共通テスト（英語） 過去問
令和8年度（2026年度）追・再試験
問73 (英語リスニング（第5問） 問3)

最初に講義を読み、問いに答えなさい。

状況
あなたは、大学で環境生物学に関する科目を履修していて、一連の活動（活動1、2、3）に取り組んでいます。

活動1
あなたは、ワークシートにメモを取りながら、講義を聞いています。

To continue our unit on biodiversity in forest ecology, let’s consider how some squirrels contribute to the healthy diversity of forests through the effective spreading of seeds. Animals that hide seeds contribute to seed survival, which makes the growth of healthy new trees possible. So let’s review what we know about squirrels. Squirrels are among the most diverse mammals with around 280 species, and they share the behavior of saving seeds for later consumption. Squirrels are rodents, a group that includes rats, mice, and beavers. The teeth of rodents constantly grow and must be worn down through chewing.
To ensure their survival, squirrels gather and save as much food as possible. Researchers describe two seed saving methods：storing and scattering. Storing is when squirrels bury seeds together underground for long－term storage. This action does not contribute greatly to forest development, whereas the other behavior, called scattering, does.
So what is scattering？ Scattering is when squirrels hide each seed separately under leaves on the ground over a wide area far from their original source. Squirrels only eat a small number of the seeds they hide. The rest of the scattered seeds may get stolen by other squirrels or competing animals while some are merely forgotten. It is these forgotten scattered seeds that contribute most to healthy diverse forests.
However, in order for the scattered seeds to become trees, two additional conditions are required. First, the seeds scattered by squirrels must be distant from other rival seeds originating from the same parent tree. Second, they must also be far away from older trees that may be diseased. Under these conditions, seeds will grow successfully and this will lead to the healthy expansion of forests.

ワークシートの（　29　）に入れるのに最も適切なものを、六つの選択肢のうちから一つ選びなさい。