EigoPro 準1級 読解 — Restoring the Wetlands

For generations, wetlands were treated as wasteland—stagnant, mosquito-ridden ground to be drained, filled, and put to "productive" use. Marshes became farmland, swamps became suburbs, and an estimated third of the world's wetlands vanished in the twentieth century alone. Only recently has this prejudice given way to a sober reckoning: the very features that made wetlands seem useless are, in fact, the source of their extraordinary value. A healthy wetland is among the most industrious ecosystems on Earth. Its dense vegetation filters pollutants from water far more cheaply than any treatment plant, and its spongy soils absorb floodwaters that would otherwise inundate towns downstream. Crucially, the waterlogged peat beneath many wetlands locks away vast quantities of carbon; when those soils are drained, that carbon escapes into the atmosphere, turning a climate ally into a climate liability. A single drained peatland can emit more carbon per hectare than a stretch of burning forest. Recognising this, governments and conservation groups have shifted from protection to active restoration. The methods are often disarmingly simple: blocking the drainage ditches dug a century ago allows water to return, and within a few seasons reeds, frogs, and migratory birds follow. Yet restoration is rarely frictionless. Farmers who inherited drained land resist losing it, and a restored wetland may take decades to recover its full ecological function. Sceptics argue that the money would be better spent elsewhere. Such objections, however, tend to measure cost in the short term while ignoring the compounding benefits—cleaner water, fewer floods, stored carbon—that a living wetland delivers, freely and indefinitely, for as long as it is left to thrive.

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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?

  • Wetlands should be drained and converted to farmland wherever it is economically efficient.
  • Treatment plants have proven to be far more effective than wetlands at filtering polluted water.
  • Long dismissed as wasteland, wetlands are now valued for their ecological services and are being actively restored.
  • Restoring wetlands is so costly and slow that conservation groups have largely abandoned it.
Phrase

Only recently has this prejudice given way to a sober reckoning

準1級読解環境生態系主旨把握
⚡ひとことで

本文は「かつて荒れ地扱いされた湿地が、その生態系価値ゆえに再評価され、復元されている」が論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Long dismissed as wasteland, wetlands are now valued for their ecological services and are being actively restored.」

正解

本文は (1) 湿地は長く wasteland 扱いで排水・埋立されてきた→ (2) しかしその特徴こそが浄水・治水・炭素貯留という価値の源だと判明→ (3) ゆえに保護から active restoration へ転換、という構成。第3段冒頭 Recognising this ... have shifted from protection to active restoration が決定打で、「荒れ地と見なされてきた湿地が生態系サービスゆえに再評価され、積極的に復元されている」が主旨。

  • 「Wetlands should be drained and converted to farmland」

    = 湿地は農地に転換すべき ━ 本文はまさにその過去の発想を批判し、逆の立場 (復元) を取っているので正反対。

  • 「Restoring wetlands is so costly and slow that conservation groups have largely abandoned it.」

    = 費用・時間ゆえに復元はほぼ放棄された ━ 本文は復元への転換と benefits を強調しており、放棄されたとは述べていない。

  • 「Treatment plants have proven to be far more effective than wetlands at filtering polluted water.」

    = 処理場の方が湿地より浄水に有効 ━ 本文は湿地が treatment plant より far more cheaply に浄化すると述べており逆。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
be treated as ~~として扱われるWetlands were treated as wasteland.
give way to ~~に取って代わられるPrejudice gave way to reckoning.
a sober reckoning冷静な再評価a sober reckoning of their value
shift from A to BAからBへ転換するshift from protection to restoration
put ~ to productive use~を生産的に活用するland put to productive use
❝例文

  • For generations, the marsh was treated as wasteland.

    何世代もの間、その沼地は荒れ地として扱われていた。

  • Old prejudice slowly gave way to a sober reckoning.

    古い偏見はゆっくりと冷静な再評価に取って代わられた。

  • Policy has shifted from protection to active restoration.

    政策は保護から積極的な復元へと転換した。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は転換を示す副詞句 (Only recently / Recognising this) の後ろに現在の主張が来る型。過去の発想をそのまま述べた選択肢は罠になりやすい。

問 2

According to the passage, what happens when a peatland is drained?

  • Its vegetation begins to filter pollutants more efficiently than before.
  • Migratory birds and frogs return to the land within a few seasons.
  • It absorbs even larger volumes of floodwater from towns downstream.
  • The carbon stored in its soils is released into the atmosphere.
Phrase

when those soils are drained, that carbon escapes into the atmosphere

準1級読解環境生態系詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

ピートランドを排水すると、貯蔵されていた炭素が大気中に放出される。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「The carbon stored in its soils is released into the atmosphere.」

正解

第2段で waterlogged peat が vast quantities of carbon を locks away すると述べ、続けて when those soils are drained, that carbon escapes into the atmosphere と明言する。さらに turning a climate ally into a climate liability と補強する。これを言い換えた「土壌に蓄えられた炭素が大気中に放出される」が正解。

  • 「Its vegetation begins to filter pollutants more efficiently than before.」

    = 植生がより効率よく浄化する ━ 浄化は『健全な』湿地の働きで、排水は逆に機能を失わせる。

  • 「absorbs even larger volumes of floodwater」

    = より多くの洪水を吸収する ━ 治水機能も排水で失われる。排水で機能が高まる記述はない。

  • 「Migratory birds and frogs return to the land within a few seasons.」

    = 数季で鳥や蛙が戻る ━ これは復元 (水を戻す) の結果であり、排水の結果ではない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
lock away ~~を閉じ込めるPeat locks away carbon.
escape into the atmosphere大気中に逃げるCarbon escapes into the atmosphere.
turn A into BAをBに変えるturning an ally into a liability
a climate liability気候上の負債become a climate liability
per hectare1ヘクタール当たりemit more carbon per hectare
❝例文

  • Healthy peat locks away vast quantities of carbon.

    健全な泥炭は膨大な量の炭素を閉じ込める。

  • Once drained, that carbon escapes into the atmosphere.

    ひとたび排水されると、その炭素は大気中に逃げる。

  • Drainage turns a climate ally into a climate liability.

    排水は気候の味方を気候の負債に変えてしまう。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は本文の when 節 (条件→結果) をそのまま問うことが多い。排水と復元の結果を取り違えさせる『正しいが別の事柄』型の罠に注意。

問 3

According to the passage, why is wetland restoration sometimes resisted?

  • Farmers do not want to give up the drained land they inherited, and full recovery can take decades.
  • Restored wetlands release more carbon than the forests they replace.
  • Governments legally forbid the return of water to former farmland.
  • Blocking old drainage ditches has been shown to be technically impossible.
Phrase

Farmers who inherited drained land resist losing it, and a restored wetland may take decades to recover

準1級読解環境生態系詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

復元への抵抗は、農家が相続した土地を失いたくないことと、回復に数十年かかること。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Farmers do not want to give up the drained land they inherited, and full recovery can take decades.」

正解

第3段で restoration is rarely frictionless と前置きし、Farmers who inherited drained land resist losing it, and a restored wetland may take decades to recover its full ecological function と二つの理由を並べる。これを言い換えた「相続した排水済みの土地を手放したくない農家がいて、完全な回復には数十年かかりうる」が正解。

  • 「Blocking up the old drainage ditches has been shown to be almost technically impossible.」

    = 排水溝の遮断は技術的に不可能 ━ 本文は方法を disarmingly simple と述べており逆。

  • 「Restored wetlands release more carbon than the forests they replace.」

    = 復元湿地は森より炭素を出す ━ 炭素を多く出すのは『排水された』ピートランドで、復元湿地ではない。

  • 「Governments legally forbid the return of water」

    = 政府が法的に禁止 ━ むしろ政府は復元へ転換しており、法的禁止の記述はない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
be rarely frictionlessめったに摩擦なしでは進まないRestoration is rarely frictionless.
resist V-ing~するのに抵抗するFarmers resist losing land.
inherit ~~を相続するland they inherited
take decades to V~するのに数十年かかるIt may take decades to recover.
recover full function完全な機能を取り戻すrecover its full ecological function
❝例文

  • Restoration is rarely frictionless in practice.

    復元は実際には摩擦なしで進むことはめったにない。

  • Farmers resist losing the land they inherited.

    農家は相続した土地を失うことに抵抗する。

  • A restored wetland may take decades to recover.

    復元された湿地は回復に数十年かかることがある。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

理由を問う詳細設問では rarely frictionless / resist のような『障害』を示す語の直後を読む。炭素放出の主語 (排水ピート vs 復元湿地) を入れ替えた罠が定番。

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