EigoPro 準1級 読解 — The Dawn of Farming

Roughly twelve thousand years ago, in a handful of regions scattered across the globe, human beings began to do something their ancestors had never done: instead of gathering wild plants and pursuing game, they started to sow seeds, tend fields, and pen animals. This transition to farming, often called the Neolithic Revolution, is conventionally narrated as humanity's first great leap toward civilisation. Yet the deeper one digs into the archaeological record, the more ambiguous that triumphant story becomes. The conventional account assumes that agriculture was an obvious improvement—a reliable food supply that freed people from the precariousness of foraging. Skeletal evidence tells a more sobering tale. Compared with their foraging predecessors, early farmers were frequently shorter, bore the marks of repetitive labour, and suffered from a narrower, grain-heavy diet that left them prone to tooth decay and nutritional deficiencies. Crowded into permanent settlements alongside their livestock, they also became newly vulnerable to infectious disease. By many measures of individual welfare, the first farmers fared worse than the hunters they replaced. Why, then, did farming spread and ultimately prevail? The answer lies less in the well-being of individuals than in the arithmetic of populations. A field of grain, however monotonous, can sustain far more people per acre than wild foraging ever could. Farming communities therefore grew, and growing numbers demanded yet more cultivation, locking societies into a cycle from which retreat became almost unthinkable. Agriculture also generated something foraging rarely did: a storable surplus. That surplus could be hoarded, taxed, and fought over, giving rise to property, hierarchy, and eventually the state itself. The Neolithic Revolution, in this light, was less a sudden enlightenment than a slow, irreversible bargain—one that traded the comfort of the individual for the sheer expansive power of the group.

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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?

  • Early farmers enjoyed healthier and longer lives than the foragers who came before them.
  • The Neolithic Revolution occurred simultaneously across every region of the world.
  • The shift to farming, though it spread, was a mixed bargain that often worsened individual welfare while empowering societies as a whole.
  • Agriculture failed to spread because hunting and gathering proved more reliable.
Phrase

a slow, irreversible bargain—one that traded the comfort of the individual for the sheer expansive power of the group

準1級読解歴史人類学主旨把握
⚡ひとことで

農耕への移行は個人の幸福を犠牲に集団の拡張力を得た『取引』だったという論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「The shift to farming, though it spread, was a mixed bargain that often worsened individual welfare while empowering societies as a whole.」

正解

本文は (1) 農耕は文明への前進とされる→ (2) しかし骨の証拠は初期農民が foragers より不健康だったと示す→ (3) それでも人口算術と貯蔵可能な余剰により広まり国家を生んだ、という構成。最終段で『個人の快適さを集団の拡張力と交換した取引』と結論するので、『個人の福祉を悪化させつつ社会全体を強化した取引』が主旨。

  • 「The earliest farmers everywhere enjoyed considerably healthier and longer lives than the foragers who had come before them.」

    = 初期農民の方が健康で長寿だった ━ 第2段は逆に農民が shorter で nutritional deficiencies に陥ったと述べており正反対。

  • 「Agriculture failed to spread」

    = 農耕は広まらなかった ━ 本文は farming spread and ultimately prevail と明言しており事実と矛盾。

  • 「The Neolithic Revolution occurred entirely simultaneously across every single region of the world at exactly the same time.」

    = 全地域で同時に起きた ━ 本文は in a handful of regions と限定し、slow と形容しており『同時に全地域』は言い過ぎ。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
make a leap toward ~~へ飛躍するhumanity's first great leap toward civilisation
the deeper one digs ...掘り下げるほど~the deeper one digs, the more ambiguous it becomes
trade A for BAをBと引き換えにするtraded comfort for power
lock ~ into a cycle~を循環に固定するlocking societies into a cycle
give rise to ~~を生じさせるgiving rise to hierarchy
❝例文

  • The transition was less a triumph than a bargain.

    その移行は勝利というより取引だった。

  • The deeper you dig, the more ambiguous the story becomes.

    掘り下げるほど話は曖昧になる。

  • They traded comfort for power.

    彼らは快適さを力と引き換えにした。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は最終段の比喩 (bargain) と対比構造 (individual ⇔ group) を押さえると速い。極端語 (every / never / fully) を含む肢は外れやすい。

問 2

According to the passage, what does skeletal evidence reveal about early farmers?

  • They showed no physical differences from earlier foraging populations.
  • They were immune to the infectious diseases that troubled foragers.
  • They were often shorter and suffered from poor nutrition and disease compared with foragers.
  • They were taller and stronger than their hunting ancestors.
Phrase

early farmers were frequently shorter, bore the marks of repetitive labour, and suffered from a narrower, grain-heavy diet

準1級読解歴史人類学詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

骨の証拠=農民は背が低く・栄養不足・感染症に弱かった。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「They were often shorter and suffered from poor nutrition and disease compared with foragers.」

正解

第2段で Skeletal evidence tells a more sobering tale と前置きし、農民が shorter・grain-heavy diet による tooth decay と nutritional deficiencies・infectious disease への vulnerability を抱えたと列挙する。これを要約した『背が低く栄養不良と病に苦しんだ』が正解。

  • 「They were noticeably taller and much stronger than their own hunting ancestors.」

    = 背が高く強かった ━ 本文は frequently shorter と明記しており正反対。

  • 「no physical differences」

    = 身体的差はなかった ━ 数々の差 (身長・歯・栄養) を挙げているので矛盾。

  • 「They were wholly immune to the infectious diseases that had troubled the foragers.」

    = 感染症に免疫があった ━ newly vulnerable to infectious disease とあり逆。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
tell a sobering tale厳しい現実を物語るEvidence tells a sobering tale.
bear the marks of ~~の痕跡を残すbore the marks of repetitive labour
be prone to ~~になりやすいprone to tooth decay
be vulnerable to ~~に弱いvulnerable to infectious disease
nutritional deficiency栄養不足suffered from nutritional deficiencies
❝例文

  • The data tells a more sobering tale.

    そのデータはより厳しい現実を物語る。

  • Children here are prone to tooth decay.

    ここの子供は虫歯になりやすい。

  • Crowded settlements were vulnerable to disease.

    密集した集落は病に弱かった。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は本文の列挙を別語に言い換えた肢が正解 (shorter→shorter, nutritional deficiencies→poor nutrition)。『no difference / immune』のような全否定肢は要注意。

問 3

According to the passage, how did a storable surplus contribute to social change?

  • It could be accumulated and controlled, leading to property, hierarchy, and the rise of the state.
  • It encouraged societies to abandon farming and return to foraging.
  • It allowed populations to shrink while individual welfare improved.
  • It eliminated competition and disputes among farming communities.
Phrase

That surplus could be hoarded, taxed, and fought over, giving rise to property, hierarchy, and eventually the state itself.

準1級読解歴史人類学詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

貯蔵可能な余剰→蓄積・課税・争奪→所有・階層・国家の誕生。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「It could be accumulated and controlled, leading to property, hierarchy, and the rise of the state.」

正解

第3段で農耕が a storable surplus を生み、それが hoarded (蓄えられ)・taxed (課税され)・fought over (争われる) ことで property, hierarchy, eventually the state を生んだと述べる。これを言い換えた『蓄積・支配でき、所有・階層・国家を生んだ』が正解。

  • 「It eliminated all competition and every kind of dispute among the farming communities.」

    = 競争や争いをなくした ━ fought over (争われた) とあり逆。余剰はむしろ争いの種。

  • 「populations to shrink」

    = 人口が減少した ━ 本文は communities grew と述べており人口は増えた。

  • 「It encouraged whole societies to abandon farming entirely and return to foraging again.」

    = 農耕を捨て採集に戻った ━ retreat became almost unthinkable とあり後戻りは不可能だった。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
a storable surplus貯蔵可能な余剰generated a storable surplus
be fought over争奪されるwealth fought over by rivals
give rise to ~~を生じさせるgave rise to hierarchy
lock ~ into a cycle~を循環に固定するlocked into a cycle of cultivation
retreat becomes unthinkable後戻りが考えられなくなるretreat became almost unthinkable
❝例文

  • The surplus could be hoarded and taxed.

    その余剰は蓄えられ課税され得た。

  • Wealth gave rise to a rigid hierarchy.

    富が厳格な階層を生んだ。

  • Retreat from the system became unthinkable.

    その仕組みからの後戻りは考えられなくなった。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

因果連鎖の設問は『A → B → C』の動詞句 (hoarded/taxed/fought over → gave rise to) を辿る。本文と逆の効果を述べる肢 (eliminated disputes) は典型的なひっかけ。

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