英検2級の要約の練習問題4題｜本番形式の英文と解答例・言いかえ・自己採点の目安

Many families today have a pet such as a dog or a cat. Because more people live alone or work from home, pets have become important members of the family for many of them.

Why do so many people keep pets? First, pets can make their owners feel less lonely. Spending time with a pet after a long day helps people relax. Also, walking a dog every day gives owners a chance to exercise and meet neighbors.

However, keeping a pet is not always easy. Pets need food, medical care, and attention, so owners have to spend a lot of money and time on them. In addition, some apartments do not allow pets, so people who want one may have trouble finding a place to live.

These days, more people keep pets and treat them as family members. Pets help owners feel less lonely and more relaxed, and dogs give them chances to exercise and meet others. However, pets cost a lot of money and time, and finding housing that allows pets can be difficult.

Some schools in Japan have started to use tablets instead of paper textbooks. Students can read their textbooks and do homework on the same device, and teachers can share materials with the whole class quickly.

There are several advantages to this change. Tablets are light, so students do not have to carry heavy bags to school. Moreover, digital textbooks can include videos and sound, which help students understand difficult topics more easily.

On the other hand, some people are worried about using tablets. Looking at screens for a long time may cause eye problems. Also, students may be tempted to play games or watch videos that have nothing to do with their studies.

Some Japanese schools now use tablets in place of paper textbooks. Tablets reduce the weight students carry, and videos and sound in digital textbooks make lessons easier to understand. However, long screen time may harm students' eyes, and students might use the devices for entertainment instead of studying.

In many cities, people can now rent bicycles from stations placed around town. They can pick up a bike at one station and return it to another, and they usually pay through a smartphone app.

This service has some good points. It is convenient for short trips, such as going from a train station to an office. Furthermore, if more people ride bicycles instead of driving cars, there will be less traffic and air pollution.

However, bike-sharing services also cause problems. Some users leave bicycles on sidewalks, which can block pedestrians. In addition, companies must spend a lot of money to repair bikes and move them to stations where they are needed.

Bike-sharing services, which let people rent bicycles through apps, are spreading in cities. They are useful for short trips and can reduce traffic and pollution. However, bikes left on sidewalks can get in people's way, and companies face high costs for repairing and moving them.

More and more supermarkets are introducing self-checkout machines. With these machines, customers scan and pay for their items by themselves instead of waiting for a cashier.

Supporters of self-checkout say it has clear benefits. Customers who buy only a few items can finish shopping quickly. Stores can also save money because they need fewer workers at the registers, which is helpful when it is hard to hire staff.

However, not everyone likes these machines. Some elderly customers find them difficult to use and feel uncomfortable asking for help. Moreover, because no one checks every item, stores may lose money when customers make mistakes or do not scan some products.

Supermarkets are increasingly using self-checkout machines. These help shoppers with few items finish quickly and allow stores to reduce staff costs when hiring is difficult. However, some older people struggle to use them, and stores may suffer losses because items can go unscanned by mistake or on purpose.

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