EigoPro 準1級 読解 — The Invisible Universe

When astronomers in the 1930s measured how fast galaxies were moving within distant clusters, the numbers refused to add up. The galaxies were hurtling about so rapidly that their collective gravity, judged by the visible stars alone, should have been far too feeble to hold the cluster together. By every reasonable calculation, the clusters ought to have flown apart aeons ago. Yet there they sat, stubbornly intact. Either the laws of gravity were wrong, or a great deal of matter was present that no telescope could see. For decades this anomaly was easy to dismiss as a quirk of imprecise measurement. It became far harder to ignore when later observations of individual spiral galaxies revealed the same discrepancy: stars at a galaxy's outer edge orbit just as quickly as those near its centre, a pattern that flatly contradicts what visible mass predicts. The most economical explanation is that every galaxy is embedded in a vast, invisible halo of "dark matter"—a substance that exerts gravity but neither emits nor absorbs light. On current estimates, this unseen material outweighs all the ordinary matter in the universe by roughly five to one. What dark matter actually consists of remains genuinely unknown, and this is where caution is warranted. Decades of increasingly sensitive experiments, buried deep underground to screen out interference, have failed to detect a single dark-matter particle directly. Some physicists, weary of chasing a ghost, have revived the heretical alternative: perhaps gravity itself behaves differently on cosmic scales, and no hidden matter exists at all. Most researchers regard this as a long shot, since modified-gravity theories struggle to explain the full sweep of cosmological evidence. Still, the persistent failure to catch the particle is a useful reminder that a theory's explanatory power, however impressive, is not the same as proof.

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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?

  • Astronomical observations imply a vast amount of unseen matter, though its true nature is still unconfirmed.
  • Galaxy clusters in the 1930s were too poorly measured to reveal anything real.
  • The laws of gravity have been definitively proven wrong by galaxy clusters.
  • Modern telescopes have finally succeeded in photographing dark matter directly.
Phrase

a great deal of matter was present that no telescope could see

準1級読解天体物理ジャーナリズム主旨把握
⚡ひとことで

本文は「見えない物質が大量にあると観測が示すが、その正体は未確認」という論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Astronomical observations imply a vast amount of unseen matter, though its true nature is still unconfirmed.」

正解

本文は (1) 銀河団・渦巻銀河の運動が見える質量だけでは説明できない→ (2) ダークマターという見えない物質を仮定すれば説明できる→ (3) ただしその正体は不明で粒子も未検出、という構成。したがって「観測は大量の見えない物質を示唆するが、その正体は未確認」が主旨。

  • 「Modern telescopes have at last succeeded in photographing the dark matter itself quite directly.」

    = 望遠鏡が直接撮影に成功した ━ 本文は地下実験ですら『a single dark-matter particle を直接検出できていない』と明言しており、撮影成功とは正反対。

  • 「The known laws of gravity have been definitively proven wrong by the observed galaxy clusters.」

    = 重力の法則が決定的に誤りと証明された ━ 本文は重力の修正説を『long shot (見込み薄)』と扱い、証明されたとは述べていない。

  • 「too poorly measured to reveal anything real」

    = 測定が粗すぎて何も分からなかった ━ 本文は『後の観測で同じ不一致が現れ無視できなくなった』とし、測定誤差説を退けている。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
refuse to add up計算が合わないThe numbers refused to add up.
hold ~ together~をまとめておくGravity holds the cluster together.
fly apartばらばらに飛び散るThe cluster should have flown apart.
a great deal of ~大量の~a great deal of unseen matter
outweigh A by N to 1AをN対1で上回るIt outweighs ordinary matter five to one.
❝例文

  • The numbers simply refused to add up.

    数字はどうしても辻褄が合わなかった。

  • Their gravity was too feeble to hold the cluster together.

    重力が弱すぎて銀河団をまとめておけなかった。

  • Dark matter outweighs ordinary matter by five to one.

    ダークマターは通常の物質を5対1で上回る。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は『観測事実 + 但し書き (unknown/unconfirmed)』を両方含む選択肢を選ぶ。一方だけを誇張した肢 (撮影成功・証明済) は外す。

問 2

According to the passage, what did the 1930s observations of galaxy clusters suggest?

  • The visible stars alone did not provide enough gravity to keep the clusters bound together.
  • The galaxies were moving too slowly to remain inside their clusters.
  • Telescopes had detected an invisible halo surrounding each galaxy.
  • The clusters had in fact already begun to break apart.
Phrase

their collective gravity, judged by the visible stars alone, should have been far too feeble to hold the cluster together

準1級読解天体物理ジャーナリズム詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

見える星だけの重力では銀河団を束ねるには弱すぎた。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「The visible stars alone did not provide enough gravity to keep the clusters bound together.」

正解

第1段で、見える星だけで計算した重力は『far too feeble to hold the cluster together (銀河団を束ねるにはあまりに弱い)』とあり、本来なら ought to have flown apart (ばらばらになっていたはず) だと述べる。これを言い換えた『見える星だけでは銀河団を束ねる重力が足りなかった』が正解。

  • 「The galaxies were all moving far too slowly to remain within their own clusters.」

    = 遅すぎて留まれなかった ━ 本文は逆で、銀河は hurtling about so rapidly (猛烈に速く) 動いていた。

  • 「had in fact already begun to break apart」

    = 実際に壊れ始めていた ━ 本文は there they sat, stubbornly intact (頑として無傷だった) と述べ、壊れていない。

  • 「telescopes had detected an invisible halo」

    = 望遠鏡が見えないハローを検出した ━ ハローは invisible で telescope では見えないと本文が明言、検出はしていない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
judged by ~~で判断するとjudged by the visible stars alone
far too ~ to V~すぎてVできないfar too feeble to hold it
ought to have done~していたはずだIt ought to have flown apart.
hurtle about猛烈に動き回るgalaxies hurtling about
remain intact無傷のままであるThe cluster remained intact.
❝例文

  • Judged by visible mass alone, the gravity was too feeble.

    見える質量だけで判断すると重力は弱すぎた。

  • The cluster ought to have flown apart long ago.

    その銀河団はとうにばらばらになっていたはずだ。

  • Yet there it sat, stubbornly intact.

    それでもそれは頑として無傷のままだった。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は本文の数値・形容詞 (rapidly/feeble/intact) を反転させた肢が定番の罠。本文の方向 (速い・弱い・無傷) を必ず確認。

問 3

What does the passage say about underground dark-matter experiments?

  • They were abandoned because the equipment proved too insensitive to build.
  • Despite growing sensitivity, they have not detected a single dark-matter particle directly.
  • They were placed underground to capture more light from distant galaxies.
  • They have confirmed the existence of dark-matter particles after decades of work.
Phrase

increasingly sensitive experiments, buried deep underground to screen out interference, have failed to detect a single dark-matter particle directly

準1級読解天体物理ジャーナリズム詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

感度を高め地下に埋めた実験でも、粒子を1個も直接検出できていない。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Despite growing sensitivity, they have not detected a single dark-matter particle directly.」

正解

第3段で実験は increasingly sensitive (ますます高感度) で、干渉を遮るため buried deep underground (地下深くに設置) されたと述べたうえで、have failed to detect a single dark-matter particle directly (1個も直接検出できていない) と結ぶ。これを言い換えた選択肢が正解。

  • 「They have confirmed the existence of dark-matter particles after decades of work.」

    = 数十年の末に存在を確認した ━ 本文は failed to detect (検出に失敗) と明言しており正反対。

  • 「abandoned because the equipment proved too insensitive」

    = 装置が低感度すぎて中止された ━ 本文は increasingly sensitive と述べ、中止の記述もない。

  • 「placed underground to capture more light」

    = より多くの光を捉えるため地下に置いた ━ 地下設置の目的は to screen out interference (干渉遮断) であり、光の捕捉ではない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
screen out ~~を遮断するburied underground to screen out interference
fail to VVできない/しそこなうfailed to detect a particle
not a single ~ただの一つも~ないnot a single particle
increasingly sensitiveますます高感度のincreasingly sensitive detectors
chase a ghost幻を追うweary of chasing a ghost
❝例文

  • The detector was buried deep underground to screen out interference.

    検出器は干渉を遮るため地下深くに埋められた。

  • Decades of work failed to detect a single particle.

    数十年の努力でも粒子を一つも検出できなかった。

  • Some physicists grew weary of chasing a ghost.

    幻を追うことに疲れた物理学者もいた。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

目的を問う罠 (地下=光のため?) は本文の不定詞句 (to screen out interference) を読めば即否定できる。because/in order to の中身を必ず照合。

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