「ドリトル先生航海記」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(52)

　２０年近く前にTIMEを読み始めたとき、「TIMEには聖書やシェイクスピアの引用が登場する」という話を聞かされたことがあります。しかし現在のTIME誌に聖書やシェイクスピアの引用が頻繁に登場することはなく、むしろ童話を知っていれば、インドで開催される予定のスポーツ大会が国民の激しい批判にさらされていることを「オズの魔法使い」に重ねて報じたLet the Games Not Begin(TIME誌１０月４日号)のような記事は深く楽しく読めると思います。
　英語力においても童話が読めずにTIMEを読むのはきわめて困難で、英検１級合格やTOEIC900点突破もまず無理です。しかしやさしいものから徐々に難度を上げていくようにすれば確実に英語力を伸ばせます。
　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。

※(51)の解答just as we ①(were about to give)it up and let on that we were alive,←「あきらめて生きていることを知らせようとしたまさにその時」という意味になる。let onには「口外する」「漏らす」という意味がある。②(carried us out of)③(fate)④(while he was crossing)⑤(property). ⑥(place to throw us)⑦(untidy)⑧(intended) ⑨(lectured)⑩(muttering to himself all)⑪(flick of our tails)⑫(rescued)⑬(throw dead fish into)⑭(we sped for home)⑮(liberty)⑯(deeper than that known)⑰(consider)⑱(understanding what they say)⑲(kind to hear them)⑳(anxious)

(52)
The Fidgit: "I think that for both your difficulties the best thing ①(do / to / you / for ) would be to try and get hold of the Great Glass Sea Snail."

The Doctor: "Er—who, or what, is the Great Glass Sea Snail?"

The Fidgit: "He is an ②*(efficient : internal : enormous : inherent) salt-water snail, one of the winkle family, but as large as a big house. He talks quite loudly—when he speaks, but this is not often. He can go to any part of the ocean, at all depths because he doesn't have to be afraid of any ③*(structure : device : landscape : creature) in the sea. His shell is made of ④**(radical : transparent : coherent : monotonous) mother-o'-pearl so that you can see through it; but it's thick and strong. When he is out of his shell and he carries it empty on his back, there is room in it for a wagon and a pair of horses. He has been ⑤(carrying / food / his / seen) in it when traveling."

The Doctor: "I feel that that is just the creature I have been looking for. He could take me and my assistant inside his shell and we could ⑥*(bury : explore : annoy : contain) the deepest depths in safety. Do you think you could ⑦(him / get / me / for)?"

The Fidgit: "Alas! no. I would willingly if I could; but he is hardly ever seen by ordinary fish. He lives at the bottom of the Deep Hole, and ⑧(often : usually : seldom : immediately) comes out—And into the Deep Hole, the lower waters of which are muddy, fishes such as we are afraid to go."

The Doctor: "Dear me! That's a ⑨*(common : terrible : recent : personal) disappointment. Are there many of this kind of snail in the sea?"

The Fidgit: "Oh no. He is the only one in ⑩*(discipline : existence : certificate : notion), since his second wife died long, long ago. He is the last of the Giant Shellfish. He ⑪(to / ages / belongs / past) when the whales were land-animals and all that. They say he is over seventy thousand years old."

The Doctor: "Good Gracious, what wonderful things he could tell me! I ⑫(wish / I / do / could ) meet him."

The Fidgit: "Were there any more questions you wished to ask me? This water in your tank is getting quite warm and sickly. I'd like to be put back into the sea as soon as you can ⑬**(spare : yield : confess : disguise) me."

The Doctor: "Just one more thing: when Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic in 1492, he threw overboard two copies of his diary sealed up in barrels. One of them was never found. It must have sunk. I would like ⑭(it / to / for / get) my library. Do you happen to know where it is?"

The Fidgit: "Yes, I do. That too is in the Deep Hole. When the barrel sank the currents drifted it northwards down what we call the Orinoco Slope, till it finally ⑮*(displayed : extended : disappeared : engaged) into the Deep Hole. If it was any other part of the sea I'd try and get it for you; but not there."

The Doctor: "Well, that is all, I think. I hate ⑯(back / you / to / put) into the sea, because I know that as soon as I do, I'll think of a hundred other questions I wanted to ask you. But I must keep my promise. Would you ⑰(before / care / anything / for) you go?—it seems a cold day—some cracker-crumbs or something?"

The Fidgit: "No, I won't stop. All I want just at present is fresh sea-water."

The Doctor: "I cannot ⑱(you / thank / for / enough) all the information you have given me. You have been very helpful and patient."

The Fidgit: "Pray do not ⑲*(maintain : justify : mention : assure) it. It has been a real pleasure to be of assistance to the great John Dolittle. You are, as of course you know, already quite famous among the better class of fishes. Goodbye!—and good luck to you, to your ship and to all your plans!"

The Doctor carried the listening-tank to a porthole, opened it and ⑳*(addressed : shared : worried : emptied) the tank into the sea. "Good-bye!" he murmured as a faint splash reached us from without.

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。

「ドリトル先生航海記」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(51)

　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。コロンで区切られているのが四語選択問題、スラッシュで区切られているのが四語整序問題になっています。
　わからない単語が四語選択問題の中にあれば辞書で調べて、どの単語が文脈に合うか考えるだけでも英語力がつきます。英英辞典を使えれば効果倍増です。
ネイティブの発想でわかりやすく書かれた英英辞典は英語の万能細胞と言っても過言ではなく、英英辞典を「使わず」にTOEIC900点、英検１級レベルに到達することはあっても、英英辞典を「使えず」に到達することはまずないと思われます。
　英英辞典が使えるかどうかは
英英実力判定テストでお調べください。点数が思わしくなければ
english x englishをお試しください。英英辞典を使うのが楽になり、徐々に英語を英語のまま和訳せずに理解できるようになります。

※(50)の解答①(where)②(seek)③(men throwing their rubbish)④(murmured)⑤(as I lie awake)⑦(chase)⑧(delicious)⑨(what)⑩(to get away from) ⑪(worse off than we)⑫(risk)⑬(by the keeper floating)⑭(imitation)⑮(horror)⑯(us carefully out of )⑱(stiff)⑲(of air while they)⑳(unless)

(51)
"Then, just as we ①(give / were / to / about) it up and let on that we were alive, one of the old men shook his head sadly, lifted us up and ②(us / of / carried / out) the building.

"'Now for it!' I thought to myself. 'We'll soon know our ③*(subiect : fate : strength : fame): liberty or the garbage-can.'

"Outside, to our unspeakable horror, he made straight for a large ash-barrel which stood against the wall on the other side of a yard. Most happily for us, however, ④(he / while / crossing / was) this yard a very dirty man with a wagon and horses drove up and took the ash-barrel away. I suppose it was his ⑤*(consequence : presense : crisis : property).

"Then the old man looked around for some other ⑥(to / us / place / throw). He seemed about to cast us upon the ground. But he evidently thought that this would make the yard ⑦*(tame : untidy : vivid : distinct) and he desisted. The suspense was terrible. He moved outside the yard-gate and my heart sank once more as I saw that he now ⑧*(intended : applied : tired : ignored) to throw us in the gutter of the roadway. But (fortune was indeed with us that day), a large man in, blue clothes and silver buttons stopped him in the nick of time. Evidently, from the way the large man ⑨*(affected : lectured : adapted : included)and waved a short thick stick, it was against the rules of the town to throw dead fish in the streets.

"At last, to our unutterable joy, the old man turned and moved off with us towards the harbor. He walked so slowly, ⑩(himself / muttering / all / to)the way and watching the man in blue out of the corner of his eye, that I wanted to bite his finger to make him hurry up. Both Clippa and I were actually at our last gasp.

"Finally he reached the sea-wall and giving us one last sad look he dropped us into the waters of the harbor.

"Never had we realized anything like the thrill of that moment, as we felt the salt wetness close over our heads. With one ⑪(our / flick / tails / of) we came to life again. The old man was so surprised that he fell right into the water, almost on top of us. From this he was ⑫*(elected : rescued : amazed : bothered) by a sailor with a boat-hook; and the last we saw of him, the man in blue was dragging him away by the coat-collar, lecturing him again. Apparently it was also against the rules of the town to ⑬(into / fish / dead / throw) the harbor.

"But we?—What time or thought had we for his troubles? WE WERE FREE! In lightning leaps, in curving spurts, in crazy zig-zags—whooping, shrieking with delight, ⑭(sped / we / home / for) and the open sea!

"That is all of my story and I will now, as I promised last night, try to answer any questions you may ask about the sea, on condition that I am set at ⑮*(commodity : liberty : conduct : income) as soon as you have done."

The Doctor: "Is there any part of the sea ⑯(that / deeper / known / than) as the Nero Deep—I mean the one near the Island of Guam?"

The Fidgit: "Why, certainly. There's one much deeper than that near the mouth of the Amazon River. But it's small and hard to find. We call it 'The Deep Hole.' And there's another in the Antarctic Sea."

The Doctor: "Can you talk any shellfish language yourself?"

The Fidgit: "No, not a word. We regular fishes don't have anything to do with the shellfish. We ⑰*(justify : divide : consider : urge) them a low class."

The Doctor: "But when you're near them, can you hear the sound they make talking—I mean without necessarily ⑱(say / they / what / understanding)?"

The Fidgit: "Only with the very largest ones. Shellfish have such weak small voices it is almost impossible for any but their own ⑲(to / them / kind / hear). But with the bigger ones it is different. They make a sad, booming noise, rather like an iron pipe being knocked with a stone—only not nearly so loud of course."

The Doctor: "I am most ⑳*(tidy : anxious : lazy : artificial) to get down to the bottom of the sea—to study many things. But we land animals, as you no doubt know, are unable to breathe under water. Have you any ideas that might help me?"

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。

「ドリトル先生航海記」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(50)

　著作権の切れた童話「ドリトル先生航海記」から、四語選択問題と四語整序問題を組込んだ大学入試にも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。コロンで区切られているのが四語選択問題、スラッシュで区切られているのが四語整序問題です。＊印は難易度の目安で、＊印が多いほど難しい単語になっています。無印は語法・文法等の問題です。
　著作権の関係でお示しすることはできないとはいえ、英検１級レベルの長文(TIME,NEWSWEEKのやさしめの記事程度)から作成した四語選択問題と四語整序問題がすらすら解けるようになれば英検１級・TOEIC900点レベル到達は十分可能です。　

※(49)の解答①(time as we were)②(precious)③(taken us on shore) ④(breathe)⑤(bumping)⑥(treated)⑦(fellows in spectacles came) ⑦(certain)⑧(were other tanks filled)⑨(sick of it that)⑩(captured)⑪(noticed)⑫(female)⑬(of but few ideas) ⑭(got to know what)⑮signified ⑯(thinking it was part)⑰(dismal)⑱(grew heavy within our) ⑲(red face fainted from)⑳(gaze)

(50)
"'Brother,' said she wearily, 'that they might do. But most likely they would throw us on a rubbish-heap, ①(that : which : what : where) we would die in the hot sun.'

"'But,' said I, 'why should they go abroad to ②*(mention : prove : seek : spread) a rubbish-heap, when the harbor is so close? While we were being brought here I saw ③(their / men / rubbish / throwing) into the water. If they would only throw us also there, we could quickly reach the sea.'

"'The Sea!' ④**(murmured : rattled : boasted : ceased) poor Clippa with a faraway look in her eyes (she had fine eyes, had my sister, Clippa). 'How like a dream it sounds—the Sea! Oh brother, will we ever swim in it again, think you? Every night ⑤(awake / lie / I / as) on the floor of this evil-smelling dungeon I hear its hearty voice ringing in my ears. How I have ⑥*(prepared : longed : attempted : lasted) for it! Just to feel it once again, the nice, big, wholesome homeliness of it all! To jump, just to jump from the crest of an Atlantic wave, laughing in the trade wind's spindrift, down into the blue-green swirling trough! To ⑦*(adapt : chase : accuse : envy) the shrimps on a summer evening, when the sky is red and the light's all pink within the foam! To lie on the top, in the doldrums' noonday calm, and warm your tummy in the tropic sun! To wander hand in hand once more through the giant seaweed forests of the Indian Ocean, seeking the ⑧*(capital : delicious : bright : innocent) eggs of the pop-pop! To play hide-and-seek among the castles of the coral towns with their pearl and jasper windows spangling the floor of the Spanish Main! To picnic in the anemone-meadows, dim blue and lilac-gray, that lie in the lowlands beyond the South Sea Garden! To throw somersaults on the springy sponge-beds of the Mexican Gulf! To poke about among the dead ships and see ⑨(when : how : what : while) wonders and adventures lie inside!—And then, on winter nights when the Northeaster whips the water into froth, to swoop down and down ⑩(get / from / to / away) the cold, down to where the water's warm and dark, down and still down, till we spy the twinkle of the fire-eels far below where our friends and cousins sit chatting round the Council Grotto—chatting, Brother, over the news and gossip of THE SEA!... Oh—'

"And then she broke down completely, sniffling.

"'Stop it!' I said. 'You make me homesick. Look here: let's pretend we're sick—or better still, let's pretend we're dead; and see what happens. If they throw us on a rubbish-heap and we fry in the sun, we'll not be much ⑪(we / worse / than / off ) are here in this smelly prison. What do you say? Will you ⑫*(remove : contain : risk : define) it?'

"'I will,' she said—'and gladly.'

"So next morning two fidgits were found ⑬(keeper / by / floating / the) on the top of the water in their tank, stiff and dead. We gave a mighty good ⑭*(effect : trail : experiment : imitation) of dead fish—although I say it myself. The keeper ran and got the old gentlemen with spectacles and whiskers. They threw up their hands in ⑮*(reality : horror : detail : delight) when they saw us. Lifting ⑯(carefully / us / of / out) the water they laid us on wet cloths. That was the hardest part of all. If you're a fish and ⑰(out / get / of / taken) the water you have to keep opening and shutting your mouth to breathe at all—and even that you can't keep up for long. And all this time we had to stay ⑱**(rude : stiff : frantic : alert) as sticks and breathe silently through half-closed lips.

"Well, the old fellows poked us and felt us and pinched us till I thought they'd never be done. Then, when their backs were turned a moment, a wretched cat got up on the table and nearly ate us. Luckily the old men turned round in time and shooed her away. You may be sure though that we took a couple of good gulps ⑲(they / of / while / air) weren't looking; and that was the only thing that saved us from choking. I wanted to whisper to Clippa to be brave and stick it out. But I couldn't even do that; because, as you know, most kinds of fish-talk cannot be heard—not even a shout—⑳(while : because : unless : although) you're under water.

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。

「ドリトル先生航海記」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(49)

　2009年度第二回実用英検１級一次試験の語彙問題に、sank in, glossed over, drifted off, floated aroundの四つの選択肢から、文脈に合う「居眠りした」という意味の正解を選ぶものがありました。
　driftの語感が掴めていれば、sank in, glossed over, drifted off, floated aroundの中でdrifted offが「居眠りした」という意味であろうと推測できると思います。
　ドリトル先生航海記にthe Curlew was allowed to drift where she liked つまりほったらかしにされた船が海面を漂う場面を描いた場面があり、「ドリトル先生航海記」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(49)の中で、the Curlew was ②(to / where / allowed / drift) she likedという整序問題にしてみました。余談ながら、日本語の「船をこぐ」という居眠りを指す表現とdrift offを結びつけるのはいささか強引かもしれません。
　それはともかくとして、童話は英語の語感を身につけるのに非常に有効です。童話を読まないで英検１級に合格する人はいても、童話が読めずに英検１級に合格する人はまずいません。
　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、大学入試にも英検にもTOEICにも有効な四語選択問題と四語整序問題を作成しています。楽しみながら英語力を伸ばして頂ければ幸いです。コロンで区切られているのが四語選択問題、スラッシュで区切られているのが四語整序問題です。＊印は難易度の目安で、＊印が多いほど難しい単語になっています。無印は語法・文法等の問題です。

※(48)の解答①(now that he was)②(allowed to drift where)③(it was broad daylight)④(ancient)⑤(translate)⑥(lowered)⑦(coast)⑧(we youngsters got scattered)⑨(herd of whales who)⑩(are good at dodging )⑪(till)⑫(against)⑬(for that reason we)⑭(not easy to escape)⑮(into)⑯(follow)⑰(even see us turn)←知覚動詞＋目的語＋動詞の原型 ⑱(froze to death in)⑲(round the ships anchored)⑳(struggled)

(49)
"Here a couple of old men in whiskers and spectacles leant over us, making strange sounds. Some codling had got caught in the net the same ①(as / were / time / we ). These the old men threw back into the sea; but us they seemed to think very ②*(abundant : previous : accurate : precious). They put us carefully into a large jar and after they had ③(us / shore / on / taken / ) they went to a big house and changed us from the jar into glass boxes full of water. This house was on the edge of the harbor; and a small stream of sea-water was made to flow through the glass tank so we could ④*(regret : breathe : occupy : stick) properly. Of course we had never lived inside glass walls before; and at first we kept on trying to swim through them and got our noses awfully sore ⑤**(bumping : forbidding : posing : withdrawing) the glass at full speed.

"Then followed weeks and weeks of weary idleness. They ⑥*(admired : treated : exposed : rescued) us well, so far as they knew how. The old ⑦(in / fellows / came / spectacles) and looked at us proudly twice a day and saw that we had the proper food to eat, the right amount of light and that the water was not too hot or too cold. But oh, the dullness of that life! It seemed we were a kind of a show. At a ⑦*(visual : genuine : certain : lazy) hour every morning the big doors of the house were thrown open and everybody in the city who had nothing special to do came in and looked at us. There ⑧(tanks / were / filled / other) with different kinds of fishes all round the walls of the big room. And the crowds would go from tank to tank, looking in at us through the glass—with their mouths open, like half-witted flounders. We got so ⑨(it / sick / that / of ) we used to open our mouths back at them; and this they seemed to think highly comical.

"One day my sister said to me, 'Think you, Brother, that these strange creatures who have ⑩*(murdered : captured : abandoned : operated) us can talk?'

"'Surely,' said I, 'have you not ⑪*(noticed : pretended : complained : published) that some talk with the lips only, some with the whole face, and yet others discourse with the hands? When they come quite close to the glass you can hear them. Listen!'

"At that moment a ⑫*(fair : mutual : female : steep), larger than the rest, pressed her nose up against the glass, pointed at me and said to her young behind her, 'Oh, look, here's a queer one!'

"And then we noticed that they nearly always said this when they looked in. And for a long time we thought that such was the whole extent of the language, this being a people ⑬(ideas / few / of / but). To help pass away the weary hours we learned it by heart, 'Oh, look, here's a queer one!' But we never ⑭(to / what / got / know) it meant. Other phrases, however, we did get the meaning of; and we even learned to read a little in man-talk. Many big signs there were, set up upon the walls; and when we saw that the keepers stopped the people from spitting and smoking, pointed to these signs angrily and read them out loud, we knew then that these writings ⑮**(abolished : inquired : contemplated : signified), 'No Smoking and Don't Spit.' Then in the evenings, after the crowd had gone, the same aged male with one leg of wood, swept up the peanut-shells with a broom every night. And while he was so doing he always whistled the same tune to himself. This melody we rather liked; and we learned that too by heart—⑯(part / was / it / thinking) of the language.

"Thus a whole year went by in this ⑰**(dismal : fluent : mature : competent) place. Some days new fishes were brought in to the other tanks; and other days old fishes were taken out. At first we had hoped we would only be kept here for a while, and that after we had been looked at sufficiently we would be returned to freedom and the sea. But as month after month went by, and we were left undisturbed, our hearts ⑱(heavy / our / grew / within) prison-walls of glass and we spoke to one another less and less.

"One day, when the crowd was thickest in the big room, a woman with a ⑲(from / red / fainted / face) the heat. I watched through the glass and saw that the rest of the people got highly excited—though to me it did not seem to be a matter of very great importance. They threw cold water on her and carried her out into the open air.

"This made me think mightily; and presently a great idea burst upon me.

"'Sister,' I said, turning to poor Clippa who was sulking at the bottom of our prison trying to hide behind a stone from the stupid ⑳*(motive : commerce : gaze : route) of the children who thronged about our tank, 'supposing that we pretended we were sick: do you think they would take us also from this stuffy house?'

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。

「ドリトル先生航海記」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(48)

　何らかの分野で才能を開花させた人々がそれ相応の幼少期を過ごしたことに、ほとんど例外はないように思われます。本日の毎日新聞の時代を駆けるという記事に、子どもの頃ドリトル先生にあこがれた分子生物学者の話が掲載されていました。
　科学者ではない大人が読んでも面白い原作を楽しみながら英語力を伸ばして頂ければ幸いです。コロンで区切られているのが四語選択問題、スラッシュで区切られているのが四語整序問題です。＊印は難易度の目安で、＊印が多いほど難しい単語になっています。無印は語法・文法等の問題です。

※(47)の解答①(were to be seen)②(told me was called)③(success)④(attend)⑤(heard him below shouting)⑥(trembling)⑦(with no particular sense)⑧(unless)⑨(what　you make of)⑩(grabbed)⑪(empty)⑫(detected)⑬(thin)⑭(in some strange fish)⑮(gasped)⑯(kept muttering to himself)⑰(wonder)⑱(yelled)⑲(exclaim)⑳(to establish communication with)

(48)
THE SECOND CHAPTER. THE FIDGIT'S STORY
WELL, ①(he / now / was / that) started once more upon his old hobby of the shellfish languages, there was no stopping the Doctor. He worked right through the night.

A little after midnight I fell asleep in a chair; about two in the morning Bumpo fell asleep at the wheel; and for five hours the Curlew was ②(to / where / allowed / drift) she liked. But still John Dolittle worked on, trying his hardest to understand the fidgit's language, struggling to make the fidgit understand him.

When I woke up ③(was / it / daylight / broad) again. The Doctor was still standing at the listening-tank, looking as tired as an owl and dreadfully wet. But on his face there was a proud and happy smile.

"Stubbins," he said as soon as he saw me stir, "I've done it. I've got the key to the fidgit's language. It's a frightfully difficult language—quite different from anything I ever heard. The only thing it reminds me of—slightly—is ④*(adequite : ultimate : ancient : precious) Hebrew. It isn't shellfish; but it's a big step towards it. Now, the next thing, I want you to take a pencil and a fresh notebook and write down everything I say. The fidgit has promised to tell me the story of his life. I will ⑤*(absorb : resolve : maintain : translate) it into English and you put it down in the book. Are you ready?"

Once more the Doctor ⑥*(worried : disturbed : lowered : fulfilled) his ear beneath the level of the water; and as he began to speak, I started to write. And this is the story that the fidgit told us.

THIRTEEN MONTHS IN AN AQUARIUM
"I was born in the Pacific Ocean, close to the ⑦*(cause : effect : trade : coast) of Chile. I was one of a family of two-thousand five-hundred and ten. Soon after our mother and father left us, ⑧(got / we / scattered / youngsters). The family was broken up—by a ⑨(whales / herd / who / of) chased us. I and my sister, Clippa (she was my favorite sister) had a very narrow escape for our lives. As a rule, whales are not very hard to get away from if you ⑩(dodging / at / good / are)—if you've only got a quick swerve. But this one that came after Clippa and myself was a very mean whale, Every time he lost us under a stone or something he'd come back and hunt and hunt ⑪(by : from : since : till) he routed us out into the open again. I never saw such a nasty, persevering brute.

"Well, we shook him at last—though not before he had worried us for hundreds of miles northward, up the west coast of South America. But luck was ⑫(for : with : against : from) us that day. While we were resting and trying to get our breath, another family of fidgits came rushing by, shouting, 'Come on! Swim for your lives! The dog-fish are coming!'

"Now dog-fish are particularly fond of fidgits. We are, you might say, their favorite food—and ⑬(that / we / for / reason) always keep away from deep, muddy waters. What's more, dog-fish are ⑭(easy / not / escape / to) from; they are terribly fast and clever hunters. So up we had to jump and on again.

"After we had gone a few more hundred miles we looked back and saw that the dog-fish were gaining on us. So we turned ⑮(away : into : against : by) a harbor. It happened to be one on the west coast of the United States. Here we guessed, and hoped, the dog-fish would not be likely to ⑯*(forgive : confuse : attract : follow) us. As it happened, they didn't ⑰(us / even / turn / see) in, but dashed on northward and we never saw them again. I hope they ⑱(in / froze / death / to ) the Arctic Seas.

"But, as I said, luck was against us that day. While I and my sister were cruising gently ⑲(ships / round / anchored / the) in the harbor looking for orange-peels, a great delicacy with us—-SWOOP! BANG!—we were caught in a net.

"We ⑳*(struggled : cultivated : departed : involved) for all we were worth; but it was no use. The net was small-meshed and strongly made. Kicking and flipping we were hauled up the side of the ship and dumped down on the deck, high and dry in a blazing noon-day sun.

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。

「ドリトル先生航海記」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(47)

　特に速読の訓練を受けていなくても、ネイティブの黙読は音読よりもはるかに速いです。これは日本人もアメリカ人も同じで、試しに新聞を音読してみますと黙読するよりもずっと時間がかかるのがおわかりいただけると思います。やさしい英文ならば少なからぬ日本人英語学習者にも精度の高い速読は可能で、会話がいっぱい出てくる物語を音読するより速く黙読できるような英語頭があれば英会話も上手くなるでしょう。
　やさしい英文を高い精度で速くたくさん読むことにはさまざまなメリットがあります。外国語を速読するにあたって、スキミングやスキャニングといったテクニック以前に必要な基本は、できるだけ和訳せずに英語を英語のまま理解することです。
　「和訳すれば学習効率が落ちる。しかし和訳しないと理解度を確認できない」という旧来の英語教育のジレンマを解消しようという意図もあって、著作権の切れた童話「ドリトル先生航海記」から、大学入試にも英検にもTOEICにも有効で、日本語の全く介在しない練習問題を作成しています。
　コロンで区切られているのが四語選択問題、スラッシュで区切られているのが四語整序問題です。＊印は難易度の目安で、＊印が多いほど難しい単語になっています。無印は語法・文法等の問題です。

※(46)の解答①(readiness to get away)②(bother)③(were speeding out of)④(reminds)⑤(puts)⑥(pockets full of jewelry)⑦(through smiling seas before)⑧(dull)⑨(bothered to notice were)⑩(by hauling up little)⑪(greatest happening during those) ⑫(recognized) ⑬(with)⑭(shiver)⑮(improved)⑯(he let me keep)⑰(direction) ⑱(spare)⑲(work to make out)⑳(thick)

(47)
Crawling about upon this weed, many crabs ①(seen / were / be / to). And the sight of them reminded the Doctor of his dream of learning the language of the shellfish. He fished several of these crabs up with a net and put them in his listening-tank to see if he could understand them. Among the crabs he also caught a strange-looking, chubby, little fish which he ②(me / called / told / was ) a Silver Fidgit.

After he had listened to the crabs for a while with no ③*(necessity : success : trail : industry), he put the fidgit into the tank and began to listen to that. I had to leave him at this moment to go and ④*(attract : spread : attend : unite) to some duties on the deck. But presently I ⑤(shouting / heard / below / him) for me to come down again.

"Stubbins," he cried as soon as he saw me—"a most extraordinary thing—Quite unbelievable—I'm not sure whether I'm dreaming—Can't believe my own senses. I—I—I—"

"Why, Doctor," I said, "what is it?—What's the matter?"

"The fidgit," he whispered, pointing with a ⑥*(bumping : surviving : resisting : trembling) finger to the listening-tank in which the little round fish was still swimming quietly, "he talks English! And—and—and HE WHISTLES TUNES—English tunes!"

"Talks English!" I cried—"Whistles!—Why, it's impossible."

"It's a fact," said the Doctor, white in the face with excitement. "It's only a few words, scattered, ⑦(sense / particular / no / with) to them—all mixed up with his own language which I can't make out yet. But they're English words, ⑧(therefore : unless : because : although)there's something very wrong with my hearing—And the tune he whistles, it's as plain as anything—always, the same tune. Now you listen and tell me ⑨(you / of / what / make) it. Tell me everything you hear. Don't miss a word."

I went to the glass tank upon the table while the Doctor ⑩*(teared : grabbed : concealed : removed) a note-book and a pencil. Undoing my collar I stood upon the ⑪*(polite : innocent : empty : vague) packing-case he had been using for a stand and put my right ear down under the water.

For some moments I ⑫**(quoted : detected : launched : polished) nothing at all—except, with my dry ear, the heavy breathing of the Doctor as he waited, all stiff and anxious, for me to say something. At last from within the water, sounding like a child singing miles and miles away, I heard an unbelievably ⑬*(keen : thin : false : thorough), small voice.

"Ah!" I said.

"What is it?" asked the Doctor in a hoarse, trembly whisper. "What does he say?"

"I can't quite make it out," I said. "It's mostly ⑭(some / in / fish / strange) language—Oh, but wait a minute!—Yes, now I get it—'No smoking'.... 'My, here's a queer one!' 'Popcorn and picture postcards here.... This way out.... Don't spit'—What funny things to say, Doctor!—Oh, but wait!—Now he's whistling the tune."

"What tune is it?" ⑮**(gasped : resumed : drowned : shrinked) the Doctor.

"John Peel."

"Ah hah," cried the Doctor, "that's what I made it out to be." And he wrote furiously in his note-book.

I went on listening.

"This is most extraordinary," the Doctor ⑯(himself / kept / to / muttering) as his pencil went wiggling over the page—"Most extraordinary—but frightfully thrilling. I wonder where he—"

"Here's some more," I cried—"some more English.... 'THE BIG TANK NEEDS CLEANING'.... That's all. Now he's talking fish-talk again."

"The big tank!" the Doctor murmured frowning in a puzzled kind of way. "I ⑰*(equip : wonder : absorb : compare) where on earth he learned—"

Then he bounded up out of his chair.

"I have it," he ⑱**(scared : irritated : yelled : thrived), "this fish has escaped from an aquarium. Why, of course! Look at the kind of things he has learned: 'Picture postcards'—they always sell them in aquariums; 'Don't spit'; 'No smoking'; 'This way out'—the things the attendants say. And then, 'My, here's a queer one!' That's the kind of thing that people ⑲**(split : grasp : spill : exclaim) when they look into the tanks. It all fits. There's no doubt about it, Stubbins: we have here a fish who has escaped from captivity. And it's quite possible—not certain, by any means, but quite possible—that I may now, through him, be able ⑳(establish / to / with / communication) the shellfish. This is a great piece of luck."

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。

「ドリトル先生航海記」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(46)

　「実用英検でもTOEICでも、素直でテクニックが通用しにくい長文適語補充問題は一番の良問と思われます」と前回申し上げたものの、TOEICPart6の長文適語補充問題には、全文を読まずに解ける設問も散見されます。Part5の短文適語補充問題に至っては文意など全く考えずに答を出すというテクニックもあるようです。ただ、そんなことまでやってスコアを伸ばしても英語力はあまりつきません。内容の充実した英文を正確に深く、できれば速く理解する訓練を重ねるようでないと、まともな英語力は身につかないです。
　TOEICは昔の共通一次に似て、「あまり考えない方が有利」な面が少なからずあります。ちなみに、ある国立大学で共通一次重視の入学者選抜を行ったところ学生の質が著しく低下したためあわててやめたという裏話を聞きました。ある国立大学とは私の住む仙台にある東北大学です。いわゆる共通一次世代でも先見の明のある受験生は共通一次に振り回されたりはしませんのであまり関係はないのかもしれませんが、ノーベル賞を受賞した東北大卒の田中耕一さんは共通一次を免れた最後の入学年次になっています。
　いかなる試験であれ、考えることを軽視して点数至上主義に走るほどの愚行はありません。考えずに条件反射的に答を出すような訓練を重ねても思考力は伸びないどころか、悪くすれば低下します。テクニックを習得して考えずに解けるようになってスコアを上げても、勉強を開始する前より頭が悪くなってしまっては元も子もありません。テクニックに走らずパワー重視の学習をすればそういった弊害は避けられます。TOEICの問題量はたしかに多いとはいえ、全文を丁寧に読んでも時間が余って困る程度の英語力の持ち主は掃いて捨てるほどいます。
　ここのブログで連載している「『ドリトル先生航海記』から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解」は、できるだけテクニックが通用しないように作成しているつもりです。設問の目的は読解の精度を確認することで、設問に正解を出すことが目的になっては本末転倒です。全文を楽しみながら読んで英語力を伸ばしていただければ幸いです。何を学ぶのであれ楽しさに勝るモティベーションはありません。
　コロンで区切られているのが四語選択問題、スラッシュで区切られているのが四語整序問題です。＊印は難易度の目安で、＊印が多いほど難しい単語になっています。無印は語法・文法等の問題です。

※(45)の解答①(dare say you're right)②(restless)③(departed) ④(owe)⑤(set out to buy)⑥(which seemed to sell)⑦(lightning)⑧(loaded)⑨(them in the sea)⑩(waste)⑪(cab on top of)⑬(as we bumped over)⑭(fare)⑮(wait for us at)⑯(dreadful)⑰(leapt in after us)⑱(rowed like mad for)⑲(all manner of things)⑳(while)

(46)
When we reached the ship's side the Doctor had the anchor drawn up and the sails set and everything in ①(away / get / readiness / to). Looking back we saw boats coming out from the harbor-wall after us, filled with angry, shouting men. So we didn't ②**(ban : restrict : attribute : bother )to unload our rowboat but just tied it on to the ship's stern with a rope and jumped aboard.

It only took a moment more to swing the Curlew round into the wind; and soon we ③(speeding / of / were / out) the harbor on our way to Brazil.

"Ha!" sighed Polynesia, as we all flopped down on the deck to take a rest and get our breath. "That wasn't a bad adventure—quite ④*(reflects : affects : reminds : develops) me of my old seafaring days when I sailed with the smugglers—Golly, that was the life!—Never mind your head, Bumpo. It will be all right when the Doctor ⑤(makes : takes : goes : puts) a little arnica on it. Think what we got out of the scrap: a boat-load of ship's stores, ⑥(jewelry / of / full / pockets) and thousands of pesetas. Not bad, you know—not bad."

PART FOUR

THE FIRST CHAPTER. SHELLFISH LANGUAGES AGAIN
MIRANDA, the Purple Bird-of-Paradise had prophesied rightly when she had foretold a good spell of weather. For three weeks the good ship Curlew plowed her way ⑦(smiling / through / before / seas) a steady powerful wind.

I suppose most real sailors would have found this part of the voyage ⑧*(decent : patient : available : dull). But not I. As we got further South and further West the face of the sea seemed different every day. And all the little things of a voyage which an old hand would have hardly ⑨(notice / were / bothered / to) matters of great interest for my eager eyes.

We did not pass many ships. When we did see one, the Doctor would get out his telescope and we would all take a look at it. Sometimes he would signal to it, asking for news, ⑩(little / by / up / hauling) colored flags upon the mast; and the ship would signal back to us in the same way. The meaning of all the signals was printed in a book which the Doctor kept in the cabin. He told me it was the language of the sea and that all ships could understand it whether they be English, Dutch, or French.

Our ⑪(during / greatest / those / happening) first weeks was passing an iceberg. When the sun shone on it it burst into a hundred colors, sparkling like a jeweled palace in a fairy-story. Through the telescope we saw a mother polar bear with a cub sitting on it, watching us. The Doctor ⑫*(resembled : predicted : recognized : stretched) her as one of the bears who had spoken to him when he was discovering the North Pole. So he sailed the ship up close and offered to take her and her baby on to the Curlew if she wished it. But she only shook her head, thanking him; she said it would be far too hot for the cub on the deck of our ship, ⑬(of : from : with : untill) no ice to keep his feet cool. It had been indeed a very hot day; but the nearness of that great mountain of ice made us all turn up our coat-collars and ⑭**(surpass : assess : shiver : illuminate) with the cold.

During those quiet peaceful days I ⑮*(postponed : improved : exhausted : reduced) my reading and writing a great deal with the Doctor's help. I got on so well that ⑯(keep / me / let / he) the ship's log. This is a big book kept on every ship, a kind of diary, in which the number of miles run, the ⑰*(force : direction : attitude : insight) of your course and everything else that happens is written down.

The Doctor too, in what ⑱**(harsh : spare : urban : definite) time he had, was nearly always writing—in his note-books. I used to peep into these sometimes, now that I could read, but I found it hard ⑲(to / out / work / make) the Doctor's handwriting. Many of these note-books seemed to be about sea things. There were six thick ones filled full with notes and sketches of different seaweeds; and there were others on sea birds; others on sea worms; others on seashells. They were all some day to be re-written, printed and bound like regular books.

One afternoon we saw, floating around us, great quantities of stuff that looked like dead grass. The Doctor told me this was gulf-weed. A little further on it became so ⑳*(thin : brief : specific : thick) that it covered all the water as far as the eye could reach; it made the Curlew look as though she were moving across a meadow instead of sailing the Atlantic.

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。

「ドリトル先生航海記」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(45)

　実用英検でもTOEICでも、素直でテクニックが通用しにくい長文適語補充問題は一番の良問と思われます。長文適語補充問題ができれば短文補充問題は言うまでもなく楽勝で、長文適語補充問題がすらすらできるのに英問英答問題はできないというケースは聞いたことがないです。
　企業の英語研修等で長文適語補充問題に重点を置いたレッスンをしたところ、受講者の英語力は順調に伸びました。さらに整序問題も組込んだところ一層力がつきました。助詞のない英語において語順は決定的に重要な意味を持つため、整序問題は大多数の英語学習者に有効です。
　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、四語選択問題と四語整序問題を組込んだ大学入試にも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。コロンで区切られているのが四語選択問題、スラッシュで区切られているのが四語整序問題です。＊印は難易度の目安で、＊印が多いほど難しい単語になっています。無印は語法・文法等の問題です。
　著作権の関係でお示しすることはできないとはいえ、英検１級レベルの長文(TIME,NEWSWEEKのやさしめの記事程度)から作成した四語選択問題と四語整序問題がすらすら解けるようになれば英検１級・TOEIC900点レベル到達は十分可能です。教科書の丸暗記や全文訳といった古めかしくて非効率的な方法によらなくても英語力は伸ばせます。　

※(44)の解答①(worth)②(pretend to catch sight)③(wicked)④(arranged)⑤(missing him by no)⑥(fury)⑦(crowd got quite hysterical )⑧(seen to break loose)⑨(great fellows acted their)⑩(exhausted)⑪(with)⑫(tremendous)⑬(threw them down at)⑭(supply of money while)⑮(state)⑯(dense)⑰(smell)⑱(looks of this crowd)⑲(furious)⑳(for us to get)

(45)
"I ①(you're / dare / right / say), Polynesia," said the Doctor—"You usually are. The crowd does seem to be a bit ②**(eternal : restless : authentic : imaginable). I'll slip down to the ship alone—so I shan't be so noticeable; and I'll wait for you there. You come by some different way. But don't be long about it. Hurry!"

As soon as the Doctor had ③*(released : united : exploded : departed) Bumpo sought out Don Enrique and said,

"Honorable Sir, you ④*(blame : owe : waste : suit) me three-thousand pesetas."

Without a word, but looking cross-eyed with annoyance, Don Enrique paid his bet.

We next ⑤(out / buy / set / to) the provisions; and on the way we hired a cab and took it along with us.

Not very far away we found a big grocer's shop ⑥(sell / which / to / seemed) everything to eat. We went in and bought up the finest lot of food you ever saw in your life.

As a matter of fact, Polynesia had been right about the danger we were in. The news of our victory must have spread like ⑦**(lightning : outlook : counsel : statue) through the whole town. For as we came out of the shop and ⑧*(published : loaded : distinguished : mended)the cab up with our stores, we saw various little knots of angry men hunting round the streets, waving sticks and shouting,

"The Englishmen! Where are those accursed Englishmen who stopped the bullfighting?—Hang them to a lamp-post!—Throw ⑨(sea / them / the / in)! The Englishmen!—We want the Englishmen!"

After that we didn't ⑩*(recover : survive : admit : waste) any time, you may be sure. Bumpo grabbed the Spanish cab-driver and explained to him in signs that if he didn't drive down to the harbor as fast as he knew how and keep his mouth shut the whole way, he would choke the life out of him. Then we jumped into the ⑪(on / cab / of / top) the food, slammed the door, pulled down the blinds and away we went.

"We won't get a chance to pawn the jewelry now," said Polynesia, ⑬(we / over / as / bumped ) the cobbly streets. "But never mind—it may come in handy later on. And anyway we've got two-thousand five-hundred pesetas left out of the bet. Don't give the cabby more than two pesetas fifty, Bumpo. That's the right ⑭*(debt : vote : fare : passion), I know."

Well, we reached the harbor all right and we were mighty glad to find that the Doctor had sent Chee-Chee back with the row-boat to ⑮(for / at / wait / us) the landing-wall.

Unfortunately while we were in the middle of loading the supplies from the cab into the boat, the angry mob arrived upon the wharf and made a rush for us. Bumpo snatched up a big beam of wood that lay near and swung it round and round his head, letting out ⑯*(efficient : superior : dreadful : political) African battle-yells the while. This kept the crowd off while Chee-Chee and I hustled the last of the stores into the boat and clambered in ourselves. Bumpo threw his beam of wood into the thick of the Spaniards and ⑰(us / after / in / leapt). Then we pushed off and ⑱(mad / rowed / for / like) the Curlew.

The mob upon the wall howled with rage, shook their fists and hurled stones and ⑲(manner / all / things / of) after us. Poor old Bumpo got hit on the head with a bottle. But as he had a very strong head it only raised a small bump ⑳(otherwise : while : because : unless) the bottle smashed into a thousand pieces.

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。

「ドリトル先生航海記」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(44)

　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。
　コロンで区切られているのが四語選択問題、スラッシュで区切られているのが四語整序問題です。四語選択問題の単語は大学入試、英検、TOEICに共通する重要単語で、今回の場合ですとgew-gawのような単語の意味を問うことはありません。＊印は難易度の目安で、＊印が多いほど難しい単語になっています。無印は語法・文法等の問題です。
　ここのブログでは思考や読解を重視してはいるもののけっして語彙を軽視しているわけではありません。英単語の意味をひとつひとつ日本語で覚えていくような無味乾燥なやり方に代わる語彙強化法を提示してきたつもりです。そのひとつがやさしい英文をたくさん、しかも高い精度で読むことです。前回(43)の正解選択肢には、rampageという2010年度第一回英検１級語彙問題に出題された単語が含まれています。英単語を一回見ただけで覚えるのは難しいとはいえ、英文をたくさん読んで頻出単語に出会うたびに意味を確認すれば自然に覚えられます。その際に英英辞典を使えば効果倍増です。
　さらに、既存の単語集を使うにあたっても英英化はきわめて有効です。2010年英検１級一次ではdefiance, prudence, misgiving, rampage, commotionといった単語が出題されました。たぶん、市販されている英検１級対策単語集に掲載されていると思います。
コウビルドCD－Romを使いますと、
※Defiance is behaviour or an attitude which shows that you are not willing to obey someone.
※Prudence is care and good sense that someone shows when making a decision or taking action. (FORMAL)
※If you have misgivings about something that is being suggested or done, you feel that it is not quite right, and are worried that it may have unwanted results.
※If people go on the rampage, they rush about in a wild or violent way, causing damage or destruction.
※A commotion is a lot of noise, confusion, and excitement.
といった単語集が簡単に自作できます。昔ながらの英和対訳式で覚えるよりも正確で強力な語彙力を養成できることに加えて、定義文を読むことを通しての読解力養成も可能です。

※(43)の解答①(whispers began to break)②(final burst of speed)③(timid)④(made him do all)⑤(entirely)⑥(fence not far from)⑦(terrified)⑧(horror)⑨(used to seeing matadors)⑩(saying it was against)←分詞構文⑪(argument)⑫(screamed)⑬(of nothing on earth). ⑭(us see if you)⑮(dreadful)⑯(them in cattle language)⑰(chase him out of)⑱(brave)⑲(horns coming at him)⑳(rampaging)

(44)
The rest of the show was really well ①*(capable : worth : male : annual) seeing. First, all five bulls went raging round the ring, butting at the fence with their horns, pawing up the sand, hunting for something to kill. Then each one in turn would ②(catch / pretend / sight / to) of the Doctor for the first time and giving a bellow of rage, would lower his ③**(faint : tender : moderate : wicked) looking horns and shoot like an arrow across the ring as though he meant to toss him to the sky.

It was really frightfully exciting. And even I who knew it was all ④*(acquired : uttered : entertained : arranged)beforehand, held my breath in terror for the Doctor's life when I saw how near they came to sticking him. But just at the last moment, when the horns' points were two inches from the sky-blue waistcoat, the Doctor would spring nimbly to one side and the great brutes would go thundering harmlessly by, ⑤(him / no / missing / by ) more than a hair.

Then all five of them went for him together, completely surrounding him, slashing at him with their horns and bellowing with ⑥**(context : fury : grace : relm). How he escaped alive I don't know. For several minutes his round figure could hardly be seen at all in that scrimmage of tossing heads, stamping hoofs and waving tails.—It was, as Polynesia had prophesied, the greatest bullfight ever seen.

One woman in the ⑦(hysterical / crowd / quite / got) and screamed up to Don Enrique,

"Stop the fight! Stop the fight! He is too brave a man to be killed. This is the most wonderful matador in the world. Let him live! Stop the fight!"

But presently the Doctor was ⑧(to / seen / loose / break) from the mob of animals that surrounded him. Then catching each of them by the horns, one after another, he would give their heads a sudden twist and throw them down flat on the sand. The ⑨(acted / great / their / fellows)parts extremely well. I have never seen trained animals in a circus do better. They lay there panting on the ground where the Doctor threw them as if they were ⑩*(abandoned : combined : exhausted : promoted) and completely beaten.

Then ⑪(from : with : under : by) a final bow to the ladies John Dolittle took a cigar from his pocket, lit it and strolled out of the ring.


THE NINTH CHAPTER. WE DEPART IN A HURRY
AS soon as the door closed behind the Doctor the most ⑫*(similar : tremendous : vague : exact) noise I have ever heard broke loose. Some of the men appeared to be angry (friends of Pepito's, I suppose); but the ladies called and called to have the Doctor come back into the ring.

When at length he did so, the women seemed to go entirely mad over him. They blew kisses to him. They called him a darling. Then they started taking off their flowers, their rings, their necklaces, and their brooches and ⑬(at / threw / down / them) his feet. You never saw anything like it—a perfect shower of jewelry and roses.

But the Doctor just smiled up at them, bowed once more and backed out.

"Now, Bumpo," said Polynesia, "this is where you go down and gather up all those trinkets and we'll sell 'em. That's what the big matadors do: leave the jewelry on the ground and their assistants collect it for them. We might as well lay in a good ⑭(of / while / supply / money ) we've got the chance—you never know when you may need it when you're traveling with the Doctor. Never mind the roses—you can leave them—but don't leave any rings. And when you've finished go and get your three-thousand pesetas out of Don Ricky-ticky. Tommy and I will meet you outside and we'll pawn the gew-gaws at that Jew's shop opposite the bed-maker's. Run along—and not a word to the Doctor, remember."

Outside the bull-ring we found the crowd still in a great ⑮*(matter : case : state : cause) of excitement. Violent arguments were going on everywhere. Bumpo joined us with his pockets bulging in all directions; and we made our way slowly through the ⑯**(definite : weary : swift :dense) crowd to that side of the building where the matadors' dressing-room was. The Doctor was waiting at the door for us.

"Good work, Doctor!" said Polynesia, flying on to his shoulder—"Great work!—But listen: I ⑰*(display : smell : decorate : exaggerate) danger. I think you had better get back to the ship now as quick and as quietly as you can. Put your overcoat on over that giddy suit. I don't like the ⑱(this / looks / crowd / of ). More than half of them are ⑲**(furious : amiable : diligent : spontaneous) because you've won. Don Ricky-ticky must now stop the bullfighting—and you know how they love it. What I'm afraid of is that some of these matadors who are just mad with jealousy may start some dirty work. I think this would be a good time ⑳(get / to / us / for ) away."

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。

「ドリトル先生航海記」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(43)

　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。コロンで区切られているのが四語選択問題、スラッシュで区切られているのが四語整序問題になっています。
　わからない単語が四語選択問題の中にあれば辞書で調べて、どの単語が文脈に合うか考えるだけでも英語力がつきます。英英辞典を使えれば効果倍増です。
ネイティブの発想でわかりやすく書かれた英英辞典は英語の万能細胞と言っても過言ではなく、英英辞典を「使わず」にTOEIC900点、英検１級レベルに到達することはあっても、英英辞典を「使えず」に到達することはまずないと思われます。
　英英辞典が使えるかどうかは
英英実力判定テストでお調べください。点数が思わしくなければ
english x englishをお試しください。英英辞典を使うのが楽になり、徐々に英語を英語のまま和訳せずに理解できるようになります。

※(42)の解答①(what we were doing)←間接疑問文 ②(merely)③(tongue)④(made our way into)⑤(sight)⑥(item)⑦(roar)⑧(alert)⑨(rushed)⑩(nimbly)⑪(in real danger from)⑫(upon himself by waving) ⑬(clumsy)⑭(strolled)⑮(their seats with laughter)⑯(rush at him from)⑱(calmly)⑲(curious)⑳(tucking his tail between)his legs, ←分詞構文

(43)
The crowd gasped. The Doctor ran after him. Round and round the ring they went, both of them puffing and blowing like grampuses. Excited ①(break / whispers / to / began) out among the people. This was something new in bullfighting, to have the bull running away from the man, instead of the man away from the bull. At last in the tenth lap, with a ②(burst / speed / final / of), Juan Hagapoco, the English matador, caught the poor bull by the tail.

Then leading the now ③**(neat : timid : blank : intimate) creature into the middle of the ring, the Doctor ④(him / made / all / do) manner of tricks: standing on the hind legs, standing on the front legs, dancing, hopping, rolling over. He finished up by making the bull kneel down; then he got on to his back and did handsprings and other acrobatics on the beast's horns.

Pepito and his assistant had their noses sadly out of joint. The crowd had forgotten them ⑤**(moderately : entirely : scarcely : awkwardly). They were standing together by the ⑥(from / far / not / fence) where I sat, muttering to one another and slowly growing green with jealousy.

Finally the Doctor turned towards Don Enrique's seat and bowing said in a loud voice, "This bull is no good any more. He's ⑦*(offended : scolded : complicated : terrified) and out of breath. Take him away, please."

"Does the caballero wish for a fresh bull?" asked Don Enrique.

"No," said the Doctor, "I want five fresh bulls. And I would like them all in the ring at once, please."

At this a cry of ⑧**(hardship : treasure : horror : bill) burst from the people. They had been ⑨(to / used / matadors / seeing ) escaping from one bull at a time. But FIVE!—That must mean certain death.

Pepito sprang forward and called to Don Enrique not to allow it, ⑩(it / against / saying / was) all the rules of bullfighting. ("Ha!" Polynesia chuckled into my ear. "It's like the Doctor's navigation: he breaks all the rules; but he gets there. If they'll only let him, he'll give them the best show for their money they ever saw.") A great ⑪*(argument : commerce : track : courage) began. Half the people seemed to be on Pepito's side and half on the Doctor's side. At last the Doctor turned to Pepito and made another very grand bow which burst the last button off his waistcoat.

"Well, of course if the caballero is afraid—" he began with a bland smile.

"Afraid!" ⑫*(observed : scattered : endured : screamed) Pepito. "I am afraid ⑬(on / of / earth / nothing). I am the greatest matador in Spain. With this right hand I have killed nine hundred and fifty-seven bulls."

"All right then," said the Doctor, "let ⑭(see / you / us / if ) can kill five more. Let the bulls in!" he shouted. "Pepito de Malaga is not afraid."

A ⑮*(partial : dreadful : flexible : violent) silence hung over the great theatre as the heavy door into the bull pen was rolled back. Then with a roar the five big bulls bounded into the ring.

"Look fierce," I heard the Doctor call to ⑯(language / in / them / cattle). "Don't scatter. Keep close. Get ready for a rush. Take Pepito, the one in purple, first. But for Heaven's sake don't kill him. Just ⑰(of / out / him / chase) the ring—Now then, all together, go for him!"

The bulls put down their heads and all in line, like a squadron of cavalry, charged across the ring straight for poor Pepito.

For one moment the Spaniard tried his hardest to look ⑱*(silly : brave : urgent : physical). But the sight of the five pairs of ⑲(at / coming / him / horns) at full gallop was too much. He turned white to the lips, ran for the fence, vaulted it and disappeared.

"Now the other one," the Doctor hissed. And in two seconds the gallant assistant was nowhere to be seen. Juan Hagapoco, the fat matador, was left alone in the ring with five ⑳***(withering : underlying : rampaging :reinforcing) bulls.
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。