EigoPro 準1級読解 — The Retreat of the Glaciers

High in the world's mountain ranges, the great rivers of ice that have ground their way downhill for millennia are now, almost everywhere, in retreat. Satellite surveys leave little doubt about the trend: glaciers from the Alps to the Andes are losing mass year after year, and many of the smaller ones are expected to disappear entirely within a single human lifetime. To the casual observer this may seem a remote, even picturesque concern, a matter for postcards and mountaineers. In reality the consequences reach far beyond the peaks, threatening the water supplies of hundreds of millions of people and nudging the world's oceans upward. The most immediate danger is paradoxical. As a glacier melts faster, the rivers it feeds may swell for a time, giving downstream communities a deceptive abundance of water. But this surplus is a withdrawal from a dwindling account. Once the ice that once stored winter snowfall and released it slowly through the dry season has gone, the rivers shrink, and the farms, cities, and hydroelectric plants that grew dependent on that steady flow are left exposed. In much of Asia, where the meltwater of Himalayan glaciers sustains rivers on which billions rely, the eventual shortfall could prove catastrophic. A second consequence unfolds at the coasts. Mountain glaciers hold only a fraction of the planet's frozen water, yet because so many are melting at once, their contribution to rising seas already rivals that of the vast ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. Every centimetre of additional sea level multiplies the reach of storm surges and erodes the margin of safety for low-lying cities. It would be a mistake, however, to treat glacial retreat as an irreversible verdict. The rate of loss tracks the rate of warming, which means that the choices made in this decade still shape how much ice survives. Glaciers are slow, but they are not deaf; they respond, in their own ponderous way, to the world we make.

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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?

Glaciers are shrinking worldwide, with serious consequences for water and sea level that human choices can still influence.
Mountain glaciers contribute far more to sea-level rise than the polar ice sheets do.
The disappearance of glaciers is now irreversible regardless of future emissions.
Glacial retreat is a scenic concern that mainly affects mountaineers and tourists.

Phrase

the consequences reach far beyond the peaks, threatening the water supplies of hundreds of millions of people and nudging the world's oceans upward

準1級読解気候科学主旨把握

⚡ひとことで

本文全体は「氷河は世界規模で縮小し、水資源と海面に深刻な影響を及ぼすが、人類の選択でなお左右できる」という論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Glaciers are shrinking worldwide, with serious consequences for water and sea level that human choices can still influence.」

正解

第1段で氷河が almost everywhere, in retreat であり、影響が water supplies と oceans に及ぶと提示する。第2・3段で水資源と海面上昇の二つの帰結を詳述し、最終段で the choices made in this decade still shape how much ice survives と締める。よって「世界規模の縮小と、水・海面への深刻な影響、そして人類の選択でなお左右できる」が主旨。

「Glacial retreat is a merely scenic concern which mainly affects only the mountaineers and the tourists.」
= 景観上の問題で登山者や観光客中心 ━ 本文は a matter for postcards and mountaineers という見方を In reality で明確に否定している。
「The mountain glaciers contribute a great deal more to the rise in sea level than the polar ice sheets do.」
= 山岳氷河は極の氷床よりはるかに寄与 ━ 本文は rivals (匹敵する) であって『far more』とは言っておらず言い過ぎ。
「The disappearance of the world's glaciers is now entirely irreversible regardless of any future emissions.」
= 将来の排出に関わらず不可逆 ━ 最終段で It would be a mistake to treat glacial retreat as an irreversible verdict と正反対に述べている。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
be in retreat	後退している	Glaciers are in retreat.
reach far beyond ~	~をはるかに超えて及ぶ	The consequences reach far beyond the peaks.
water supply	水供給	It threatens the water supplies of millions.
nudge ~ upward	~を押し上げる	It nudges the oceans upward.
year after year	年々	Glaciers lose mass year after year.

❝例文

Glaciers from the Alps to the Andes are in retreat.
アルプスからアンデスまで氷河が後退している。
The consequences reach far beyond the mountains.
影響は山々をはるかに超えて及ぶ。
Rising seas nudge the coastline upward each year.
海面上昇が毎年海岸線を押し上げる。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は第1段の提題文と最終段の結論文を結ぶと速い。本文は In reality と最終段 It would be a mistake で『見かけと実態』を二重に対比する型。

問 2

According to the passage, why is the short-term effect of faster glacial melting described as paradoxical?

Glaciers grow larger in the dry season before shrinking in winter.
Faster melting cools the surrounding regions rather than warming them.
Rivers may temporarily carry more water even as the long-term supply is being depleted.
Melting glaciers cause downstream rivers to dry up immediately.

Phrase

the rivers it feeds may swell for a time, giving downstream communities a deceptive abundance of water. But this surplus is a withdrawal from a dwindling account.

準1級読解気候科学詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

融解が速まると川は一時的に増水するが、それは減り続ける貯水からの引き出しに過ぎない。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Rivers may temporarily carry more water even as the long-term supply is being depleted.」

正解

第2段で融解加速の効果を paradoxical と呼び、rivers ... may swell for a time / a deceptive abundance of water と説明する一方、this surplus is a withdrawal from a dwindling account と続けて長期的には水が減ると述べる。つまり一時的増加と長期的枯渇が同時に進むため逆説的。これを言い換えた「川は一時的に増水するが長期供給は減る」が正解。

「The glaciers grow larger in the dry season before shrinking again in winter.」
= 氷河は乾季に拡大し冬に縮小する ━ 本文にそのような季節変化の記述はなく、氷河は全体として後退している。
「The melting glaciers cause all the downstream rivers to dry up immediately.」
= 融解で川が即座に干上がる ━ 本文は『一時的にむしろ増水する』と述べており即時枯渇は逆。
「Faster melting actually cools the surrounding regions rather than warming them.」
= 融解が周辺を冷やす ━ 本文にそのような冷却効果の記述はなく無関係。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
swell for a time	一時的に増える	The rivers swell for a time.
a deceptive abundance of ~	見せかけの豊かさ	a deceptive abundance of water
a withdrawal from ~	~からの引き出し	a withdrawal from a dwindling account
grow dependent on ~	~に依存するようになる	cities that grew dependent on the flow
release ~ slowly	~を少しずつ放出する	Ice releases snowfall slowly.

❝例文

The river swelled for a time after the heavy melt.
急激な融解の後、川は一時的に増水した。
The surplus was only a withdrawal from a dwindling account.
その余剰は減り続ける口座からの引き出しに過ぎなかった。
Farms grew dependent on the glacier's steady flow.
農地は氷河の安定した流れに依存するようになった。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

『逆説 (paradoxical)』を問う設問は、対比を示す But / yet の前後を必ず両方拾う。一方だけを取ると正反対の誤答に誘導される。

問 3

What does the passage say about mountain glaciers' role in rising sea levels?

They raise sea levels only in regions far from any coastline.
Although they hold only a small share of the world's ice, their combined melting now rivals the contribution of the polar ice sheets.
They hold most of the planet's frozen water and are therefore the dominant cause.
Their effect on sea level is negligible compared with Greenland and Antarctica.

Phrase

Mountain glaciers hold only a fraction of the planet's frozen water, yet because so many are melting at once, their contribution to rising seas already rivals that of the vast ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica.

準1級読解気候科学詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

山岳氷河の氷は地球のごく一部だが、同時多発的な融解で海面上昇への寄与は極の氷床に匹敵する。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Although they hold only a small share of the world's ice, their combined melting now rivals the contribution of the polar ice sheets.」

正解

第3段は only a fraction of the planet's frozen water (氷のごく一部) でありながら because so many are melting at once / already rivals that of the vast ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica と述べる。yet による譲歩・逆接で『少量だが寄与は氷床に匹敵』を表すので、これを言い換えた選択肢が正解。

「They hold the greater part of the whole planet's frozen water and are therefore the one dominant cause of it.」
= 地球の氷の大半を保持し主因 ━ 本文は only a fraction (ごく一部) と明言しており正反対。
「Their overall effect on the sea level is entirely negligible when compared with either Greenland or Antarctica.」
= 海面への影響は無視できる ━ 本文は already rivals (すでに匹敵する) と述べており negligible は逆。
「They raise the sea levels only in those regions of the world which happen to lie a long way from any coastline.」
= 海岸から遠い地域でのみ海面を上げる ━ 海面上昇は世界規模の現象で、本文にそのような地域限定の記述はない。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
a fraction of ~	~のごく一部	only a fraction of the water
at once	同時に	so many are melting at once
rival ~	~に匹敵する	Their contribution rivals the ice sheets'.
ice sheet	氷床	the ice sheets of Greenland
erode the margin of safety	安全余裕を侵食する	Rising seas erode the margin of safety.

❝例文

Mountain glaciers hold only a fraction of the world's ice.
山岳氷河は世界の氷のごく一部しか保持していない。
So many are melting at once that their effect is large.
あまりに多くが同時に融けるため影響は大きい。
Their contribution already rivals that of the ice sheets.
その寄与はすでに氷床のそれに匹敵する。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

yet / although を含む文は『譲歩 (少量) + 主張 (それでも大きい)』の二層構造。設問の正解はしばしば両層を保持し、誤答はどちらか一方だけを誇張する。

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EigoPro 準1級 読解 — The Retreat of the Glaciers

この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

the consequences reach far beyond the peaks, threatening the water supplies of hundreds of millions of people and nudging the world's oceans upward

the rivers it feeds may swell for a time, giving downstream communities a deceptive abundance of water. But this surplus is a withdrawal from a dwindling account.

Mountain glaciers hold only a fraction of the planet's frozen water, yet because so many are melting at once, their contribution to rising seas already rivals that of the vast ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica.

EigoPro 準1級読解 — The Retreat of the Glaciers