A few days ago, I went to a restaurant with a couple of friends. We settled in a booth (    い    ) the corner, where we could relax and enjoy a leisurely dinner. The dining room was large, but dimly (    a    ) to create a cozy atmosphere. The problem began when our waitress came around and handed us the fancy menu. Under the tiny table lamp, the print was too small for me to read! Recently I’d been finding myself unable to adjust my eyesight: as readily as before, and had started using over-the-counter reading glasses at home. (1)レストランやバーは照明が暗いので、 読みづらい。けれども、私はどこにでも読書用メガネを持ち歩くのは好かない。 In my moment・of desperation, I (    b    ) to borrowing a pair from one of my friends, who teased me for resisting my age. Indeed, there is nothing more telling of one's-middle-aged status than a pair of reading glasses atop-one's nose.

Demographic definitions of middle age vary somewhat but typically point to the two to three (    ろ    ) of life between young adulthood and old age, or roughly from themid-30s to mid-60s. (2)社会学的に見て、これは一生のうちの段階で、個人が職場や家庭でより重い責務を次第に負うことになる時期なのだ。(    は    ) this time, they have completed their education and training, and have acquired some work experience. Those in the professional ranks (    c    ) significant management and decision-making roles. People in this age group are also the core　of　family life, providing financial support, managing-resources, raising children and (    d    ) for the elderly. A certain sense of responsibility and serious-mindedness sets them apart from young adults with their carefree attitudes, and they adopt a corresponding set of social behaviors－speech, dress, demeanor and so on－(    に    ) to their position of social responsibility.

Middle age, with its increased responsibility and influence, can be empowering on the one hand, as exemplified by the Japanese notion of hataraki-zakari, or the “height of work productivity.” On the other hand, the constant demands on your time and energy can be overwhelming. When combined with age-related physiological changes, middle age can seem burdensome. You are overworked and tired all the time, you can't remember the last time you felt free to do something for yourself, and you just don't have fun anymore. These are the features of middle age that everyone (    e    ).

The definition of middle age also changes with life expectancy. When people expect to live to the age of 60, 30 is the “middle”; when they expect to live to 80, then 40 becomes the middle.

We also know that better nutrition, exercise, and health care can prolong people's physical wellness (    ほ    ) their chronological age. In many developed countries today, including Japan and the United States, young adulthood extends well into the 30s, and the onset of the social dimensions of middle age－marriage, reproduction, career development－is delayed to the late 30s or early 40s. As we say here in the. United States, “The 40s is the new 30s.”

• 1 空欄(    い    )~(     ほ    )に補うのにふさわしい語を選択肢から選んでその番号を解答欄に書きなさい。
  • (い)
    • 1 around
    • 2 in
    • 3 of
    • 4 on
  • (ろ)
    • 1 ages
    • 2 decades
    • 3 generations
    • 4 periods
  • (は)
    • 1 By
    • 2 For
    • 3 In
    • 4 Until
  • (に)
    • 1 appropriate
    • 2 competent
    • 3 correspond
    • 4 pleasing
  • (ほ)
    • 1 beyond
    • 2 by
    • 3 in
    • 4 to
• 2 空欄(a)～(e)に入れるのに最もふさわしい動詞を選択肢から選び、必要なら語形を変えて、解答欄に記しなさい。(活字体を使うこと)
  選択肢[
  • care
  • dread
  • light
  • like
  • look
  • play
  • resort
  • try
  ]
• 3 解答欄に与えられた書き出しに続けて、日本文(1)と(2)の内容を英語で言い表しなさい。