There is a question in Kanzen Master's N3 gramar book, 3 and 4 練習, that I'm confused by:

Question 6: ( ) くらいなら、今の生活レベルでがまんしよう。

a. いい仕事がない　　b。仕事が欲しい　　c。きつい仕事をする

My original thought was that the answer was a, but the answer is c. I thought that inserting a would make the sentence mean something along the lines of "Since/if there is no good work available, you should persevere with your current life."

What am I misunderstanding about option c?

Question

There is a question in Kanzen Master's N3 gramar book, 3 and 4 練習, that I'm confused by:

Question 6: ( ) くらいなら、今の生活レベルでがまんしよう。

a. いい仕事がない　　b。仕事が欲しい　　c。きつい仕事をする

My original thought was that the answer was a, but the answer is c. I thought that inserting a would make the sentence mean something along the lines of "Since/if there is no good work available, you should persevere with your current life."

What am I misunderstanding about option c?

Answer

Hi Alexa.
自然で正しいのは、ｃだと思います。
私の感覚ではａも有りですし、意味も通じると思います。ただ、その場合、
「（いい仕事がない）から、今の生活レベルでがまんしよう。」
が、自然です。
試験の時はｃ、会話ではａも有りという感覚です。
ご参考までに。
日本語学習楽しみましょうね(^^)

Answer

Aするくらいなら 〜Bをする。indicates that if you have to do A,i'd rather do B

If you have to do a hard job you'd rather settle for current state.

1.	走（はし）るくらいなら歩（ある）きます。
(If it means running, I’d rather walk.)
	2.	失敗（しっぱい）するくらいなら挑戦（ちょうせん）しません。
(If it means failing, I won’t even try.)
	3.	待（ま）つくらいなら自分（じぶん）でやります。
(If it means waiting, I’ll do it myself.)

Hope it helps!

Answer

C is correct. A is not, making no sense.

The logic is:

今の生活レベルでがまんする
is no worse ( or better) than 
きつい仕事をする

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