は yet / however の直後に答えの根拠が来やすい。本文の demonstrably safer を risking a chance infection に言い換えた肢が正解。

問 3

How do mRNA vaccines differ from earlier vaccines, according to the passage?

  • They were developed over the course of a single year from scratch.
  • They introduce a weakened form of the live pathogen into the body.
  • They supply genetic instructions that make the body's own cells produce a harmless viral fragment.
  • They eliminate the need for the immune system to respond at all.
Phrase

mRNA vaccines deliver genetic instructions that prompt the body's own cells to manufacture a harmless fragment of the virus

準1級読解医学史詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

mRNA は弱毒病原体ではなく遺伝情報を届け、体自身の細胞に無害な断片を作らせる。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「They supply genetic instructions that make the body's own cells produce a harmless viral fragment.」

正解

第3段で Rather than introducing a weakened pathogen, mRNA vaccines deliver genetic instructions that prompt the body's own cells to manufacture a harmless fragment of the virus と説明する。これを言い換えた『遺伝指令を供給し、体自身の細胞に無害なウイルス断片を作らせる』が正解。

  • 「They introduce a weakened form of the live pathogen into the body.」

    = 弱毒化した生きた病原体を体に入れる ━ 本文は Rather than introducing a weakened pathogen と明確に否定。これは旧来法の説明で mRNA とは逆。

  • 「They were developed entirely from scratch over the course of only a single year's work.」

    = ゼロから1年で開発された ━ Decades in the making とあり、展開が1年だっただけで開発自体は数十年。『ゼロから1年』は誤り。

  • 「They eliminate the need for the immune system to respond at all.」

    = 免疫系の反応を完全に不要にする ━ 本文は training the immune system in advance と述べ、免疫反応を引き出す仕組み。正反対。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
rather than ~~ではなくRather than introducing a weakened pathogen.
deliver genetic instructions遺伝指令を届けるmRNA vaccines deliver genetic instructions.
prompt cells to V細胞に~させるprompt the body's cells to manufacture a fragment
train the immune system免疫系を訓練するtraining the immune system in advance
decades in the making完成まで数十年The approach was decades in the making.
❝例文

  • Rather than a weakened virus, the vaccine delivers instructions.

    弱毒ウイルスではなく、そのワクチンは指令を届ける。

  • The cells manufacture a harmless fragment of the virus.

    細胞はウイルスの無害な断片を作る。

  • The technology was decades in the making.

    その技術は完成まで数十年を要した。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

対比 (Rather than A, B) 設問は『A=旧来法、B=新法』を取り違えた肢が定番の罠。本文の prompt to manufacture を make ... produce に置換した肢を選ぶ。

残り2問は、解いて確かめられます

全5問すべてに、この形式の解説が付いています。 間違えた問題は記録され、あとから復習できます。

無料で登録して続きを解く

インストール不要・カード登録なし・いま全機能無料

この単元の講義を見る準1級の単元一覧準1級の用語集