ユキT英検1級 ― 【総合模擬問題①｜（読解問題）】 ―2026-FEB-23 (Mon.)
『小さく続けて、大きく育てる』。
学びは、瞬間の才能ではありません。
続けた人の中で、静かに育つ力です。
今日できたなら誇りなさい。
今日できなかったなら、明日戻ればいい。
それで十分です。
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【総合回①｜（読解問題）】
Eiken Grade 1 Integrated Reading
Topic: Climate, indicators, and tipping points
Passage（約400語）
When people hear that the “global average temperature” may rise by a small number, they often respond with a shrug. A couple of degrees can sound like a minor inconvenience—something you could solve by changing your clothes. But this reaction confuses personal sensation with system-level change.
First, a global average is not a typical local experience. It is a summary indicator. As with income statistics, an average can hide the distribution beneath it. Even if the mean shifts only slightly, the “tails” of the distribution—extreme events—can change dramatically. In climate terms, that means heat waves, heavy rainfall, and droughts may become more frequent or more intense, even when the average looks modest.
Second, climate change is not only about temperature. It influences sea levels, ecosystems, agriculture, public health, and infrastructure. Coastal cities, for example, face rising risks from storm surges and flooding. Meanwhile, crop yields can decline when heat stress crosses certain thresholds, and water scarcity can destabilize communities far from the coast.
The most difficult part is that the climate system can behave nonlinearly. In many complex systems, change appears gradual—until it is not. Scientists describe this as a tipping point: a threshold beyond which the system shifts into a new state that is difficult, or sometimes impossible, to reverse. Once such a boundary is crossed, small additional pressures can trigger cascading effects.
This is why serious debate goes beyond “Is it warming?” The harder questions are: what indicators are being used, what mechanisms lie behind the numbers, and who bears the costs. Responsibility and fairness quickly enter the discussion. Countries that benefited from decades of high emissions do not face the same historical context as countries still trying to grow. Yet the risks of crossing thresholds are shared.
In academic reading, the goal is not to be alarmed by numbers, nor to dismiss them. It is to ask what they measure, what they conceal, and what decisions they could justify.
Questions（4問だけ）
Q1 Vocabulary
In the passage, “tails of the distribution” most nearly refers to:
A. average values
B. extreme cases
C. measurement errors
D. middle-income groups
Q2 Reference
In paragraph 1, “this reaction” refers to:
A. changing clothes to adapt
B. confusing sensation with system change
C. rising sea levels
D. using indicators responsibly
Q3 Inference
Which statement is best supported by the passage?
A. If the mean changes little, impacts will be minimal.
B. Temperature is the only meaningful climate indicator.
C. Small average shifts can coincide with severe extremes.
D. Tipping points are primarily political concepts.
Q4 Summary（60–80 words）
Summarize the author’s main argument in 60–80 words.
Answer Key（答え）
Q1 B
Q2 B
Q3 C
Q4 Model Summary（約70語）
The passage argues that small rises in global average temperature can mislead people, because averages hide distributions and extreme events may intensify. Climate change affects multiple systems beyond temperature, including sea levels, agriculture, and infrastructure. It can also be nonlinear, involving tipping points that cause irreversible shifts. Therefore, strong reading focuses on what indicators measure, what mechanisms they hide, and the fairness of who bears the costs.
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