TOEFL Reading練習 #005 — The Shortcut That Lightning Always Takes(日本語解説)

1. A. state as an absolute fact
2. B. make a careful guess based on limited information
3. C. completely deny
4. D. record on video

1. A. the charge
2. B. the gap of air
3. C. the ground
4. D. the difference

1. A. the general tendency of people to avoid difficult tasks
2. B. the fact that lightning strikes the same tall building many times a year
3. C. the shortest, most direct route that an electrical charge can take between two points
4. D. the buildup of a negative charge inside a storm cloud

1. A. About twenty-three times
2. B. About three million times
3. C. Once every ten years
4. D. Only during winter storms

1. A. Lightning strikes the earth several million times a day
2. B. Lightning almost always strikes the tallest object nearby
3. C. Lightning strikes completely at random, with no clear pattern
4. D. A tall, lone tree in an open field is a dangerous place to stand during a storm

1. A. Flat ground is closer to the clouds than a tall tree or pole is, which shortens the gap the charge must cross.
2. B. A tall tree, a hilltop, or a metal pole is closer to the clouds than flat ground is.
3. C. Only metal poles, and no natural object such as a tree or hill, can ever shorten the gap between the clouds and the ground.
4. D. Because a tall tree, hilltop, or pole is closer to the clouds than flat ground is, the gap the charge must jump across becomes shorter.

1. A. The golfer's risk of being struck decreases, because they are no longer creating the tallest point nearby
2. B. The golfer's risk stays exactly the same, because golf clubs never affect the chance of a lightning strike
3. C. The golfer's risk increases, because the ground beneath them becomes the tallest point instead
4. D. The golfer becomes completely safe from lightning, because only metal objects are ever struck

1. A. explain the history of skyscraper construction in the United States
2. B. provide real, tested evidence for the path-of-least-resistance explanation given earlier
3. C. compare the building directly to the golf courses and sailboats mentioned earlier
4. D. argue that lightning is becoming more dangerous over time

1. A. It argues that the explanation in paragraph 2 is incomplete
2. B. It repeats the golf and sailboat examples from paragraph 3 in more detail
3. C. It introduces a completely different explanation for why lightning strikes tall objects
4. D. It provides a real, tested case that confirms the mechanism explained in paragraph 2

1. A. Square A
2. B. Square B
3. C. Square C
4. D. Square D

Lightning does not strike randomly; it follows a simple rule based on height, and a real study confirmed exactly how this works.

1. A. Lightning always jumps along the shortest possible path between the clouds and the ground, a pattern scientists call the path of least resistance.
2. B. Tall or raised objects, such as lone trees, golf clubs, and sailboat masts, are struck more often because they shorten this path.
3. C. In the 1930s, engineers confirmed the pattern by studying repeated lightning strikes on a tall building in New York City.
4. D. Lightning strikes the earth more than three million times every day around the world.
5. E. Golfers face more danger than shoppers inside a shopping mall because they often carry metal clubs outdoors.
6. F. Scientists have recently invented a way to prevent lightning from striking tall buildings.