EigoPro 準1級読解 — The Vanishing Soundscape

We treat the world as something chiefly to be seen, and conservation has long followed suit, counting species and mapping habitats by sight. A small band of researchers argues that we have been neglecting an equally telling signal: sound. A thriving forest is a chorus—overlapping calls of insects, birds and frogs that, over millennia, have partitioned the acoustic spectrum among themselves so that each voice can be heard. Record that chorus and you capture, in a single sweep, a measure of biodiversity that no photograph can convey. The technique, known as acoustic monitoring, is proving its worth precisely because the chorus is thinning. As species vanish, gaps open in the spectrum; as engines, turbines and traffic spread, they flood the low frequencies on which many animals depend, drowning out mating calls and warnings. A whale that once communicated across an ocean basin may now struggle to be heard beyond a few kilometres. Noise, in other words, is not a mere nuisance but a form of habitat degradation, one that leaves no visible scar and so has been easy to overlook. Listening, it turns out, has unexpected advantages. A microphone left in the canopy gathers data day and night, in fog and darkness, without disturbing the creatures it records; algorithms can then sift years of audio for the faint signature of a rare species. Yet the deeper value may be philosophical. To attend to the sounds of a place is to be reminded that it is inhabited, that it has a voice of its own—and that this voice, once silenced, does not readily return.

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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?

Noise pollution is merely an annoyance with no ecological consequences.
Sound is an overlooked but powerful signal of biodiversity, and noise is a hidden form of habitat damage.
Conservation should abandon the study of sight entirely.
Photographs remain the only reliable way to measure biodiversity.

Phrase

Noise ... is not a mere nuisance but a form of habitat degradation

準1級読解環境科学主旨把握

⚡ひとことで

本文の論旨は『音は見過ごされた強力な生物多様性の指標であり、騒音は見えない生息地破壊だ』。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Sound is an overlooked but powerful signal of biodiversity, and noise is a hidden form of habitat damage.」

正解

第1段で sound を neglecting an equally telling signal と位置づけ、第2段で Noise ... is not a mere nuisance but a form of habitat degradation, one that leaves no visible scar と述べる。よって『音は見過ごされた生物多様性の指標で、騒音は見えない生息地破壊』が主旨。

「Photographs still remain the only reliable way of measuring the biodiversity of any habitat.」
= 写真だけが信頼できる唯一の方法 ━ no photograph can convey と音の優位を述べ逆。
「Noise pollution is merely a human annoyance and carries no ecological consequences at all.」
= 騒音は生態系に無影響の迷惑事 ━ not a mere nuisance but ... degradation と明確に否定。
「Conservation science ought to abandon the study of sight and vision entirely from now on.」
= 視覚研究を完全に放棄せよ ━ 視覚を補う第二の信号を説くだけで、放棄は言い過ぎ。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
follow suit	右へ倣う	Conservation followed suit.
a telling signal	雄弁な信号	an equally telling signal
not a mere nuisance but ~	単なる迷惑でなく~	not a mere nuisance but degradation
habitat degradation	生息地の劣化	a form of habitat degradation
leave no visible scar	目に見える傷を残さない	It leaves no visible scar.

❝例文

Sound is a telling signal of biodiversity.
音は生物多様性を雄弁に語る信号だ。
Noise is a form of habitat degradation.
騒音は生息地劣化の一形態だ。
It leaves no visible scar, so we overlook it.
目に見える傷を残さぬので見過ごされる。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨は『見過ごされた指標 (sound) + 見えない害 (noise)』の二点を含む肢を採る。not a mere nuisance but ~ の対比構文が主張の核。極端な全否定肢 (写真だけ/視覚放棄) は外す。

問 2

According to the passage, what does a thriving forest's "chorus" reveal?

A measure of biodiversity captured in a single recording that no photograph can convey.
Which single species dominates the entire ecosystem.
The precise temperature and humidity of the forest air.
The exact number of trees growing in a given habitat.

Phrase

you capture, in a single sweep, a measure of biodiversity that no photograph can convey

準1級読解環境科学詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

森の合唱を録れば、写真では捉えられない生物多様性の尺度を一度に得られる。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「A measure of biodiversity captured in a single recording that no photograph can convey.」

正解

第1段で A thriving forest is a chorus とし、Record that chorus and you capture, in a single sweep, a measure of biodiversity that no photograph can convey と述べる。よって『写真では伝えられない生物多様性の尺度を一録音で捉える』が正解。

「The exact number of individual trees that are growing in a given habitat.」
= 木の正確な本数 ━ 合唱が示すのは生物多様性であって樹木数ではない。
「Which one single species happens to dominate the whole of a given ecosystem.」
= どの一種が支配するか ━ むしろ多声が分割共存する様子で、単一支配の話ではない。
「The precise temperature and the humidity of the air throughout the forest.」
= 正確な気温と湿度 ━ 本文に無い。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
in a single sweep	一挙に	capture it in a single sweep
a measure of ~	~の尺度	a measure of biodiversity
convey ~	~を伝える	no photograph can convey it
a thriving forest	繁栄する森	A thriving forest is a chorus.
the acoustic spectrum	音響スペクトル	partition the acoustic spectrum

❝例文

One recording captures the whole chorus.
一つの録音が合唱全体を捉える。
It conveys what no photograph can.
写真には伝えられぬものを伝える。
Sound gives a measure of biodiversity.
音は生物多様性の尺度を与える。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

詳細設問は本文のキーフレーズ (a measure of biodiversity) を言い換えた肢を採る。『木の本数』『気温』など、もっともらしいが本文に無い具体値の肢に注意。

問 3

How, according to the passage, does spreading noise harm animals?

It makes animals unable to see one another clearly.
It raises the temperature of oceans and forests alike.
It physically destroys the trees in which animals nest.
It floods low frequencies and drowns out mating calls and warnings they depend on.

Phrase

they flood the low frequencies ... drowning out mating calls and warnings

準1級読解環境科学詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

騒音は低周波を埋め尽くし、動物が頼る求愛声や警告をかき消す。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「It floods low frequencies and drowns out mating calls and warnings they depend on.」

正解

第2段で as engines, turbines and traffic spread, they flood the low frequencies on which many animals depend, drowning out mating calls and warnings と述べる。よって『低周波を埋め尽くし、求愛声や警告をかき消す』が正解。

「It physically destroys the very trees in which the animals build their nests.」
= 木を物理的に破壊 ━ 騒音は音の害で、樹木の物理破壊ではない。
「It steadily raises the temperature of both the oceans and the forests alike.」
= 海と森の気温を上げる ━ 本文に無い (温暖化の混同)。
「It makes the animals quite unable to see one another clearly any more.」
= 互いを見えなくする ━ 視覚でなく聴覚を妨げる。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
flood the frequencies	周波数を埋め尽くす	flood the low frequencies
drown out ~	~をかき消す	drown out mating calls
depend on ~	~に頼る	frequencies on which animals depend
an ocean basin	海盆	across an ocean basin
struggle to be heard	聞こえにくい	struggle to be heard

❝例文

Traffic floods the low frequencies.
交通騒音は低周波を埋め尽くす。
Engines drown out mating calls.
エンジン音が求愛声をかき消す。
A whale struggles to be heard.
クジラは声を届かせにくくなる。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

害の仕組み設問は動詞句 (flood / drown out) を言い換えた肢を採る。視覚や温度など『別の害の軸』にすり替えた肢は、もっともらしくても本文外の誤り。

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EigoPro 準1級 読解 — The Vanishing Soundscape

この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

Noise ... is not a mere nuisance but a form of habitat degradation

you capture, in a single sweep, a measure of biodiversity that no photograph can convey

they flood the low frequencies ... drowning out mating calls and warnings

EigoPro 準1級読解 — The Vanishing Soundscape