今回はGMATのリーディング問題解説をしたいと思います。ここにでてきた単語や問題に対する考え方を覚えていき、文章読解能力や、単語力を学習していくようにしていきましょう。

参考にしているサイトはgmatclubというGMATの問題を扱っているサイトです。

英語の文章を読むときの心構え

通常、私は文章に書かれている内容を純粋に理解することが重要であると考えています。何か論理が飛躍していると感じることがあっても、それは単なる思い込みに過ぎず、実際には文章をじっくりと見返し、理解を深めることが肝要です。特に、ほとんどの文章において、論理的な飛躍はほとんど存在しないというのが私の経験則です。したがって、内容の理解に苦労する際には、焦らずに再度文章を読み返し、各ポイントをしっかりと把握することが大切だと考えています

英文

Scientist long believed that two nerve cluster in the human hypothalamus, called suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCNs), were what controlled our circadian rhythms. Those rhythms are the biological cycles that recur approximately every 24 hours in synchronization with the cycle of sunlight and darkness caused by Earth’s rotation. Studies have demonstrated that in some animals, the SCNs control daily fluctuations in blood pressure, body temperature, activity level, and alertness, as well as the nighttime release of the sleep-promoting agent melatonin. Furthermore , cells in the human retina dedicated to transmitting information about light level to the SCNs have recently been discovered. Four critical genes governing circadian cycles have been found to be active in every tissue, however, not that the SCNs, of flies, mice, and humans. In addition, when laboratory rats that usually ate at will were fed only once a day, peak activity of a clock gene in their livers shifted by 12 hours, whereas the same clock gene in the SCNs remained synchronized with light cycles. While scientists do not dispute the role of the SCNs in controlling core functions such as the regulation of body temperature and blood pressure, scientists now believe that circadian clocks in other organs and tissues may respond to external cues other than light – including temperature changes – that recur regularly 24 hours.

英語による問題

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. question the results of a study that examined the effect of service-quality guarantees in the restaurant industry
B. discuss potential advantages and disadvantages of service-quality guarantees in the restaurant industry
C. examine the conventional wisdom regarding the effect of service-quality guarantees in the restaurant industry
D. argue that only certain restaurants would benefit from the implementation of service-quality guarantees
E. consider the impact that service-quality guarantees can have on the service provided by a restaurant

2. It can be inferred that the author of the passage would agree with which of the following statements about the appeal of service guarantees to customers?

A. Such guarantees are likely to be somewhat more appealing to customers of restaurants than to customers of other businesses.
B. Such guarantees are likely to be more appealing to customers who know what to anticipate in terms of service.
C. Such guarantees are likely to have less appeal in situations where customers are knowledgeable about a business’s product or service.
D. In situations where a high level of financial commitment is involved, a service guarantee is not likely to be very appealing.
E. In situations where customers expect a high level of customer service, a service guarantee is likely to make customers think that a business is worried about its service.

3. According to the passage, Tucci and Talaga found that service guarantees, when offered by lower-priced restaurants, can have which of the following effects?

A. Customers’ developing unreasonably high expectations regarding service
B. Customers’ avoiding such restaurants because they fear that the service guarantee may not be fully honored
C. Customers’ interpreting the service guarantee as a sign that management is not confident about the quality of its service
D. A restaurant’s becoming concerned that its service will not be assiduous enough to satisfy customers
E. A restaurant’s becoming concerned that customers will be more emboldened to question the quality of the service they receive