英検のReading大問[2]は長文空所補充の問題ですが、この問題を解く際には「文と文との論理的なつながり」に注目することが重要です。文と文との接続パターンについては、以前のブログ（
https://umedaeikaiwa.com/blog/eiken_2ndgrade1/ ）をご確認ください。
1. 逆接・対比
[練習1] 文中の空所に入るものを、前後の論理関係をチェックし、以下の選択肢から選んでください。
Two men recently spent time on a coral island. There were hardly any trees on the island and there was no water. ( 1 ), they were able to survive quite comfortably.
1. Nevertheless 2. In addition
3. For once 4. By chance
[練習2] 文中の空所に入るものを、前後の論理関係をチェックし、以下の選択肢から選んでください。
Nobody seems to know exactly who Saint Valentine was or when he lived. ( 2 ), people today celebrate Valentine’s Day in countries around the world.
1. What is more 2. Despite this
3. In the same way 4. Instead
2. 二項対立
[練習] 文中の空所に入るものを、前後の論理関係をチェックし、以下の選択肢から選んでください。
Valentine’s Day ( 1 ) an ancient Roman holiday called the love festival of Lupercalia, which was based on Roman myths. The new Christian church was against its non-Christian parts but decided that it could be changed to a Christian holiday. In the ancient Roman festival, unmarried girls’ names were put into a box and unmarried boys picked them out. The couple was supposed to be together for a year. It is believed that Valentine’s Day cards evolved from the letters that those ancient sweethearts wrote to each other.
(1) 1. tried to compete with 2. was not as popular as
3. was a replacement for 4. became known as