「シェイクスピアは1700語を発明」は盛りすぎ？ 辞書が彼だけ特に念入りに読んでいた

Q1. What is the passage mainly about?

1. AHow Shakespeare learned to write plays
2. BWhy the number of words Shakespeare made may be too high
3. CHow to use a big dictionary
4. DWhy old books are hard to read

1,700語という数字が辞書の読み方の偏りから来ていて、調べ直すと減ったという話なので B。

Q2. Where does the number 1,700 come from?

1. AA school textbook
2. BA computer game
3. CThe Oxford English Dictionary
4. DShakespeare's own letters

This number comes from a big dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary とあるので C。

Q3. In this passage, what does "editors" mean?

1. APeople who make and check a dictionary
2. BPeople who act in plays
3. CPeople who sell old books
4. DPeople who repair computers

the first editors of the dictionary read Shakespeare... とあり、辞書を作って調べる人のことなので A。

Q1. What is the main point of the passage?

1. AShakespeare wrote more plays than anyone else.
2. BThe famous 1,700 figure partly reflects how the dictionary was made.
3. CThe Oxford English Dictionary was finished in 1884.
4. DOnline books have replaced dictionaries.

編集者がシェイクスピアを特に丁寧に読んだため彼の例が最初に載りやすかった、という内容なので B。

Q2. In one part of the alphabet, how many words were first credited to Shakespeare after the revision?

1. A1,700
2. B2,000
3. C406
4. D263

fell from 406 to 263 とあるので、改訂後は263。正解は D。

Q3. What can we infer about words that both Shakespeare and less famous writers used?

1. AThe dictionary often recorded Shakespeare's use first.
2. BLess famous writers never used new words.
3. CThose words disappeared from English.
4. DShakespeare copied them from the dictionary.

編集者が彼の劇をほかよりずっと丁寧に読み、his examples often appeared first とあるので A。

Q1. Which statement best summarizes the passage?

1. AShakespeare invented exactly 1,700 words, as the dictionary proves.
2. BThe dictionary overstated Shakespeare's new words, but he still leads other writers.
3. CCrystal showed that Shakespeare invented no new words.
4. DDigital books have made the dictionary useless.

偏りで数が膨らんでいたが、約1,200でも中世より後の作家では誰も及ばない、と述べているので B。

Q2. According to the passage, why did some of Shakespeare's first uses disappear in the revision?

1. AReaders voted to remove them.
2. BEarlier examples were found, and plays quoted from the 1623 Folio were given new dates.
3. CCrystal removed them from his count.
4. DHis plays were found to be written by someone else.

revisers have pushed many dates back と partly because of a new dating rule for plays quoted from the 1623 Folio の2点から B。

Q3. According to the passage, when is Shakespeare's lead over other writers even wider?

1. AWhen only words from his plays are counted
2. BWhen individual senses of words are counted
3. CWhen French translations are included
4. DWhen only the first edition is used

最後の文 Counted by senses ... his lead is even wider から、語の意味の単位で数えたときにリードがさらに大きいので B。