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出典: 近畿大学 2017年度（平成29年度）推薦入試（一般公募）11月19日実施分 Ⅶ
Ⅶ 次の英文を読み，あとの問いに答えよ。
A new study suggests that very young children who watch a lot of television may have attention problems later in school. Children with attention problems cannot sit still or control their actions. They talk too much, lose things, forget easily and are not able to finish tasks.
People with attention problems may suffer a condition known as attention deficit disorder, or ADD. Experts say the cause of ADD involves chemicals in the brain. Teachers say many children in the United States are showing signs of the disorder. Some education researchers have been saying for years that watching television at a very young age could change the normal development of the brain. For example, they say that children who watch a lot of television are not able to sit and read for an extended period of time.
The new study tested the idea that television watching by very young children is linked to attention problems by the age of seven. It involved more than 1,300 children. There were two groups of children, ages one and three. Researchers at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, reported the results in the publication Pediatrics. They asked the parents how often the children watched television. The parents also described their children’s actions at the age of seven using a method that can tell if someone suffers attention deficit disorders.
The children who watched a lot of television at an early age were most likely to have attention problems. Every hour of watching television increased the chances of having attention problems by about ten percent. For example, children who watched three hours a day were 30 percent more likely to have attention problems than those who watched no television.
The researchers say that all the children with attention problems might not have ADD. But they still could face major learning problems in school. The findings support advice by a group of children’s doctors that children under the age of two should not watch television.
One of the researchers said there are other reasons why children should not watch television. Earlier studies have linked it with children becoming too fat and too aggressive. Other experts say the new study is important, but more work needs to be done to confirm the findings and better explain the cause and effect.
問1
問1 本文の第1段落の内容に合うものとして最も適当なものを，ア~エから一つ選べ。(38)
ア. A recent study has concluded without fail that children with attention problems have watched TV excessively at a very young age.
イ. A recent study shows attention problems observed in school may be related to the amount of time the child spent watching TV at an early age.
ウ. Children who have attention problems find it easy to sit still but tend to leave required tasks unfinished.
エ. Staying still and saying very little are characteristics that children with attention problems have.
問2
問2 本文の第2段落の内容に合うものとして最も適当なものを，ア~エから一つ選べ。(39)
ア. A number of education researchers have pointed out that watching TV is unrelated to the development of children’s brains.
イ. According to specialists, chemicals in the brain have little to do with the cause of ADD.
ウ. According to teachers, signs of ADD are observed among many children in the U.S.
エ. Researchers say that children who watch TV for a long time can concentrate on reading for many hours without often moving around.
問3
問3 本文の第3段落の内容に合わないものを，ア~エから一つ選べ。(40)
ア. In the study, the parents were asked to explain their own actions at the age of seven, which could show the presence of ADD in the family.
イ. The findings from the new study were reported in a publication.
ウ. The researchers asked the parents of the children in the study how frequently their children were exposed to TV.
エ. The two groups in the new study consisted of young child participants who were either one or three years old.
問4
問4 本文の第4段落の内容に合うものとして最も適当なものを，ア~エから一つ選べ。(41)
ア. Children who watched TV for 60 minutes more than others increased their chance of developing attention problems by 20 percent.
イ. The children who watched no TV had just as much chance of developing attention problems as those who watched three hours a day.
ウ. The longer the children avoided watching TV at an early age, the greater the chance they suffered from attention problems later in life.
エ. The number of hours children watched TV at an early age was a factor in predicting the development of attention problems.
問5
問5 本文の第5段落の内容に合うものとして最も適当なものを，ア~エから一つ選べ。(42)
ア. According to the researchers, children who do not have ADD but who have attention problems could have some learning problems in school.
イ. The doctors’ advice that children younger than two years old should not watch television does not match the findings of the study.
ウ. The research supports the doctors’ suggestion that children should not be kept from watching TV before the age of two.
エ. The researchers claim that children with attention problems also have ADD.
問6
問6 下線部(43)の内容に合うものとして最も適当なものを，ア~エから一つ選べ。
ア. Children who watch too much TV tend to become passive.
イ. Further studies are necessary to determine how watching TV relates to children’s weight problems.
ウ. Previous studies revealed positive effects of children watching TV.
エ. Watching TV may be linked with children becoming overweight.
問7
問7 本文の内容と合うものを，ア~キから二つ選び，(44)と(45)に一つずつマークせよ。ただし，マークする記号(ア，イ，ウ，…)の順序は問わない。
ア. Children who have attention problems hardly ever lose or forget things.
イ. The effect of watching TV on children’s brain development has been a topic among education researchers for less than a year.
ウ. Researchers selected two groups of children ages one and three who all suffered from ADD for a new study that explored the link between TV and attention problems.
エ. Researchers reported people regardless of age who watched a lot of TV are most likely to develop ADD.
オ. The study showed that the chances of having attention problems increased about ten percent for every three hours a day spent watching TV.
カ. Children with attention problems may suffer from conditions other than ADD.
キ. Some experts claim that it is necessary to do more research before we can say that the results of the new study are true.