◆ 評論文の読解問題
(1) From quiet paths by a stream in a forest to busy roads running through a city, people have created various forms of routes in different places. These now exist all around us, and their use is imperative for societies. These routes have enabled people to move, transport things, and send information from one place to another quickly and safely. Throughout history, they have been important in our daily lives.
(2) Early routes were often formed naturally on land. They gradually developed over long periods of time while people traveled them on foot or horseback. A significant turning point in their history arrived when the first wheeled carts appeared in ancient times. Once this happened, people recognized the importance of well-maintained routes. Therefore, towns, cities, and entire countries improved them in order to prosper. As a result, life became more convenient, communities grew, economies evolved, and cultures expanded. The importance of land routes increased further, especially after the appearance of automobiles.
(3) People have established routes on water, too. Rivers and canals have served as effective routes for people to move around and carry things. For instance, in the old Japanese city of Edo, water routes were used for the transportation of agricultural products, seafood, and wood, which supported the city's life and economy. People have also opened routes across the sea. The seaways, which developed based on winds, waves, water depths, and coastline geography, were critical for the navigation of ships, particularly in the days when they moved mainly by wind power. Using these sea routes, people could travel great distances and go to places | they had not previously been able to reach. A number of important sea routes emerged, leading to the exchange of natural resources, products, and ideas. This, in turn, helped cities and towns thrive.
(4) Poeple have gone on to open routes in the sky as well. Since the invention of the airplane, these routes have made it possible for people to travel long distances easily. They found the best routes by considering conditions such as winds and air currents. Eventually, people became able to travel safely and confortably high in the sky, and going vast distances only took a small amount of time. In fact, people used to need more than one month to travel to Europe from Japan by ship, whereas today they can travel between them in a single day by airplane. Owing to the establishment of these sky routes, a great number of people now travel around the world for sightseeing, visiting friends, and doing business.
(5) Today, we have a new type of route, the Internet, which specializes in the electronic exchange of information. By using this worldwide route, people can easily obtain information that once was available mainly from books and face-to-face communication. They can also instantly send messages to large numbers of people all at once. According to one study, more than 3.5 billion people, which is about half of the global population, have access to this electronic route today. As technology advances, more and more people will take advantage of this route to gather information and communicate.
(6) As long as there have been people, there have been routes to connect them. These have contributed not only to the movement of people, things, and information, but also to the development of our communities, economies, and cultures. Routes have played significant roles in the development and prosperity of humankind. Currently unknown routes will surely take us even further in the future.