共通テスト（英語） 過去問
令和8年度（2026年度）本試験
問13 (英語リーディング（第3問） 問3)
問題文
各問の英文や図表を読み、最も適当な選択肢を選びなさい。
Your English teacher told you to read this short story for the next class.
The Bug Cup
My high school classmate and I were sitting for an hour with our legs crossed and our eyes closed, trying to feel our breath. I had signed up for this special workshop to learn how to control my thoughts and emotions. My father had recommended it to me. He said it might help me focus my mind, lower my stress, and hopefully improve my grades at school. My friend came along to see if it could help him, too.
Sometime during the session I heard a faint buzzing sound, but little by little I could hear it more clearly. It was a small insect. It flew very close to my right ear and almost went in it！ I wanted to hit it with my hand, but we weren’t supposed to move. “What should I do now？” I thought.
Just as I opened my eyes, the bug flew off toward the instructor. I saw her take a cup and a postcard that were nearby. She stood up and trapped the bug in the cup against the wall. Sliding the card between the cup and the wall, she covered the open end of the cup. Then, she did something that really impressed me. She walked to the window, opened it, and let the insect fly out. The instructor softly closed the window and our eyes met. After the session, she came over to me and said, “The bug cup always works. Having a warm heart for all creatures is one of the keys to a peaceful mind.”
I don’t know yet if the workshop has helped me concentrate better or if it will improve my grades. However, I did learn something important from that bug cup experience.
From the instructor, the author most likely understood the importance of being （ ） to all living things.
Your English teacher told you to read this short story for the next class.
The Bug Cup
My high school classmate and I were sitting for an hour with our legs crossed and our eyes closed, trying to feel our breath. I had signed up for this special workshop to learn how to control my thoughts and emotions. My father had recommended it to me. He said it might help me focus my mind, lower my stress, and hopefully improve my grades at school. My friend came along to see if it could help him, too.
Sometime during the session I heard a faint buzzing sound, but little by little I could hear it more clearly. It was a small insect. It flew very close to my right ear and almost went in it！ I wanted to hit it with my hand, but we weren’t supposed to move. “What should I do now？” I thought.
Just as I opened my eyes, the bug flew off toward the instructor. I saw her take a cup and a postcard that were nearby. She stood up and trapped the bug in the cup against the wall. Sliding the card between the cup and the wall, she covered the open end of the cup. Then, she did something that really impressed me. She walked to the window, opened it, and let the insect fly out. The instructor softly closed the window and our eyes met. After the session, she came over to me and said, “The bug cup always works. Having a warm heart for all creatures is one of the keys to a peaceful mind.”
I don’t know yet if the workshop has helped me concentrate better or if it will improve my grades. However, I did learn something important from that bug cup experience.
From the instructor, the author most likely understood the importance of being （ ） to all living things.
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問題
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共通テスト（英語）試験 令和8年度（2026年度）本試験 問13（英語リーディング（第3問） 問3） （訂正依頼・報告はこちら）
各問の英文や図表を読み、最も適当な選択肢を選びなさい。
Your English teacher told you to read this short story for the next class.
The Bug Cup
My high school classmate and I were sitting for an hour with our legs crossed and our eyes closed, trying to feel our breath. I had signed up for this special workshop to learn how to control my thoughts and emotions. My father had recommended it to me. He said it might help me focus my mind, lower my stress, and hopefully improve my grades at school. My friend came along to see if it could help him, too.
Sometime during the session I heard a faint buzzing sound, but little by little I could hear it more clearly. It was a small insect. It flew very close to my right ear and almost went in it！ I wanted to hit it with my hand, but we weren’t supposed to move. “What should I do now？” I thought.
Just as I opened my eyes, the bug flew off toward the instructor. I saw her take a cup and a postcard that were nearby. She stood up and trapped the bug in the cup against the wall. Sliding the card between the cup and the wall, she covered the open end of the cup. Then, she did something that really impressed me. She walked to the window, opened it, and let the insect fly out. The instructor softly closed the window and our eyes met. After the session, she came over to me and said, “The bug cup always works. Having a warm heart for all creatures is one of the keys to a peaceful mind.”
I don’t know yet if the workshop has helped me concentrate better or if it will improve my grades. However, I did learn something important from that bug cup experience.
From the instructor, the author most likely understood the importance of being （ ） to all living things.
Your English teacher told you to read this short story for the next class.
The Bug Cup
My high school classmate and I were sitting for an hour with our legs crossed and our eyes closed, trying to feel our breath. I had signed up for this special workshop to learn how to control my thoughts and emotions. My father had recommended it to me. He said it might help me focus my mind, lower my stress, and hopefully improve my grades at school. My friend came along to see if it could help him, too.
Sometime during the session I heard a faint buzzing sound, but little by little I could hear it more clearly. It was a small insect. It flew very close to my right ear and almost went in it！ I wanted to hit it with my hand, but we weren’t supposed to move. “What should I do now？” I thought.
Just as I opened my eyes, the bug flew off toward the instructor. I saw her take a cup and a postcard that were nearby. She stood up and trapped the bug in the cup against the wall. Sliding the card between the cup and the wall, she covered the open end of the cup. Then, she did something that really impressed me. She walked to the window, opened it, and let the insect fly out. The instructor softly closed the window and our eyes met. After the session, she came over to me and said, “The bug cup always works. Having a warm heart for all creatures is one of the keys to a peaceful mind.”
I don’t know yet if the workshop has helped me concentrate better or if it will improve my grades. However, I did learn something important from that bug cup experience.
From the instructor, the author most likely understood the importance of being （ ） to all living things.
- attractive
- cruel
- strict
- tender
正解！素晴らしいです
残念...
画像拡大
この過去問の解説 （2件）
01
問題文は
「インストラクターから、作者は、すべての生き物に（ ）であることの重要性をもっとも学んだようである。」
です。
「学んだこと」、「すべての生き物に対して」を手掛かりに、関連箇所を探していきます。
英文の最後に
I did learn something important from that bug cup experience.
（私は無視のコップの経験から大切なことを本当に学んだ）
とあります。
したがって、インストラクターが虫を捕まえた出来事に答えがあると考えらえます。
さらに「all living things（すべての生き物に対して）」というキーワードをもとに探していくと、該当箇所は、インストラクターの
Having a warm heart for all creatures is one of the keys to a peaceful mind.
（すべての生き物に対して、温かい心を持つことが、平和な心のカギの一つです）
という言葉にあると考えられます。
この言葉の内容に合うものを選びます。
「魅力的」
「a warm heart」 の内容と一致するとは言えません。
「ひどい」
インストラクターの言葉の内容とは真逆となり、誤りです。
「厳しい」
インストラクターの言葉の内容とは真逆となり、誤りです。
正解 「優しい」
「a warm heart」 のニュアンスともっとも一致していると言えます。
問題文の「all living things」は、本文中の 「all creatures」を言い換えています。
言い換えはヒントとなりますので、見落とさないようにしましょう。
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この解説の修正を提案する
02
空欄に適切な単語を当てはめる設問です。
重要な部分は本文の終わり近くのインストラクターのセリフです。
Having a warm heart for all creatures is one of the keys to a peaceful mind.
warm:（ここでは形容詞）温かい【warm heart のように比喩的な意味も持ちます。】
heart:①心臓 ②（比喩的に）心
creature:生き物
key:①（名詞）鍵 ②（形容詞）重要な【a key factor（重要な要因）】
the key to ～:～の最良の方法である、～の秘訣である
peaceful:①平和な ②穏やかな
mind:①（名詞）精神 ②（名詞）意見、意向 ②（他動詞）～するのを嫌に思う ③（他動詞）～に気を付ける
設問
From the instructor, the author most likely understood the importance of being （ ） to all living things.
空欄には a warm heart の言い換えが入ります。
選択肢の中で適切なものは tender（優しい） です。
living things が creatures の言い換えになっている事も把握しましょう。
from:（前置詞）ここでは「～から」
likely:①（副詞）おそらく、多分 ②（形容詞）～しそうだろう、～だと思われる
most likely: ほぼ、ほとんど、おおかた、十中八九
understood:理解した【understand（理解する）の過去形】
importance:重要性【important:重要な】
living thing:生き物
attractive（魅力的な、魅力のある）を空欄に入れても a warm heart の言い換えにならないので、この選択肢は不適切です。
cruel（残酷な、残忍な）を空欄に入れても a warm heart の言い換えにならず、逆の意味になってしまうのでこの選択肢は不適切です。
strict（①厳格な、厳しい ②厳密な）を空欄に入れても a warm heart の言い換えにならないので、この選択肢は不適切です。
tender（①柔らかい ②優しい、同情的な ③幼い）を空欄に入れると a warm heart の言い換えになるので、この選択肢は適切です。
もし選択肢にあれば kind（①種類 ②親切な）なども当てはまるでしょう。
知っておきたい単語は、warm, heart, creature, key, the key to, peaceful, mind, likely, understood (understand の過去形である事), importance, attractive, cruel, strict, tender などです。
特に tender は解答に直結するので知っておきたい単語です。
本設問は本文の概要を押さえたうえで単語の意味さえ知っていれば即答も可能ですが、逆に単語の意味を知らないと確実に正答を選べない事になります。
できれば普段から英文に慣れて、同レベルの単語の意味を多く覚えるようにしましょう。
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この解説の修正を提案する
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