N3 内容理解（中文）: One Text, Three Questions
The mid-size block at N3 gives you 2 expository texts of ~350 characters with 3 questions each — six points hanging on two readings. The new challenge isn't length; it's that three questions probe the SAME text from different angles: a referent (その〜, それ), a reason (なぜ), and a content/claim question. That means one careless reading costs three points at once — and one well-mapped reading pays three. This chapter teaches the multi-question workflow, the 下線部 (underlined-part) technique, and walks a full text.
1. The Multi-Question Workflow
- Glance at all three question stems first (5 seconds): note their types and their order. JLPT questions follow text order — Q1's answer comes before Q2's, Q2's before Q3's. This ordering is a gift: it partitions the text into zones.
- Read the whole text once, paragraph-mapping: what does each paragraph DO (setup / episode / explanation / claim)?
- Answer question by question, relocating to its zone. Underlined-part questions: read the sentence BEFORE, the sentence itself, and the sentence AFTER — the answer is inside that three-sentence window over 90% of the time.
- Final claim questions: re-read the last paragraph + any しかし/つまり sentence, then eliminate.
2. The 下線部 Technique
N3 loves underlining a phrase and asking about it. The three sub-types and their moves:
| Sub-type | Question | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Referent | 「それ」は何を指しているか。 | Look backward — the nearest matching noun/idea, then TEST it by substitution into the underlined sentence. |
| Meaning-in-context | 「〜」とはどういう意味か。 | The text defines it nearby — look for つまり, 〜ということ, or a concrete example right after. |
| Reason for the underlined state | 下線部「驚いた」のはなぜか。 | Scan the window for から/ので/ため, or the event immediately preceding the reaction. |
The substitution test deserves emphasis: candidate referents must slot into the underlined sentence and keep it true. If 「それが問題だ」 and your candidate is "the new schedule," read it as "the new schedule is the problem" — does the text support that? Substitution turns guessing into verification.
3. Worked Text (Exam Simulation)
最近、「ながらスマホ」という言葉をよく聞く。歩きながら、また食事をしながらスマートフォンを使うことだ。駅の階段でスマホを見ていて、人とぶつかる事故も増えているそうだ。
私も以前は、友人と食事をしているときでも、ついスマホをチェックしていた。ある日、友人に「私と話すより、スマホのほうが大事？」と言われて、はっとした。①それからは、人といるときはスマホをかばんにしまうことにしている。
スマホは便利な道具だ。しかし、②道具に使われるようになったら、本末転倒ではないだろうか。大切な人との時間まで、道具に奪われてはいけないと思う。
Question 1 — referent
①「それ」は何を指しているか。
① スマホを買ったこと ② 友人に「スマホのほうが大事？」と言われたこと ③ 事故が増えていること ④ 食事をしたこと
Walkthrough: look backward from それから: the immediately preceding event is the friend's remark + はっとした. Substitute: "after being asked 'is your phone more important than me?', I started putting the phone away" — coherent. Answer ②. Option ③ is from paragraph 1 — too far and unrelated to the behavioral change.
Question 2 — meaning in context
②「道具に使われる」とはどういう意味か。
① スマホを人に貸すこと ② スマホに生活や気持ちをコントロールされること ③ スマホの使い方を習うこと ④ 古い道具を使い続けること
Walkthrough: the phrase is a deliberate inversion (tool uses the human). Context: the writer checked the phone even during meals — the phone was in command. The passive 使われる signals control reversal → ②. Meaning-in-context answers are always paraphrases grounded in the writer's episode, not dictionary definitions.
Question 3 — writer's claim
筆者が一番言いたいことは何か。
① スマホは便利な道具だ ② ながらスマホの事故が増えている ③ 大切な人との時間を道具に奪われてはいけない ④ スマホをかばんにしまうべきだ
Walkthrough: claim = after しかし in the final paragraph + the と思う sentence: ③. ① is the concession (スマホは便利だ。しかし…) — the setup before the turn, never the claim. ④ is the writer's personal habit (an example), not the general point. Distinguishing example vs claim is the N3 reading skill.
4. Expository Text Anatomy (Why This Text Was Typical)
- Paragraph 1 — phenomenon: introduces a topic with 最近／「〜」という言葉, often citing hearsay (〜そうだ).
- Paragraph 2 — personal episode: the writer's experience (私も…), pivoting on a moment of realization (はっとした, 気がついた).
- Paragraph 3 — generalization: concession + turn (便利だ。しかし…) + claim (〜てはいけないと思う／〜のではないだろうか).
〜のではないだろうか deserves a note: this "isn't it perhaps that…?" ending is how Japanese essayists assert POLITELY. It looks like a question; it IS the claim. Treat 〜ではないだろうか sentences as bold statements when hunting the main point.
5. Time & Trap Notes
- Budget: ~8 minutes per text including its three questions.
- The three answers come from three different zones — if two of your answers rest on the same sentence, re-check one.
- Hearsay vs writer's view: 〜そうだ／〜と言われている marks REPORTED info; the writer's own view wears と思う／のだ／ではないだろうか. Questions about 筆者の考え must not be answered with reported facts.
- The concession trap (便利だ。しかし…): the pre-turn clause appears verbatim as a wrong option in almost every claim question. Expect it, smile, eliminate it.
Summary & Key Takeaways
- N3 中文 = 2 texts × ~350 chars × 3 questions; questions follow text order, partitioning the text into zones.
- 下線部 technique: 3-sentence window; referents verified by substitution; meanings answered by contextual paraphrase; reasons found via から/ので or the preceding event.
- Expository anatomy: phenomenon → personal episode → concession + turn + claim. The claim hides behind しかし and wears のだ／と思う／ではないだろうか.
- 〜ではないだろうか is an assertion in disguise. 〜そうだ is hearsay, never the writer's view.
- Concession sentences reappear as wrong options — recognizing the "setup quote" trap converts directly into points.