1. 次の文章を読んで、あとの 1 から 10 の問いについて答を A から Dより選びなさい。
Before you went to school you accomplished the most complex feat you will ever accomplish: you
mastered the basics of language. You discovered how to use the words in the way people around you use
them. You learned to ( 1 ) the rules for how sentences should be created in your culture's language.
You learned to say "put the pen on the table," and not "the pen on the table put." You learned to use
words to mean what others in your culture generally mean ― you said "dog" and not "bird" when you
pointed at a four-legged animal that barked. If you were fairly typical, by age four you had learned ( 2
) to survive for the rest of your life. You learned meanings for words like love, good, and right that are ( 3 )
too subtle for dictionaries to explain fully. You learned rules for combining words that are so complex
that scholars and philosophers have yet to spell them out in a comprehensible way. Did you ever stop to
think about how you are able to put together sentences that you have never heard before and
understand statements that are new to you? You knew how to use language to satisfy your need to
understand the world, to express yourself, and to form relationships ― all without the aid of formal
schooling! What is so engrossing about the way in which we learn to talk is that while ( 4 )so much of the
learning process is universal, there is also a great deal of it that is culture-specific. Language
represents the experiences within a cultural community. Through social communication our culture
teaches us both the symbol (be it a sound or written marks) and what that symbol stands for. We hear
the sound symbol "dog" and we have a cultural picture in our heads of what the symbol means.
Members of different cultures will usually have different sounds and/or marks, and they may also have (
5 ) for what the symbols mean. What is the mental picture throughout the world for such words as
freedom, love, and peace? Obviously, these terms, and many others, have different meanings. Cultures
differ and ( 6 )so do the words they use and the meanings they give to words. Language is a powerful and
useful tool. Consider what it would be like to lose your ability to communicate verbally. How would you
make sense of new information if you couldn't use words to place the information into categories? How
would you keep track of where you should be if you couldn't use words to remind yourself? How would
you communicate with others? Life would be difficult, frustrating, and probably not as productive as it
could be ― for you as well as for those you encounter.
問 1 空所 ( 1 ) に最も適切な語句を選べ。
A. create sentences that fit B. create statements that are natural for
C. say new words that are necessary for D. say basic sentences to create
問 2 空所 ( 2 ) に最も適切な語句を選べ。
A. some basic words B. enough basic vocabulary
C. some basic meanings D. enough basic sentences
問 3 下線部 ( 3 ) の内容に最も近いものを選べ。
A. so complex that dictionaries cannot explain them
B. so clear that dictionaries need not explain them
C. so complex that dictionaries have to explain them
D. so simple that dictionaries can explain them
問 4 下線部 ( 4 ) の内容に最も近いものを選べ。

2. A. so much of the process of learning to talk is linked to culture
B. so much of the process of learning to talk is the same throughout the world
C. so much of learning the process differs from culture to culture
D. so much of learning the process is the same across cultures
問 5 空所 ( 5 ) に最も適切な語句を選べ。
A. similar sound symbols in their mouths
B. different sound symbols in their mouths
C. similar pictures in their heads
D. different pictures in their heads
問 6 下線部 ( 6 ) の内容に最も近いものを選べ。
A. they use the words as different cultures B. they use the words in different ways
C. the words they use also differ D. the words they use are also different cultures
問 7 英文の内容と一致するものを選べ。
A. We learned to talk without the help of schooling because language is not so complex.
B. We learned the basics of language in the context of our culture.
C. We learned how to use words independent of our culture.
D. We learned the basics of language in the context of formal schooling.
問 8 英文の内容と一致するものを選べ。
A. Humans learn complex rules for using words even before they start school.
B. Language rules are too complex for humans to make sentences that
they have never heard before.
C. Language rules are so complex that we can’t understand new statements.
D. Humans learn complex and universal language rules because so much
of the learning process is universal.
問 9 英文の内容と一致するものを選べ。
A. Symbols are universal but pictures made by them in our heads are culture-specific.
B. Not only the learning process but symbols and meanings are universal.
C. The use of symbols differs among cultures, but the meanings
associated with these symbols do not.
D. Symbols and meanings are related to culture, so the words freedom,
love, and peace have different meanings among different cultures.
問 10 英文の標題に最も適切なものを選べ。
A. Symbols and Meanings B. The Importance of Language in Communication
C. How You Learned to Talk D. How Humans Use Language