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次の文章は、2012年5月8日にTHE DAILY YOMIURIに掲載された “REVITALIZING JAPAN Creative use of land / High-tech 'factories' start to produce lettuce and tuna”という見出しの記事である。これを読み、以下の設問に答えよ。なお、* のついた語句には注がある。
The following is the sixth installment in the third section of the "Creative use of land" part of a series of articles examining ways to restore Japan's vitality after the March 11, 2011, disaster. This section examines how land should be used and (A)maintained.
A "fish factory" has been in operation for two years on the hilly campus of Okayama University of Science in Okayama. The indoor facility is equipped （ a ） water-circulation machines and other devices.
The project is one of an increasing number of attempts to introduce the latest science and technology into primary industries to make the field more profitable.
The one-story building holds large and small aquarium tanks, including a round tank measuring eight meters in (B)diameter near one end of the building, where three *bluefin tuna, each weighing about eight kilograms, were swimming around.
Toshimasa Yamamoto, 53, an associate professor of the university's Faculty of Engineering, said: "I want to establish technologies to enable fish farming with high added value even in villages in mountainous regions where depopulation or graying of the population is progressing. By doing so, I want to create new industries."
He developed a method of adding small quantities of *sodium, *potassium and other elements to freshwater so that both saltwater fish and freshwater fish can be farmed in it.
The method is less costly than transporting seawater to mountainous areas and makes it easier to control water quality.
Currently, the fish-farming research is under way with eight species of fish. Yamamoto has especially high hopes for bluefin tuna, which are high-quality fish.
Farming bluefin tuna is difficult because the fish swim at high speeds, and are sensitive to light and sounds. Often the fish crash into tank walls or jump out of the tank.
In 2010, when he first got the fish factory running, all the tuna died. Since summer of last year, he has made some improvements to the facility.
For example, *iodine, which has bactericidal effects, has been added to the water, and nets to prevent fish （ b ） jumping out have been placed over the tank.
As a result, young 25-centimeter fish have grown to 80 centimeters in eight months.
An official of Okayama Takashimaya department store, which bought 200 *tiger puffer fish from the fish factory for year-end seasonal gifts, said: "The taste is as good as normally farmed ones. As it is a technology with great future potential, I wanted to strike deals quickly."
If costs for circulating and purifying water can be lowered, the fish will be more competitive in the market. Yamamoto has received proposals for joint research from U.S., Chinese and South Korean companies.
He said, "An age （ c ） which agricultural cooperatives will ship bluefin tuna may be coming."
Vegetable factories are also attracting attention. These bio-factories produce agricultural products by artificially controlling temperature, water conditions, nutritional elements and other factors indoors.
Though some might expect such produce to be bland compared with that cultivated in rice *paddies and fields with rich natural environments, the facilities are highly productive and it is possible to control various qualities of the produce, including flavors such as sweetness.
(1)Products in such factories are not affected by environmental pollution, such as radioactive substances, and producers have little to worry about regarding harmful insects and plant diseases.
The technology was first developed in Scandinavian countries, where the hours of sunlight are short for much of the year.
But the market has been invigorated as well-funded enterprises have entered the business and worldwide demand （ d ） the technology has grown.
In Japan, where the farming population is declining, the technology has been attracting increasing attention.
Last year, a 2,000-square-meter vegetable factory was completed at Osaka Prefecture University in Sakai. It is the largest in Japan not to use sunlight.
Prof. Haruhiko Murase, 64, proudly showed off his lettuce and said, "Please eat this lettuce without washing it, because the vegetable is much cleaner than tap water."
In the factory, the balance between blue light, which makes plants grow leaves and flowers, and red light, which is necessary for *photosynthesis, is precisely controlled, even to the point of tuning the lights' wavelength.
The vegetables can grow twice as quickly as those grown in natural fields, and harvests are possible year-round. Crop yield is more than 20 times the (C)volume from outdoor fields with the same acreage.
Currently, lettuce produced in the factory costs 40 percent to 100 percent more than lettuce grown in ordinary vegetable fields.
But Murase said it is possible to reduce the prices of factory vegetables below those produced in ordinary fields by improving production efficiency.
(2)In Japan, there are increasing attempts to apply robotics and other technologies ―fields where Japan has advantage― to agriculture.
Prof. Shigeki Toyama, 59, of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, and his team of researchers developed robotic Power Assist Suits, mechanical *exoskeletons that can be worn to make agricultural work physically easier.
The researchers anticipate the suit will be used by grape farmers as they often have to work in a semi-crouching position with their arms raised for many hours.
The robot suits are priced at about 1.2 million yen each. The suits reportedly can reduce such farmers' leg fatigue （ e ） about 50 percent and arm fatigue （ e ） about 85 percent.
A venture firm established by Yasuo Yoshikuni, 33, in California has developed a strain of *E. coli bacteria that can decompose *kelp sugar into ethanol, using genetic engineering technologies.
Because seaweed does not have *lignin, a hard woody element contained in ground plants, it is easier to chemically process and thus is suitable for use as a raw material at plants.
This technology is expected to widen the potential in (D)agriculture, from food production to production of fuel and natural resources.
Yoshikuni is considering making use （ f ） this technology for the reconstruction of areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake, building a large-scale seaweed-farming field off the Sanriku region.
The government is (3)（ to / play / role / expected / a / in / supporting / significant ） and fostering such science and technology.
〔注〕
bluefin tuna：クロマグロ
sodium：ナトリウム
potassium：カリウム
iodine：ヨウ素、ヨード
tiger puffer fish：トラフグ
paddy：モミ付きの米、精米前の米
photosynthesis：光合成
exoskeleton：外骨格
E. coli (Escherichia coli)：大腸菌
kelp：海藻
lignin：リグニン
| 問１ |
下線部の単語(A)〜(D)とアクセントの位置が同じものをそれぞれ選び、記号で答えなさい。 |
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- (A) main-tain
- ア ef-fort
- イ laun-dry
- ウ pre-fer
- エ there-fore
- (B) di-am-e-ter
- ア au-thor-i-ty
- イ cel-e-bra-tion
- ウ mis-un-der-stand
- エ op-po-si-tion
- (C) vol-ume
- ア ab-sorb
- イ com-ment
- ウ con-cern
- エ sur-prise
- (D) ag-ri-cul-ture
- ア eco-log-i-cal
- イ gram-mat-i-cal
- ウ par-tic-i-pate
- エ tel-e-vi-sion
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| 問２ |
空所（ a ）〜（ f ）に入れるのに最も適当な語を次から選びなさい。なお、同じ語を２回以上選んではいけません。 |
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in by of from with for
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| 問３ |
下線部(1)を和訳しなさい。 |
| 問４ |
下線部(2)を和訳しなさい。 |
| 問５ |
(3)の（ ）内の単語を並べかえ、英文を完成させなさい。 |
| 問６ |
本文の内容に一致するものを次のア〜カから２つ選びなさい。 |
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- ア 海水を山へ輸送するコストの削減などを目的に、海水魚も淡水魚と同じ水槽で生きられる方法が開発された。
- イ クロマグロは高速で泳ぐため養殖が難しいが、魚工業を始めた年に25匹の稚魚を80センチに育てることに成功した。
- ウ 水の循環や浄化のコスト削減を図るため、日本はアメリカ、中国、韓国の企業に共同研究を要請している。
- エ 施設の中で人工的に農作物を生産する植物工場は、近年日本で開発された画期的な技術である。
- オ 植物工場での農作物の栽培は生産効率が大変良いが、露地物に比べ価格が２倍近くになることもある。
- カ 日本では近年、農作業の重労働を軽減するために、体に負担がかかる仕事を人間の代わりに行うロボットの開発に着手している。
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