JLPT N3 Reading
解答と解説 · Show the full answer & explanation
The shopping street by the station has a 'shared umbrella' scheme. Someone caught by sudden rain can freely borrow an umbrella from a basket outside a shop and return it later to any shop — not necessarily the one they borrowed from. When it started, some worried the umbrellas wouldn't come back, but in practice about 80% are returned. With so many places to return them, it's easy, they say. The other 20% don't come back. The scheme survives anyway because the umbrellas are supplied by donations of old ones. Q: What is the 'shared umbrella' scheme? — Borrow an umbrella freely and return it to any shop.
かさを自由に借り、どの店に返してもよいしくみ
The first paragraph defines it, and 返す 店は 借りた 店で なくても よい is the key flexibility.
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