「足元をすくわれる」は辞書では“誤り”。それでも使う人は64.4％、本来の「足をすくわれる」は26.3％

Q1. What is the passage mainly about?

1. AA Japanese phrase that many people say in a different way from dictionaries
2. BA new sport that uses the feet
3. CWhy people fall down in the street
4. DHow to clean the floor around your feet

多くの人が辞書とは違う「足元」の形で言っている、という話なので A。

Q2. How many people chose "ashi" in the survey?

1. A64.4 percent
2. B26.3 percent
3. C16.7 percent
4. D74.1 percent

Only 26.3 percent chose "ashi." とあるので B。64.4％は「足元」を選んだ人。

Q3. In the passage, what does "trick" mean?

1. AA kind of shoe
2. BA clever and unfair plan
3. CA long road
4. DA friendly greeting

dirty trick は「ずるいやり方、汚い手」。trick は人をだます計略なので B。

Q1. Where does the phrase "ashi o sukuu" come from, according to a major dictionary?

1. ACleaning the floor with a rug
2. BSweeping away a person's feet so they lose their balance
3. CWalking slowly in the dark
4. DA sport played only in the Edo period

the image comes from sweeping a person's feet away so they lose their balance とあるので B。

Q2. How did the share of people choosing "ashi" change?

1. AIt fell from 26.3 to 16.7 percent.
2. BIt stayed the same.
3. CIt rose from 16.7 to 26.3 percent.
4. DIt rose from 26.3 to 64.4 percent.

In a survey nine years earlier, only 16.7 percent picked it. とあり、2017年は26.3％なので C。

Q3. What does the writer suggest by saying "the original form is gaining ground"?

1. AMore people are using the original form than before.
2. BThe original form is now used by most people.
3. CDictionaries have changed the original form.
4. DPeople have stopped using the phrase.

gain ground は「広がる、勢いを増す」。16.7％から26.3％に増えたことを指すので A。多数派になったわけではない。

Q1. What is the main point of the passage?

1. AJapanese dictionaries have accepted "ashimoto" as the correct form.
2. BA mixed-up form of a Japanese idiom is more common, but the original form is growing.
3. COlder people never use the original form.
4. DEnglish and Japanese use exactly the same image for this idiom.

混ざった形「足元」が多数派だが、本来の形も増えている、という内容なので B。

Q2. Which limitation of the survey does the passage mention?

1. AIt asked only people over 70.
2. BIt was carried out online.
3. CIt shows what people think they say, not a record of their actual speech.
4. DIt did not include the original form.

it shows what speakers think they say, not a record of real conversations とあるので C。

Q3. What guess does the writer make about why "ashimoto" slipped into the phrase?

1. ABecause it can also mean a weak point.
2. BBecause it is shorter than "ashi."
3. CBecause English speakers use it.
4. DBecause the government told people to use it.

That second meaning (a weak spot) may have helped the mix-up とあるので A。ただし確かめられていない推測。