やさしいものをしっかり習得してから上に進めば英語学習はそれほど大変なものではありません。しかし昔の日本の英語教育のように童話が読めない段階でシェイクスピアを読ませるようなことをしてしまうと、英語力養成はきわめて困難な作業になります。効率的英語力養成の必須条件は子ども向け読み物を楽に読めるようにするとことで、大人が楽しめる童話は結構あります。
そんなわけで著作権の切れた童話「ドリトル先生航海記」から、シンプルで、大学入試にもTOEICにも英検にも有効な練習問題を作成しています。楽しみながら英語力を伸ばしていただければ幸いです。いままでにここのブログで連載した「オズの魔法使い」から学ぶ頻出語彙と読解、ドリトル先生アフリカゆきで学ぶ語彙・読解と同様、ドリトル先生航海記で学ぶ語彙・読解も連載終了後には冒頭から通読できるように並べ替える予定です。
※(59)の解答①(red spots on it)②(wonder)③(held it by its)④(something that looked like) ⑤(hurting)⑥(was covered with signs) ⑦(make)⑧(curious)⑨(stared)⑩(finger to make these)⑪(things put together mean)⑫(look as though they)⑬(spreading)⑭(would think of doing)⑮(writing that he knows)⑯(any one who caught)⑰(cave looking for medicine-plants)⑱(slim)⑲(grab)⑳(last cry for help)
(60)
He sprang to his feet as he ended, snatched out a note-book and put the letter between the leaves. His hands were ①**(restricting : trembling : abusing : nourishing) with haste and agitation.
"Come on!" he cried—"up the mountain—all of you. There's not a ②*(reality : fortune : region : moment) to lose. Bumpo, bring the water and nuts with you. Heaven only ③(long / knows / they've / how) been pining underground. Let's hope and ④*(pray : occupy : gather : notice) we're not too late!"
"But where are you going to look?" I asked. "Miranda said the island was a hundred miles long and the mountains ⑤(to / seem / all / run) the way down the centre of it."
"Didn't you see the last picture?" he said, ⑥(hat / grabbing / his / up) from the ground and cramming it on his head. "It was an oddly shaped mountain—looked like a hawk's head. Well, there's ⑦(if / is / where / he) he's still alive. First thing for us to do, is to get up on a high peak and look around the island for a mountain ⑧*(shaped : attempted : considered : claimed) like a hawks' head—just to think of it! There's a ⑨(of / chance / meeting / my) Long Arrow, the son of Golden Arrow, after all!—Come on! Hurry! To delay ⑩(mean / may / to / death) the greatest naturalist ever born!"
THE SEVENTH CHAPTER. HAWK'S-HEAD MOUNTAIN
WE all agreed afterwards that none of us had ever worked so hard in our lives before ⑪(that / did / we / as) day. For my part, I know I was often on the point of dropping exhausted with ⑫(penalty : fatigue : welfare : client); but I just kept on going—like a machine—determined that, whatever happened, I would not be the ⑬(to / up / first / give).
When we had scrambled to the top of a high peak, almost instantly we saw the ⑭(pictured / strange / in / mountain) the letter. In shape it was the perfect image of a hawk's head, and was, as far as we could see, the second highest ⑮*(trial : summit : trend : industry) in the island.
Although we were all out ⑯(from / of / our / breath) climb, the Doctor didn't let us rest a second as soon as he had sighted it. With one look at the sun for direction, down he dashed again, breaking through thickets, splashing over brooks, taking all the short cuts. For a fat man, he was ⑰*(briefly : urgently : rarely : certainly) the swiftest cross-country runner I ever saw.
We floundered after him as fast as we could. When I say WE, I mean Bumpo and myself; for the animals, Jip, Chee-Chee and Polynesia, were a long way ahead—even beyond the Doctor—enjoying the hunt like a paper-chase.
At length we arrived at the foot of the mountain we were making for; and we found its sides very ⑱*(confident : sensitive : dense : steep). Said the Doctor,
"Now we will separate and ⑲*(prepare : search : compare : equip ) for caves. This spot where we now are, will be our meeting-place. If anyone finds anything like a cave or a hole where the earth and rocks have fallen in, he must shout and hulloa to the rest of us. If we find nothing we will all ⑳*(suit : rescue : gather : feed) here in about an hour's time—Everybody understand?"
解答は次回発表。ご意見、ご要望等はsuzuyasu@wmail.plala.or.jpでも承っております。
そんなわけで著作権の切れた童話「ドリトル先生航海記」から、シンプルで、大学入試にもTOEICにも英検にも有効な練習問題を作成しています。楽しみながら英語力を伸ばしていただければ幸いです。いままでにここのブログで連載した「オズの魔法使い」から学ぶ頻出語彙と読解、ドリトル先生アフリカゆきで学ぶ語彙・読解と同様、ドリトル先生航海記で学ぶ語彙・読解も連載終了後には冒頭から通読できるように並べ替える予定です。
※(59)の解答①(red spots on it)②(wonder)③(held it by its)④(something that looked like) ⑤(hurting)⑥(was covered with signs) ⑦(make)⑧(curious)⑨(stared)⑩(finger to make these)⑪(things put together mean)⑫(look as though they)⑬(spreading)⑭(would think of doing)⑮(writing that he knows)⑯(any one who caught)⑰(cave looking for medicine-plants)⑱(slim)⑲(grab)⑳(last cry for help)
(60)
He sprang to his feet as he ended, snatched out a note-book and put the letter between the leaves. His hands were ①**(restricting : trembling : abusing : nourishing) with haste and agitation.
"Come on!" he cried—"up the mountain—all of you. There's not a ②*(reality : fortune : region : moment) to lose. Bumpo, bring the water and nuts with you. Heaven only ③(long / knows / they've / how) been pining underground. Let's hope and ④*(pray : occupy : gather : notice) we're not too late!"
"But where are you going to look?" I asked. "Miranda said the island was a hundred miles long and the mountains ⑤(to / seem / all / run) the way down the centre of it."
"Didn't you see the last picture?" he said, ⑥(hat / grabbing / his / up) from the ground and cramming it on his head. "It was an oddly shaped mountain—looked like a hawk's head. Well, there's ⑦(if / is / where / he) he's still alive. First thing for us to do, is to get up on a high peak and look around the island for a mountain ⑧*(shaped : attempted : considered : claimed) like a hawks' head—just to think of it! There's a ⑨(of / chance / meeting / my) Long Arrow, the son of Golden Arrow, after all!—Come on! Hurry! To delay ⑩(mean / may / to / death) the greatest naturalist ever born!"
THE SEVENTH CHAPTER. HAWK'S-HEAD MOUNTAIN
WE all agreed afterwards that none of us had ever worked so hard in our lives before ⑪(that / did / we / as) day. For my part, I know I was often on the point of dropping exhausted with ⑫(penalty : fatigue : welfare : client); but I just kept on going—like a machine—determined that, whatever happened, I would not be the ⑬(to / up / first / give).
When we had scrambled to the top of a high peak, almost instantly we saw the ⑭(pictured / strange / in / mountain) the letter. In shape it was the perfect image of a hawk's head, and was, as far as we could see, the second highest ⑮*(trial : summit : trend : industry) in the island.
Although we were all out ⑯(from / of / our / breath) climb, the Doctor didn't let us rest a second as soon as he had sighted it. With one look at the sun for direction, down he dashed again, breaking through thickets, splashing over brooks, taking all the short cuts. For a fat man, he was ⑰*(briefly : urgently : rarely : certainly) the swiftest cross-country runner I ever saw.
We floundered after him as fast as we could. When I say WE, I mean Bumpo and myself; for the animals, Jip, Chee-Chee and Polynesia, were a long way ahead—even beyond the Doctor—enjoying the hunt like a paper-chase.
At length we arrived at the foot of the mountain we were making for; and we found its sides very ⑱*(confident : sensitive : dense : steep). Said the Doctor,
"Now we will separate and ⑲*(prepare : search : compare : equip ) for caves. This spot where we now are, will be our meeting-place. If anyone finds anything like a cave or a hole where the earth and rocks have fallen in, he must shout and hulloa to the rest of us. If we find nothing we will all ⑳*(suit : rescue : gather : feed) here in about an hour's time—Everybody understand?"
解答は次回発表。ご意見、ご要望等はsuzuyasu@wmail.plala.or.jpでも承っております。
