EigoPro 準1級読解 — The Rise of E-sports

A generation ago, the notion that millions of people would pay to watch other people play video games would have struck most observers as absurd. Today, competitive gaming—or "e-sports"—fills arenas, commands lucrative broadcasting deals, and draws online audiences that rival, and occasionally surpass, those of traditional sporting finals. Championship tournaments now offer prize pools in the tens of millions of dollars, and the most accomplished players are courted by sponsors, signed to professional teams, and treated, in some countries, as celebrities. What was once a marginal hobby has become a thriving global industry. The economic engine behind this growth is more sophisticated than it first appears. Game publishers occupy an unusual dual role: they not only sell the product but also own and regulate the competitions built around it, a degree of control no traditional sports league enjoys over its sport. Revenue flows from streaming platforms, advertising, ticket sales, and the in-game purchases of spectators who themselves play. Yet this concentration of power is precarious. Because a publisher can alter or abandon a game at will, an entire competitive ecosystem—players, teams, commentators, and fans—can be destabilised by a single corporate decision. The fortunes of an e-sport are therefore tethered, as no conventional sport's are, to the commercial calculations of one company. Sceptics question whether e-sports deserve the label of sport at all, pointing to the relative absence of physical exertion. Such objections, however, may miss the point. The appeal of watching elite competition has never rested solely on athleticism; it lies in witnessing mastery, strategy, and composure under pressure—qualities the best e-sports players display in abundance. Whether or not the purists are persuaded, the audiences have already cast their vote. For a rising generation, the distinction between a stadium and a screen is one their parents drew, and one they themselves find increasingly difficult to see.

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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?

Most people still consider watching others play video games to be absurd.
E-sports will inevitably replace traditional spectator sports within a generation.
Game publishers should be legally barred from owning the competitions they host.
Competitive gaming has grown into a major industry whose structure and legitimacy differ from those of traditional sport.

Phrase

What was once a marginal hobby has become a thriving global industry.

準1級読解文化経済主旨把握

⚡ひとことで

本文全体は「競技ゲームが巨大産業に成長し、その構造と正当性は伝統スポーツと異なる」という論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Competitive gaming has grown into a major industry whose structure and legitimacy differ from those of traditional sport.」

正解

本文は (1) e-sports が arena を埋め巨大産業化した→ (2) 出版社が競技を所有・規制する独特の経済構造→ (3) スポーツと呼べるかの正当性論争、という三段構成。第1段の What was once a marginal hobby has become a thriving global industry が全体を要約する。したがって「競技ゲームが大産業に成長し、その構造と正当性が伝統スポーツとは異なる」が主旨。

「E-sports will inevitably come to replace all of the traditional spectator sports within one generation.」
= 伝統スポーツを必ず置き換える ━ 本文は rival, and occasionally surpass と述べるだけで『必ず取って代わる』とは主張していない。
「The game publishers ought to be legally barred from owning the very competitions that they themselves host.」
= 出版社の競技所有を法的に禁じるべき ━ 本文は所有構造を分析するが『法的に禁止すべき』という規範的主張はしていない。
「Most people everywhere still consider the watching of other people playing video games to be quite absurd.」
= 今も大半が馬鹿げていると考える ━ absurd と思われたのは a generation ago の話で、Today は産業化したと明言しており現在の認識は逆。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
strike someone as ~	~という印象を与える	It would strike observers as absurd.
command a deal	契約を獲得する	It commands lucrative broadcasting deals.
rival and surpass ~	~に匹敵し凌ぐ	audiences that rival and surpass finals
a thriving industry	繁栄する産業	a thriving global industry
be courted by ~	~から熱心に求められる	players courted by sponsors

❝例文

What was once a hobby has become an industry.
かつての趣味が産業になった。
These tournaments command lucrative broadcasting deals.
これらの大会は高額な放映契約を獲得する。
Online audiences now rival those of major finals.
オンライン視聴者は今や主要決勝に匹敵する。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は第1段の結論文 (What was once... has become...) と全体の段落構成を照合する。極端な断定肢 (inevitably replace) は本文の控えめな表現 (occasionally surpass) と矛盾しやすい。

問 2

According to the passage, what makes game publishers' position unusual?

They both sell the game and own and regulate the competitions built around it.
They earn no revenue from advertising or ticket sales.
They are forbidden from signing players to professional teams.
They share control of each game equally with traditional sports leagues.

Phrase

they not only sell the product but also own and regulate the competitions built around it

準1級読解文化経済詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

出版社は製品を売るだけでなく、その競技を所有・規制する二重の役割を持つ。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「They both sell the game and own and regulate the competitions built around it.」

正解

第2段で Game publishers occupy an unusual dual role と前置きし、they not only sell the product but also own and regulate the competitions built around it と説明する。さらに a degree of control no traditional sports league enjoys と続く。したがって「ゲームを売ると同時に、それを軸とする競技を所有・規制する」が正解。

「earn no revenue from advertising or ticket sales」
= 広告やチケット収入がない ━ 本文は Revenue flows from ... advertising, ticket sales と明記しており正反対。
「forbidden from signing players」
= 選手と契約することを禁じられている ━ 禁止の記述はなく、選手は signed to professional teams とある。
「They share control of each game equally with traditional sports leagues.」
= 伝統リーグと均等に支配を共有 ━ 本文は no traditional sports league enjoys と独占的支配を強調しており『均等共有』ではない。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
occupy a dual role	二重の役割を担う	Publishers occupy a dual role.
regulate a competition	競技を統制する	They own and regulate the competition.
a degree of control	ある程度の支配	a degree of control no league enjoys
revenue flows from ~	収益は~から生じる	Revenue flows from streaming.
built around ~	~を軸に構築された	competitions built around the game

❝例文

Publishers occupy an unusual dual role in this market.
出版社はこの市場で異例の二重の役割を担う。
They own and regulate the very competitions they create.
彼らは自ら作る競技そのものを所有し統制する。
Revenue flows from advertising and ticket sales.
収益は広告とチケット販売から生じる。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は本文の語の言い換え (own and regulate→both ... own and regulate) を探す。本文に明記された事実 (Revenue flows from advertising) と矛盾する選択肢は即除外。

問 3

How does the passage characterise the response of sceptics to e-sports?

They argue that e-sports players lack strategy and composure.
They insist that publishers are mismanaging the competitions.
They doubt e-sports count as sport because the players engage in little physical exertion.
They believe e-sports audiences are smaller than those of traditional sport.

Phrase

Sceptics question whether e-sports deserve the label of sport at all, pointing to the relative absence of physical exertion.

準1級読解文化経済詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

懐疑派は身体運動がほぼないことを根拠に e-sports をスポーツと認めない。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「They doubt e-sports count as sport because the players engage in little physical exertion.」

正解

第3段冒頭で Sceptics question whether e-sports deserve the label of sport at all とし、その根拠を pointing to the relative absence of physical exertion (身体的運動がほとんどないこと) と示す。これを言い換えた「身体運動がほとんどないため、e-sports がスポーツに該当するか疑う」が正解。

「players lack strategy and composure」
= 戦略や冷静さを欠く ━ 本文はむしろ最高の選手が strategy, and composure を abundance で示すと述べており逆。
「They believe e-sports audiences are smaller than those of traditional sport.」
= 観客が伝統スポーツより少ない ━ 観客規模は懐疑派の論点ではなく、本文では audiences have already cast their vote と多さを示唆。
「publishers are mismanaging the competitions」
= 出版社が競技を誤って運営している ━ 運営の巧拙は懐疑派の論点ではない。論点は身体運動の有無。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
deserve the label of ~	~の名に値する	deserve the label of sport
point to ~	~を指摘する	pointing to the absence of exertion
physical exertion	身体的運動	the absence of physical exertion
miss the point	要点を外す	Such objections miss the point.
under pressure	重圧下で	composure under pressure

❝例文

Sceptics question whether it deserves the label of sport.
懐疑派はそれがスポーツの名に値するか疑う。
They point to the absence of physical exertion.
彼らは身体的運動の欠如を指摘する。
Such objections may miss the point entirely.
そうした異議は要点を完全に外しているかもしれない。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

詳細設問では『誰が・何を根拠に主張したか』をペアで押さえる。懐疑派の論拠 (physical exertion) と著者の反論 (mastery, strategy, composure) を取り違えた肢に注意。

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EigoPro 準1級 読解 — The Rise of E-sports

この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

What was once a marginal hobby has become a thriving global industry.

they not only sell the product but also own and regulate the competitions built around it

Sceptics question whether e-sports deserve the label of sport at all, pointing to the relative absence of physical exertion.

EigoPro 準1級読解 — The Rise of E-sports