恋人や夫婦の満足度は、別れの半年〜2年ほど前から「急降下」していた

Q1. What is the passage mainly about?

1. AHow people find a new partner
2. BHow happiness with a partner changes before a breakup
3. CWhy many couples live in Australia
4. DHow to make a good survey

別れた人のパートナーへの満足度が、別れの前にどう変わったかを説明しているので、正解は B。

Q2. When did happiness with the partner start to fall fast?

1. ARight after the people met
2. BTen years before the end
3. CAbout half a year to two years before the end
4. DA long time after the breakup

「about half a year to two years before the end, it fell fast」とあるので、正解は C。

Q3. In the passage, "fell" in "it fell fast" is closest in meaning to ___.

1. Awent down
2. Bgot bigger
3. Cstayed the same
4. Dcame back

前の文の「went down slowly」に続いて、今度は速く「下がった」という意味なので、正解は A。fell は fall（落ちる）の過去形。

Q1. What is the passage mainly about?

1. AA survey showing that people in four countries rarely break up
2. BA study finding that relationship satisfaction falls in two stages before a breakup
3. CA plan to help couples in Germany stay together
4. DWhy life satisfaction rises after people get married

満足度が「ゆっくり下がる→急に落ちる」の2段階で下がったという研究の話なので、正解は B。

Q2. Who were the people who broke up compared with?

1. ATheir new partners
2. BPeople in other countries who never had a partner
3. CSimilar people who stayed together
4. DThe researchers themselves

「compared them with similar people who stayed together」とあるので、正解は C。

Q3. Why did the team line up the scores by the time left before each breakup?

1. ATo see how satisfaction changed as the end came closer
2. BTo find out which country had the happiest couples
3. CTo check how long each couple had known each other
4. DTo make the survey shorter

別れまでの残り時間で並べた結果、満足度がまずゆっくり、次に急に下がる様子が分かったと書かれている。終わりが近づくにつれての変化を見るためと考えられるので、正解は A。

Q1. What is the passage mainly about?

1. AHow satisfaction changes in the years before a breakup, and what the study can and cannot show
2. BWhy couples in Australia are happier than couples in Britain
3. CA new test that tells couples whether they will separate
4. DHow personality changes after people get married

別れの前の満足度の2段階の変化と、この研究で分かること・分からないことを述べているので、正解は A。

Q2. According to the passage, what explained the changes in satisfaction best?

1. AThe age of each participant
2. BHow long the couple had been together
3. CThe time left before the breakup
4. DThe country where the couple lived

「The time left before the breakup explained these changes far better than how long the couple had been together.」とあるので、正解は C。

Q3. Why does the writer mention earlier work on the first ten years of a relationship?

1. ATo show that the new study made a mistake
2. BTo suggest that the usual average drop may partly come from couples who will later split
3. CTo prove that every couple becomes unhappy after ten years
4. DTo explain how the surveys were carried out

最初の10年で満足度が下がるという以前の研究を挙げ、その平均の下がり方の一部は別れに向かうカップルから来ているかもしれないと述べているので、正解は B。