Hi,
1. 彼の日記は出来事の羅列に近かった。もっとも時には、 長々と記述することもあった。
Translation given: "His diary was a kind of list of events, though he commented at length once in a while."
Does もっとも時に mean "once in a while" then? I can't seem to find any sense of もっとも that would make that meaning.
2. 彼らの最高の技術は木工細工に見られた。
Translation given: "Their highest skill was woodworking.
How does に見られた work, and what is its literal meaning?
3. そのセーターけっこうしたんじゃないですか。
Does this mean "Isn't that a nice sweater?", where the speaker thinks it's nice, and is asking a fairly rhetorical question where agreement is expected?
4. 今度のテストではいい点が取れそうな気がする。
My translation: "I have a feeling I'll get a good mark on this test".
Here, is 今度 referring to a test that the speaker has already taken, or a test that the speaker is going to take in the future, or is it ambiguous?
5. 以前は地球は平たんになっているものと思われていた物 です。
Translation given: "It used to be thought that the earth was flat."
a) What is the meaning of になっている here?
b) Is もの referring to 地球 or to something more abstract to do with beliefs?
c) Is there any reason why もの is written in kana in one place and kanji in another?
1. 彼の日記は出来事の羅列に近かった。もっとも時には、 長々と記述することもあった。
Translation given: "His diary was a kind of list of events, though he commented at length once in a while."
Does もっとも時に mean "once in a while" then? I can't seem to find any sense of もっとも that would make that meaning.
2. 彼らの最高の技術は木工細工に見られた。
Translation given: "Their highest skill was woodworking.
How does に見られた work, and what is its literal meaning?
3. そのセーターけっこうしたんじゃないですか。
Does this mean "Isn't that a nice sweater?", where the speaker thinks it's nice, and is asking a fairly rhetorical question where agreement is expected?
4. 今度のテストではいい点が取れそうな気がする。
My translation: "I have a feeling I'll get a good mark on this test".
Here, is 今度 referring to a test that the speaker has already taken, or a test that the speaker is going to take in the future, or is it ambiguous?
5. 以前は地球は平たんになっているものと思われていた物 です。
Translation given: "It used to be thought that the earth was flat."
a) What is the meaning of になっている here?
b) Is もの referring to 地球 or to something more abstract to do with beliefs?
c) Is there any reason why もの is written in kana in one place and kanji in another?